Artist Lecture #5: Sanford Biggers

Yet another awesome guest lecturer to come to VCU this semester! It's even more exciting that Biggers taught at VCU, but currently works at Columbia University. Biggers was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. In the early 1990's he traveled to Japan, and its influence (Buddhism and is evidenced in consequent works. Although his lecture came off as very unfocused, I really enjoyed his enthusiasm for his work and sharing it with us!

I found this article while researching Biggers' work. The website can be found here:

http://www.sanfordbiggers.com/essays-publications-interviews/interview-valerie-cassel-2002-2007.html

"Sanford Biggers is not a hip-hop artist, but rather a contemporary griot who utilizes the language of hip-hop to magnify the

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confluence of world cultures. Through his conceptual work, Biggers provides a linkage between traditional African and African American cultural sensibilities and the sacred ritual practice of Buddhism, through a contemporary authentic American expression, Hip-hop (a synthesis of poetry, music, and politics) that emerged in the wake of the civil uprisings of the late 1960s and the urban nihilism of the 1970s. It is through the language of Hip-hop that Biggers allows his audiences to see the similarities, not the differences of what would be understood as disparate cultural expressions. To embrace the genius of Biggers’ conceptual work, his audiences must open themselves to three facts: first, that Hip-hop is not only an authentic African American aesthetic product, but now the pervasive and global language of an entire generation; the concept of spiritualism is present in the sacred as well as the secular; and third, materials have the ability to transcend its specific function, particularly in the face of an overarching aesthetic vision..."

I really enjoyed his installation of a dance floor in a museum that unfortunately I cannot find. Biggers said, "Dance is a place of communion...not hampered by the constraints of the museum." I also enjoyed hearing stories about his experiences collaborating with other artists and musicians. His work takes on so many forms...