Ming Smith: Transcendence
Columbus Museum of Art
Located in Lower Level Walter Wing
On view September 19, 2024–January 26, 2025
Admission Information
Ming Smith: Transcendence is included with the cost of general admission.
Members get FREE admission.
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Exhibition Description
The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is proud to present Ming Smith: Transcendence, featuring the entirety of this remarkable series for the first time. Through this exhibition, CMA offers a rare opportunity to delve into Ming Smith’s identity as an artist deeply rooted in the diverse fabric of Columbus, Ohio.
Smith’s lens intricately threads together the cultural tapestry of Columbus, showcasing the influences of luminaries such as Nancy Wilson, Aminah Robinson, Toyce Anderson, Toni Morrison, and Linda Goode Bryant. Ming’s narrative unfolds against familiar backdrops, from Carl Brown’s IGA on Mt Vernon Avenue to Dr. Tyler’s drugstore on the east side, resonating with personal memories of her father’s pharmacy. The halls of The Ohio State University reflect familial achievements, while S. Wheatland Avenue bears witness to pivotal moments in the Hilltop’s history.
Transcendence surpasses the confines of traditional photography; it is a deeply intimate exploration of Ming’s reconciliation with her hometown. Inspired by Alice Coltrane’s transformative music, Ming’s series confronts the injustices of her racially divided upbringing in Columbus with compassion and insight.
Transcendence is presented alongside the work of Columbus-born, National Book Award-winning author and Macarthur Fellow Jacqueline Woodson, whose books have been recognized for grappling deeply with nuanced issues of race and gender. Including newly commissioned poems as well as previously published pieces, Woodson’s verses elucidate and echo the emotive journey of Ming’s return to Columbus, offering multidimensional entryways towards greater understanding. In lieu of interpretive texts, Woodson’s writing gives voice to Smith’s subjects and articulates the memories embedded within her images through dynamic storytelling.
Ming’s narrative invites viewers to engage with the images as a public discourse, with much of Transcendence remaining unseen and unprinted, offering endless opportunities for exploration and interpretation.
Join us in celebrating Ming Smith’s artistic legacy and reconnecting with her profound vision as we welcome the artist back to the city that shaped her. Through Transcendence, Ming invites us on a journey of rediscovery, where the past merges with the present, and the potential for understanding knows no bounds.
This exhibition is part of simultaneous solo presentations with the Wexner Center for the Arts and The Gund at Kenyon College, who will also be exhibiting work by Smith.
Ming Smith Inspired Programming
The Mark Lomax Trio: Blues in August
November 7, 7:00–8:00 PM
Join CMA for an evening of jazz in celebration of Ming Smith: August Moon, an exhibition where the essence of everyday Black life unfolds with breathtaking honesty and reverence. Smith embarks on a poignant journey through the streets of Pittsburgh’s Hill District, intimately familiarizing herself with the landscape that inspired playwright August Wilson’s iconic Century Cycle plays. Smith captures the essence of Wilson’s characters, immortalizing their struggles, triumphs, and the quiet resilience that defines their existence.
The Mark Lomax Trio will perform selections of original work focused on themes of unity, peace, and from the eighth album in the 400: An Afrikan Epic cycle, Blues In August, a tribute to August Wilson and his Century Cycle which depicts the lives of non-immigrant Afrikans in America over the course of the 20th century.
Tickets for this program are $25 for CMA members and $30 for nonmembers.
Art Film Night: The Piano Lesson
December 19, 7:00–8:30 PM
Experience this event as part of CMA After Hours, a weekly program from October 2024 to May 2025.
Immerse yourself in the world of art and film. Join us for a brief 10 Minutes on the Dot discussion before the screening of The Piano Lesson. Screening begins at 7:00 PM.
In connection with the Ming Smith: August Moon exhibition, CMA is proud to present the 1995 film adaptation of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. This powerful film captures the essence of the African-American experience, focusing on a family’s struggle over the fate of a treasured heirloom.
Tickets are $12 for members and $15 for nonmembers. Each ticket includes the film screening and museum admission. Drinks available for purchase in Schokko Café.
Ming Smith: Transcendence is a Featured Project in the 2024 FotoFocus Biennial:
Support for this 2024 FotoFocus Biennial Featured Project was provided by FotoFocus.
Ming Smith, Black Girl Dreaming (detail), from the series Transcendence, 1990. Archival pigment print. Courtesy of the artist
