In Conversation: Brad Anthony Bernard and 'B-Free' on Nari Ward’s Apollo/Poll

Sculpture Talks brings together regional, national, and international cultural leaders to discuss artists included in Sculpture Milwaukee.

Nari Ward's Apollo/Poll is on view as part of Sculpture Milwaukee 2020. Nari Ward explores themes and imagery from African American culture, sports, politics, and place. Apollo/Poll, 2017, an homage to the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, plays with visual tropes of outdoor structures: signage, lawn ornaments, playgrounds, and monuments. The sign reflects Ward’s rumination on the “...art of self-promotion, performance, originality, and the meaning of communal acceptance.”

While Ward’s sign refers to the past figures of the Harlem Renaissance, it also refers to Amateur Night at the Apollo, where the tough audience votes democratically for who will “be good or be gone.” This voting has resonance beyond the theater, pointing to political maneuvers to diminish voter participation by gerrymandering, voter i.d. laws, and other political procedural tactics. Ward suggests democracy has become…