Monday, November 6 | 10:30am - 12pm
On November 6th, the School of Public Affairs is pleased to partner with renowned conceptual artist, Glenn Kaino, and 1968 Olympic Gold Medalist Tommie Smith to film a workshop for the upcoming documentary, With Drawn Arms.
With Drawn Arms is a public project that will introduce Tommie’s courageous act to an entirely new generation while literally and figuratively bridging the role his silent protest played in 1968 to the collective action we are seeing in the world today.
With Drawn Arms is a public project that will introduce Tommie’s courageous act to an entirely new generation while literally and figuratively bridging the role his silent protest played in 1968 to the collective action we are seeing in the world today.
Selected students will complete a series of drawings of Tommie’s iconic race while engaged in a robust, personal dialog with Tommie and Glenn about human rights, movement building, and the salute.
Each of these drawings will be a still frame from a longer series and will be assembled together to create a new animation that will debut at High Museum of Art, Atlanta in October 2018. The workshop and completed animation will also be part of the film project directed by Kaino and Afshin Shahidi, most known for his work as a creative collaborator of Prince. The film team also consists of executive producers Jesse Williams, John Legend, Ty Stiklorius, Mike Jackson, and Delois Smith.
ABOUT TOMMIE SMITH:
In 1968, TOMMIE SMITH, won first place in the 200-meter men’s race at the Olympic games in Mexico City despite sustaining an injury earlier in the day. During the award ceremony, Tommie walked to the platform wearing only black socks on his feet — the first sign of a symbolic protest that would become even more powerful in the following minutes. He accepted the gold medal, and then, as the customary playing of the national anthem began, he raised his fist to give the Black Power salute and then, bowed his head. The image of Tommie and John Carlos, who joined him in this powerful act, has circulated beyond the time and context in which it came into being — becoming instead a symbol for a myriad of beliefs, ideas, and social causes.
In 1968, TOMMIE SMITH, won first place in the 200-meter men’s race at the Olympic games in Mexico City despite sustaining an injury earlier in the day. During the award ceremony, Tommie walked to the platform wearing only black socks on his feet — the first sign of a symbolic protest that would become even more powerful in the following minutes. He accepted the gold medal, and then, as the customary playing of the national anthem began, he raised his fist to give the Black Power salute and then, bowed his head. The image of Tommie and John Carlos, who joined him in this powerful act, has circulated beyond the time and context in which it came into being — becoming instead a symbol for a myriad of beliefs, ideas, and social causes.
ABOUT GLENN KAINO:
Glenn Kaino is a conceptual artist with a career that spans an extraordinary range of media and creative activity, whose practice has rigorously investigated the systems of power that have controlled person, place and the production of knowledge. His artwork, seen by millions around the world, has utilized various strategies to create improbable moments and impossible works from seemingly incompatible materials, all in order to create tangible transformation and to suggest, if even for a moment, that there are radical new ways of being and knowing in our world. In addition, he is also an experienced entrepreneur
who has lead major digital brands for Oprah Winfrey's OWN Network, Napster, and Universal Music Group/Farmclub.
