Ilana Harris-Babou (born 1991) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

sculptor and

installation artist Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often cal ...

. Harris-Babou was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. Her upbringing was discussed in an interview on the ''Amy Beecher Show'' in August 2019. She is currently assistant professor of art and the Luther Gregg Sullivan Fellow in Art at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

Artistic practice

Harris-Babou often uses

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a Television studio, studio set, or at the host's p ...

s, and

home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...

television as material in her practice, often dissecting notions of the

American Dream The "American Dream" is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the ...

. Her practices engages ideas about intimacy, violence, and consumption. Harris-Babou speaks to her audience through humor and reconstructed consumer culture. She describes her work more in an interview with ''

PIN-UP A pin-up model is a model (person), model whose mass-produced pictures and photographs have wide appeal within the popular culture of a society. Pin-up models are usually glamour photography, glamour, actresses, or fashion models whose pictures ...

''. In 2018, she created a fake hardware store at the Larrie Gallery in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. This project, titled "Reparation Hardware", features reclaimed furniture to create sculptures that reflect the notion of making the old new again. Her work on "Reparation Hardware" critiques

double standard A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for situations that are, in principle, the same. It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another. A double standard arises when two ...

s and the modern American ideals of life within the home. She also features political messages reflecting the

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...

and equality of

African-Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

in the United States. Harris-Babou has exhibited throughout the US and Europe, with solo exhibitions at The Museum of Arts & Design in New York and Vox Populi Gallery in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. She also exhibited at the de Young museum in San Francisco, Abrons Art Center in New York, the Zuckerman Museum of Art in

Kennesaw, Georgia Kennesaw is a suburban city northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia, United States, located within the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. Known from its original settlement in the 1830s until 1887 as Big Shanty, it became Kennesaw under i ...

, Le Doc in

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, the Jewish Museum in New York, & SculptureCenter in

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...

. Her most recent exhibition is titled "Decision Fatigue" and was featured at Hesse Flatow in New York City from February 20 to March 21, 2020. This exhibit features a video of Harris-Babou's mother, Sheila Harris conducting a makeup tutorial. The artist's mother reflects on her choices to appear youthful and healthy, questioning the reality of her youth. Harris-Babou uses this video to examine how structural problems are sometimes concealed as personal choices. The exhibit also features sculptures that are similar to items found in a boutique but altered to appear abnormal.

Selected exhibitions

* 2016 – In Response: Unorthodox –

The Jewish Museum The Jewish Museum is an art museum housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in the Felix M. Warburg House, along the Museum Mile on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. The museum holds a collection of approximately 30,000 objects, including ...

, New York City * 2017 – One Bad Recipe – The Museum of Arts and Design, New York City * 2018 – Reparation Hardware – Larrie, New York City * 2018 – Further Thoughts on Earthly Materials – Kunsthaus Hamburg,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany. * 2019 – 2019

Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932; the first biennial was held in 1973. It is considered ...

, curated by

Rujeko Hockley Rujeko Hockley is a New York–based US curator. Hockley is currently the Arnhold Associate Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Life and education Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Hockley relocated to Wa ...

and

Jane Panetta Jane Panetta is a New York City, New York-based curator and art historian. Panetta is currently an associate curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Career Curating Before working at the Whitney, Panetta spent five years in the Painting and ...

. * 2019 – ''Strange Loops''– Artspace,

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, CT. Curated by Johannes DeYoung and

Federico Solmi Federico Solmi (born April 1973) is a visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York. About Federico Solmi's work utilizes bright colors and a satirical aesthetic to portray a dystopian vision of our present-day society. His exhibitions often fea ...

. * 2020 – Decision Fatigue – Hesse Flatow, New York City.

Awards

*2017 Artist Community Engagement Grant, Rema Hort Mann Foundation, New York City *2017 Van Lier Fellow, Museum of Arts and Design, New York City *2018 Session, Recess Art, New York City *2020

National YoungArts Foundation YoungArts (previously National YoungArts Foundation and National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, or NFAA) is an American charity established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison to help nurture emerging high-school artists. The foundation is ba ...

's Jorge M. Pérez Award

References

External links

*
Ilana Harris-Babou – artviewer.orgAspiration and the Deferral of Pleasure: Ilana Harris-Babou – Interviewed by Rebecca Schultz – BOMB Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris-Babou, Ilana Living people 21st-century American artists Yale University alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni 1991 births 21st-century American women artists Artists from Brooklyn 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American artists American women installation artists American women sculptors Sculptors from New York City African-American women sculptors African-American sculptors African-American women academics