Two New: Adger Cowans and Meshell Ndegeocello

I love it that there are so many artists out there who are completely unknown to me. Always somebody new to discover. And you never know when or how you'll do so. Ultimately, I have Black History Month to thank for these two, one a photographer, the other a musician, both new to me.

The first is photographer Adger Cowans, who is now 84. I found out about him through our friend Carl Weese, who sent me a link to a review of a photography show that appeared in The Nation. The show, at the Whitney, features a little-known group of Black photographers from the 1960s and '70s called the Kamoinge Workshop. Kamoinge is a word that in Gikuyu, the language of the Kikuyu people, means "a group of people acting together." The group when it was new was mentored by Roy De Carava, who was a half a generation older than most of the group's members.

Then Oren emailed to mention that some of the exhibit seems to be online—go to this link and then go to "Artworks" and click on each of the photographer portraits. The first one I investigated, Adger Cowans, is represented by only nine pictures, but the first two especially just blew me away—"Egg Nude" can stand alongside work in the same category by Edward Weston, and I love "Footsteps"—wonderful. He has a website, and there's more work there. He reminds me a little of David Douglas Duncan in the range of his visual interests. No little niches for those guys.

A few photographs are always just a clue, a lead so to speak. So how do I get to see more of this photographer's work? There is hope! There's a book. (Where there's a book there is hope.)

It will take me a little time to explore the rest of the Kamoinge Workshop members. Adger Cowans seems like a great start, though.

Songs like prayers
The second new discovery is a musician, and comes from my brother Scott—he's a big fan of NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts, and he sent me this link to a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert by Meshell Ndegeocello. She's had a whole career with me not even noticing, which always makes me feel like I've been living on a desert island somewhere. (This year, maybe I have been.)

I think you shouldn't enter into this unless you're in a reflective, contemplative mood, and willing to be openhearted. It starts off with a recitation of lyrics-as-poetry and continues with several songs that feel more like prayers. Scott said, "this is so peaceful." It is.

Mike
(Thanks to Carl, Oren, and Scott)

Book Product o' This Week:

Is it too late for this? 2021 is still young. There are two reasons to value these Michael Kenna calendars from Nazraeli Press: one is that his originals are 8x8", so these pictures are meant to work at wall-calendar sizes. The other is that Michael's calendars can actually increase in value! Dan Smith suggested this, and he reports that some older ones sell in the hundreds of dollars. "The printing is excellent," Dan wrote, "and the calendar is beautiful."

The above link takes you from TOP to Amazon. This week's pick is not available at Amazon Canada, but 2019 is. Hey, the pictures are still good. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Original contents copyright 2021 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Colin: "Glad to hear you've discovered Me'Shell and thanks for the heads-up about this concert! We've seen her twice in London, both times were wonderful. If you're a Pat Metheny fan, he guested briefly on a track on her 2007 album, The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams, and she returned the favour by singing on his comeback album, From This Place. Her back catalogue is really varied—she made a jazz-adjacent album, The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of The Infidel, Pour Une Âme Souveraine is dedicated to Nina Simone, but my favourite is the wonderfully heavy Comfort Woman."

Gary: "Sombitch, Cowans is a painter too. (See his website.) The paintings are not exactly to my taste, but still, a rare combination of talents. Thanks for the tip."

Comments

[Moose]

"There's a book. (Where there's a book there is hope.)"

There's also a new, much less expensive book.
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Moment-Times-Adger-Cowans/dp/1732132534/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&qid=1613629294&refinements=p_27%3AAdger+Cowans&s=books&sr=1-2&text=Adger+Cowans

I have no idea what's in it, or of the reporduction quality.

[s.wolters]

Meshell Ndegeocello is a musician’s musician. When her first album Plantation Lullabies was released in 1993, our Amsterdam pop temple Paradiso announced her as the next big superstar.
It has a reputation when it comes to presenting artists before they become famous. To me it was clear from the start that Meshell was an artist for connoisseurs, not for the mass. I’ve always bought all her albums blind. (Or should I say deaf in this case?).
She never does the same thing twice and doesn’t fit in one box. Every musician wants to play with her so she’s always surrounded by the best of the best.

I hope to see her playing live again in the near future.
Man, how I miss live music. Had a ticket for Chick Corea last year but the concert was postponed. His sudden passing away still makes me angry every day.