Brooklyn Museum: In Conversation

Last Thursday evening I attended an event at the Brooklyn Museum, In Conversation: Sanford Biggers with Marcus Samuelsson and Mos Def. Mos Def was my initial draw to the event. Not only is he a talented hip hop artist from Brooklyn, but he happens to be in one of my favorite movies (you know, the kind of favorite movie you can watch over and over and it brings comfort rather than annoyance), Brown Sugar, which is just one notch on his acting belt. To be honest, I didn't know much about the other two men beforehand, but was interested in the theme of the discussion, which was how culture and society has shaped their work.

Sanford Biggers is an artist who happens to currently have an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, Sweet Funk. Marcus Samuelsson is an award winning chef who most recently opened the restaurant Red Rooster in Harlem. The three men are well known in their fields for not only their talent, but for being a part of their communities on different levels.

Although Sanford was meant to facilitate the discussion, the conversation gradually fell into a relaxed one among friends, as the three men already know each other well. Each very different in their art form and personality, I found all to be inspiring, not without a sense of humor, and grounded. Discussion topics flowed from how their work is impacted by their roots and childhood as well as issues in society, challenges they face, particulary as black men, the message they hope to send through their work, lessons learned, and future goals. The audience was responsive and passionate. There was a high level of comfort between everyone in the room.

Cookies and peanuts were passed around throughout the evening and not until the end of the discussion did we find out that Marcus had made these specifically for this event. The peanuts, which were spiced with wasabi, were a nod to Sanford's work, where Japanese influences can often be found. The cookies were a mix of vanilla and chocolate, made to reflect how one of their goals as artists is to reach all types of people and, hopefully, bring them together over their music, art, and food.