How to Fly is a site-specific photomural by visual artist Sadie Barnette installed in CAAM’s atrium. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Barnette incorporates photographs she has taken of locations across the state with pictures from her family archives. The installation includes references to Barnette’s past artworks, as well as her signature motifs, such as glitter, rhinestones, cars, and plant life. The collection of images, ranging from a cousin’s birthday cake to a well-worn copy of Toni Morrison’s novel Jazz, are set at varying scales against an ombre rainbow backdrop, adding to the surfeit of color and pattern. Barnette has described herself as a “keeper of the past,” someone whose role it is to tend to the historical archive, including its moments big and small. While the photomural serves to chronicle and monumentalize her story and family history with a sense of humor and play, it is also an invitation for viewers to see themselves, their loved ones, and the magic of the everyday in their own lives.
Selected Works
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