Michael Lukowski "The W"
Legendary Hip Hop group, [Wu-Tang](https://www.instagram.com/wutangclan/) is best known for its lo-fi hits intertwined with the personalities of nine MCs: Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Method Man, the RZA, the GZA, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon the Chef, U-God, Ghostface Killah, and Masta Killa. Underlining topics of class, race, and oppression, the group is boldly unapologetic in their ideologies. As their legacy continues to inspire, creative director of [Absolut Art](https://www.absolutart.com/us/wu-tang-clan-x-absolutart/), Michelle Grey, teamed up with co-founder of Wu-Tang Productions and executive producer of Wu-Tang Clan, Oliver “Power” Grant, and Diya Vij, an independent curator and associate curator of public programs at the High Line, to commemorate the genius and wisdom that is Wu-Tang. In a conversation with Diya Vij, we spoke about the development of Wu-Tang x Absolut Art.
**_What was the genesis of this Wu-Tang exhibition?_**
**Diya Vij:** Absolut Art approached me to curate an exhibition with and about Wu-Tang. As a cultural producer in New York City, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pay homage to the legacy of one of the city's cultural icons. In my practice, I always try to lead with artists, and I knew that Absolut Art was committed to supporting working artists. So, it was really a no brainer.
**_How did you decide to join this project? How has the Wu-Tang Clan inspired you?_**
I've always been completely awestruck by Wu-Tang’s raw and unapologetic sound and lyrics. I was a little late, but I remember hearing "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nothing to F\*ck With" from 36 Chambers as a middle schooler in small-town Connecticut and was so riled up by the sheer confidence. In the life my young self lived inside my head, I had mimicked that attitude. I said everything I felt with complete confidence. In my actual life, I was incredibly shy and was dealing with bullying and racism by retreating inwards. Still, I had faith that I would internalize this energy at some point in my life, and I just kept on listening to Wu-Tang. The Wu has always been a symbol of power to me— in unity, in aesthetics, in determination.
**_What was your process in developing the overall message of the exhibition?_**
After a few conversations with Power and Michelle Grey from Absolut Art, it became clear that we were paying homage to the career of Wu-Tang. With the recent documentary and scripted television show, it's evident that the legacy of Wu-Tang is deeper than ever. So, we set out to pull apart the themes that Wu-Tang has put into our collective consciousness for the past 26 years: an honest look into racism, greed, and inequality as seen in Hank Willis Thomas's African American Express series and Joseph Coillier's abstracted portrait of Michael Brown, Folds; a commitment to the collective mirrored in Christopher Myers's Savage Congress; a braggadocio interrogated through Shaun Leonardo's champion drawings of Silva and Tyson; a pursuit of a personal philosophy and spiritual practice echoed in Baseera Khan's Purple Heart Prayer Rug; an exploration of new and layered aesthetics and sounds found in the Rashaad Newsome's collages figuration Wisdom Body; and an ability to create their own lanes from music to fashion to media like the interdisciplinary practice of artist Devin Kenny whose print Untitled 2006/2019 (Onus) with the words "I hate that C.R.E.A.M." was a part of a performance-lecture. The artists in this exhibit each tackle some of these same themes, demonstrating their relevance in contemporary visual arts and society today.
**_The involved works vocalize issues of class, race, and oppression in an unapologetic manner. What do you hope viewers take in?_**
I hope that viewers feel like they have permission to interrogate class, race, and oppression loudly and in their medium of choice. I hope that viewers take that permission away from everything that I do. It can be really difficult to live your politics - in your workplace, in your families, in our public spaces - but it's going to take all of us, being really unapologetically loud, to build the world that we deserve.
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