A photo of Robert Lugo’s glazed ceramic “Street Shrine 1: A Notorious Story (Biggie),” on display at “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” at the Schirn in Frankfurt, Germany. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
A new arrival at the famed Schirn exhibition hall in Frankfurt examines the influence of hip-hop, a musical genre that started as a block party 50 years ago in the Bronx borough of New York and transformed into a global movement.
“The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” is a polyphonic experience of fashion, photography, sculpture, video, painting and more, as curator Andrea Purnell of the Saint Louis Art Museum describes it.
On display are more than 100 works by more than 80 artists. They range from an album cover by Rammellzee and K-Rob, with Jean-Michel Basquiat, to an Adidas track jacket designed by Pharrell Williams, to Kahlil Joseph’s “m.A.A.D.,” a two-channel video installation set to music by Kendrick Lamar.
“The Culture” was first shown last year at the Saint Louis Art Museum and at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Frankfurt, often called the German capital of hip-hop, is its only European stop.
A detail photo of Devan Shimoyama’s “Before the Storm.” It is a mobile-like work with Timberland shoes bedecked with rhinestones. It is one of many works on display until May 26 at the exhibit “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” at the Schirn in Frankfurt, Germany. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Inside the exhibit “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” at the Schirn in Frankfurt. At left and right foreground are Monica Ikegwu’s oil on canvas works “Open/Closed,” from 2021. In the background at left is Megan Lewis’s “Fresh Squeezed Lemonade” from 2022 and at right, Nina Chanel Abney’s work “Untitled,” from the same year. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Fahamu Pecon’s “Real Negus Don’t Die: Thug” from 2013 on display at “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” at the Schirn in Frankfurt, Germany. It shows a young man looking down at his T-shirt with a portrait of the murdered rap star Tupac Shakur on it. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
El Franco Lee II’s "DJ Screw in Heaven" from 2008 is one of the works displayed at the new exhibit at the Schirn in Frankfurt, Germany, “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century.” (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Hip-hop fashion is one of the centerpieces of the exhibit, with clothes designed or inspired by artists like the late Virgil Abloh or Daniel “Dapper Dan” Day. As Purnell noted on the exhibit’s opening day, the track suit has become the symbol of hip-hop culture.
While the exhibit shows the influence of hip-hop on contemporary arts, one thing it does not do is give a timeline of the genre.
Most of the works, as the show’s title implies, are from this century. One thing missing, surprisingly, is actual hip-hop songs. There is some music in the video installations, but it lacks beats, rhymes and rap.
However, the creators of the music are prominent in the exhibition. Examples include a collection of Lil’ Kim’s wigs and a print of Cardi B. sitting on plastic crates with a frame of tea boxes.
Fahamu Pecou’s “Real Negus Don’t Die: Thug” shows a young man looking down at his T-shirt, which depicts murdered rap star Tupac Shakur. Superstars Beyonce and Jay-Z serenade each other in the video installation “4:44” by TNEG.
A visitor to “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” at the Schirn in Frankfurt, Germany, looks at Dionne Alexander’s installation “Lil’ Kim Wigs, 1999-2001.” (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Texas Isaiah and Ms. Boogie’s photo of the Afro-Latina transgender rapper, and Isaiah’s devotional altar “Untitled” in front of it, are two works on display at “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” at the Schirn in Frankfurt, Germany. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Hip-hop has influenced many things besides music over the decades, especially fashion. This runway exhibit at “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” at the Schirn in Frankfurt, Germany, shows some of the fashion, including this Virgil Abloh piece for Louis Vuitton. In the background is a blowup of “A Great Day in Hip Hop,” by the renowned photographer Gordon Parks. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
A good question is asked on Shirt’s work “Don’t Talk To Me About No Significance Of Art.” The exhibit “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” at the Schirn in Frankfurt, Germany, answers the question with a "yes," although music does not play a big part in the show. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Although much has been said over the years about hip-hop’s misogyny, a substantial number of the exhibit artists are women. The first room displays large works by Megan Lewis, Nina Chanel Abney and Monica Ikegwu, whose “Open/Closed” is featured on the exhibit’s posters.
Other highlights are El Franco Lee II’ s painting “DJ Screw in Heaven”; Devan Shimoyama’s “Before the Storm,” a mobile-like work with Timberland shoes bedecked with rhinestones; and “Black Power,” a photo of a gold mouth grill by Hank Willis Thomas.
For a deeper look into the influence of hip-hop on contemporary art, the exhibit catalog with photos and essays is well worth the 45 euros at the Schirn shop. The exhibit runs until May 26.
A visitor to “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” show at the Schirn in Frankfurt, Germany, watches the video installation “4:44” by TNEG that features Beyonce and Jay-Z serenading each other. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The 2012 video installation “Picture Me Rollin’” by Larry W. Cook features a man spinning in a Lamborghini, with a version of Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech chopped and screwed – slowed down – as the soundtrack. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Visitors to “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” at the Schirn in Frankfurt, Germany, discuss “Nation,” a 2018 work by Deana Lawson. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Two works by Miguel Luciano on display in “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century,” a new exhibit at the Schirn in Frankfurt, Germany. At left “Platano Pride,” and “Pure Plantainum,” right. It is made of polyurethane encased in platinum and sterling silver. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Address: Schirn Kunsthalle, Roemerberg, Frankfurt
Hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday and Friday to Sunday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.
Cost: Admission is 12 euros for adults, 10 euros for seniors and children 8 and up; free for children up to age 7. A family ticket for two adults and their children up to age 17 is 24 euros.
Information: https://www.schirn.de/en/. Here you can buy tickets online and see what other events connected to the exhibit are happening.
