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'It was very surreal': LA artist named a MacArthur 'genius'
Artist, UCLA professor and CalArts alum Rodney McMillian has had his work exhibited across the country.
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Courtesy John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
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UCLA art professor Rodney McMillian wins prestigious MacArthur award
You may recognize the work of South Carolina-born artist and UCLA professor Rodney McMillian from exhibitions at the Hammer Museum and L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art. He's now been awarded with a prestigious MacArthur fellowship.
Topline:
This year's MacArthur Fellows have been announced, and artist and UCLA professor Rodney McMillian is one of 20 people who received the prestigious award.
About McMillian’s work: McMillian’s multidisciplinary art touches on themes of race, class and power in the United States, finding new contexts and meanings for everything from household objects to some of the most famous speeches in U.S. history. “I often employ text, like a historical text, and I'll pair that with, say, images of sunshine,” he said. "I'm hoping that, through aesthetics and through how they're paired, we could think about our own place, but also think about some of our dreams in that context.”
The moment he found out: MacArthur Fellows don't know they’re being considered for the prestigious awards, and McMillian said the call came completely out of the blue. “I wasn't sure if it was a prank or not,” he said. “It was very surreal. It was very exciting.”
On making work in this moment in history: “This doesn't seem that far different than perhaps some of the time periods that I make work about, say, from like [Lyndon B. Johnson's] 'The Great Society' speech, or works thinking about [Martin Luther] King's Vietnam speech,” McMillian said. “I think there's always been a lot of space for contemplation, but a lot of space for speaking one's truth to power. So in that regard, I feel like I'm doing what others before me have done. They're just speaking the best they can to the times they're living in.”
His plans for the money: “It means I can keep the lights on a lot longer, or at least a bit longer,” McMillian said. “It came at a perfect time, because early in the spring, on a wing and a prayer, I decided to build a small studio in my backyard, and this award's going to enable me to hopefully pay for that, and also work towards other projects.”
To hear more: Listen to McMillian’s interview with LAist host Julia Paskin above.
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