Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland’s trip to L.A.’s Hammer Museum -- and the women artists they went to see
Is Beyoncé “Drunk in Love” with two contemporary artists’ work?
R&B Queen B got a culture fix Tuesday at L.A.’s Hammer Museum. She stopped by with fellow Destiny’s Child Kelly Rowland and her mom, Tina, to see shows by artists Frances Stark and Njideka Akunyili Crosby.
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The singer spent about two hours at the museum, a Hammer spokesperson said. While there, she met a few of the museum’s curators and took a photo with assistant curator Jamillah James, who organized the Crosby show; but otherwise, Beyoncé focused on the art.
“She didn’t ask for any special treatment. She was really down to earth,” the museum spokesperson said. “She came up to the welcome desk and got free admission stickers just like anyone else.”
Word quickly spread on Twitter.
“Thanks for visiting the Hammer, @Beyonce and @KELLYROWLAND! Here they are with our asst curator Jamillah James,” the museum tweeted.
“Just ran into Beyoncé hanging out @hammer_museum! Everyone loves #FrancesStark” tweeted Hammer director of public programs, Claudia Bestor.
“Hammer Projects: Njideka Akunyili Crosby” is the Nigerian artist’s L.A. debut. The exhibition features large, mixed media works on paper that the museum says reflect “on contemporary, postcolonial African cosmopolitanism and her experiences as an expatriate living in America, Africa’s complex political and social conditions.”
“UH-OH: Frances Stark 1991-2015” is a mid-career survey of the L.A.-based artist’s work. It includes video installations, drawings, collages and paintings.
Times art critic Christopher Knight wrote in his review of the exhibition that Stark has “deep artistic intelligence” and that “‘ UH-OH’ is among the finest solo museum shows this year.”
The Hammer describes Stark as a “lyricist“ who uses both words and images “to create provocative and self-reflexive works that pose universal questions.”
Perhaps we’ll see some Stark inspiration pop up in a Beyoncé lyric soon.
Follow me on Twitter: @debvankin
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