Lonnie Holley: Lost Child
Since 1979, Lonnie Holley (b. 1950) has devoted his life to the practice of improvisational creativity. His art and music, born out of struggle, hardship, and perhaps more importantly, out of furious curiosity and biological necessity, has manifested itself in drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, performance, and sound. Holley's sculptures are constructed from found materials in the oldest tradition of African American sculpture. Objects, already imbued with cultural and artistic metaphor, are combined into narrative sculptures that commemorate places, people, and events.
His work is now in collections of major museums throughout the country, including PAFA, and on permanent display in the United Nations. It has also been displayed in the White House Rose Garden. In January 2014, Holley completed a one-month artist-in-residence with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in Captiva Island, Florida, the site of the acclaimed artist's studio. Holley is included in the current exhibition, Making Community: Prints from Brandywine Workshop and Archives, Brodsky Center at PAFA, and Paulson Fontaine Press.
Created by: Lonnie Holley and Matt Arnett
Edited by: Aaron Billheimer
Video: Special thanks to Ethan Payne, Cyrus Moussavi, Brittany Nugent, Charles Autumn, George King, William Arnett, David Seehausen, and National Sawdust.
Music: "Lost Child" produced by Matt Arnett and Richard Swift, performed by Lonnie Holley, Richard Swift, Ben Sollee, and Marshall Ruffin.
Exhibition Support
Activate the Plaza: Our Landscape, Our Creativity, Our Community
A project on the exterior of the Historic Landmark Building is made possible with generous support from PNC Arts Alive.
Activate the Plaza introduces art programming to Lenfest Plaza through a digital projection drawing upon inspiration from core themes found in our museum exhibitions. PAFA has commissioned artists to create a site-specific project for this unusual site.
This program strives to broaden PAFA's reach: building our audience base, engaging the public, expanding our reputation locally and nationally, and breaking down physical barriers in our presentation of fine art.
