• Intelligencer
  • The Cut
  • Vulture
  • The Strategist
  • Curbed
  • Grub Street
  • Subscribe to the Magazine Give a Gift Subscription Buy Back Issues Current Issue Contents
    Subscribe to New York Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Profile
    Sign Out
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Comedy
  • Music
  • TV Recaps
  • What to Stream
  • Vulture Lists
  • Books
  • Theater
  • Art
  • The Gold Rush
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • About
  • Newsletters
  • Vulture Insiders
  • Vulture Festival
  • NYMag.com
  • New York Magazine
  • Intelligencer
  • Vulture
  • The Cut
  • The Strategist
  • Grub Street
  • Curbed
Subscribe Give A Gift
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Comedy
  • Music
  • TV Recaps
  • What to Stream
  • Vulture Lists
  • Books
  • Theater
  • Art
  • The Gold Rush
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • About
  • Newsletters
  • Vulture Insiders
  • Vulture Festival
  • NYMag.com
  • New York Magazine
  • Intelligencer
  • Vulture
  • The Cut
  • The Strategist
  • Grub Street
  • Curbed
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin It
+Comments Leave a Comment
art basel miami 2014
December 3, 2014

André 3000 Explains His Art

By Ian Volner

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin It
Photo: Erik Puotinen/??Patrick McMullan

Last night at the Mana Wynwood compound on the furthermost outskirts of the Design District, André 3000 revealed that this was his first time at Miami Basel. “I’ve always heard about it, but I’m the kind of person who’d rather be contributing something then just coming to a party,” he said in between posing for fan photos for the reception of “i feel ya.” “I’ve never been to Cannes,” he added. Wynwood is part of the growing culture empire in Miami of moving-truck millionaire Moishe Mana, the multi-building kunsthalle arrayed around a very commodious parking lot hemmed in by fences and lit up by towering arc lamps, imparting a supermax-ish feel to the environment.

Having crossed state lines, André 3000 is a loud-and-proud Georgian who has forged an artistic relationship with the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), where he, along with some of the school’s alumni, have put together for “i feel ya” 47 tailor-made jumpsuits emblazoned with mostly three- to five-word phrases meant to elicit a sort of knowing, nodding, smiling assent from the reader. “i love you … plural” read one. “i just wanna sleep,” read another. Lined up in a martial configuration on the showroom floor, the mannequins definitely seemed to be agreeing with each other, even if the only thing most attendees seemed to be interested in feeling was André himself.

Bucking the languid, kudzu-strewn reputation of its hometown, SCAD has demonstrated considerable energy over the last couple Basels with a series of programs launched amid the frenzy of the fair. “We’ve had several exhibitions,” noted the school’s founding president Paula Wallace. “Last year we had an exhibit at the M Building for one of our alums. In the past we did a designer show house” — part of 2007’s Casa Décor — and one of our graduates was president of NADA, so we did an exhibit with them.” Rare for an institution of its type, SCAD evidently has a particular penchant for finding ways to promote its alumni during the fair — and vice versa. “We love Miami!” adds Wallace. “What better place to be?”

Which explains how Mr. Benjamin was drawn into the project in the first place: working with two of SCAD’s most illustrious graduates, filmmaker Greg Brunkalla and artist Jimmy O’Neal. The latter’s contribution, enormous and slightly abstracted floral images, was set off by Brunkalla’s video triptych Trumpets, near-static cinematic portraits subtitled with elliptical phrases. The director, best known for his Screen Tests interview series for the New York Times, seemed happy to come aboard with his alma mater’s latest initiative, coinciding happily as it did with his own ambitions. “You know, it’s gotta kind of line up with what I want to do,” said Brunkalla, who’s been casting around to do more art-world-oriented work.

When the songwriter-producer-actor-designer was asked how he would compare Miami during the art-fair madness to, say, his beloved Atlanta, he was diplomatic: “It’s definitely cool. We landed, got in at 10 o’clock, and the first thing we saw was all these graffiti artists painting — awesome.” He didn’t mention how it measured up to Savannah. We’ll save that for when we’re in Cannes.

View
1 / 14 Photos
1 / 14

Tags:

  • art
  • art basel miami
  • art basel miami 2014
  • andre 3000
  • seen
  • More

More Galleries

grammys 2021 Mar. 14, 2021
See Every ‘Red Carpet’ Look From the 2021 Grammy Awards  Check out Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion, DaBaby, and more in their red carpet looks. 
By Savannah Salazar
the gold rush Feb. 28, 2021
See Every ‘Red Carpet’ Look From the 2021 Golden Globes  Here’s to looking glam even at home. 
By Savannah Salazar
emmys 2020 Sept. 20, 2020
See Every ‘Red Carpet’ Look From the 2020 Emmys  At home and all dolled up. 
By Rebecca Alter
art June 29, 2020
See Peter Hujar’s Portraits of a Long-Ago Queer Downtown  Including a kittenish Fran Lebowitz. 
By Trupti Rami
psa Apr. 17, 2020
A Times Square Tribute to All of Us  Two dozen artists say thank-you. 
By Michael Kaler
shakespeare in the park Apr. 17, 2020
Shakespeare in the Park Canceled as Public Theater Furloughs Staff  Richard II and As You Like It were planned for this summer. 
By Jackson McHenry
oscars 2020 Feb. 9, 2020
See Every Red-Carpet Look From the 2020 Oscars  Greta Gerwig, Janelle Monáe, Cynthia Erivo, and more are gracing the red carpet of the 92nd Academy Awards. 
By Rebecca Alter
gallery Feb. 6, 2020
30,000 Ways to See New York  Drawings from the final year of Jason Polan’s “Every Person in New York” project. 
By Jason Polan
gallery Jan. 31, 2020
The Faces of Sundance 2020  Vulture welcomed Tessa Thompson, Mila Kunis, Glenn Close, Ethan Hawke and more to our photo studio. 
By Vulture Editors
grammys 2020 Jan. 26, 2020
See Every Red-Carpet Look from the 2020 Grammys  Lizzo, Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X, and more. 
By Rebecca Alter
golden globes 2020 Jan. 5, 2020
See Every Red-Carpet Look from the 2020 Golden Globes  Greta Gerwig, Kirsten Dunst, Billy Porter, and more. 
By Rebecca Alter
vulture festival 2019 Nov. 12, 2019
The Faces of Vulture Festival LA 2019  We welcomed Rita Moreno, Elisabeth Moss, cast reunions of Party Down and Community, and more to our photo studio. 
By Vulture Editors
emmys 2019 Sept. 22, 2019
Emmys 2019: See Every Red-Carpet Look  Laverne Cox, Jameela Jamil, Indya Moore, and more. 
By Vulture Editors
vmas 2019 Aug. 26, 2019
See Every Red-Carpet Look From the 2019 VMAs  Lizzo, Taylor Swift, Megan Thee Stallion, and more stars strut down the carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards. 
By Vulture Editors
gallery June 25, 2019
The Look Book Goes to a Little Tina Turner Audition  Dozens of 8-to-12-year-old actresses lined up for the opportunity to play a young incarnation of the star in Broadway’s Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. 
By Katy Schneider and Jane Drinkard
obituaries June 17, 2019
Socialite, Artist, and Style Icon Gloria Vanderbilt Has Died at 95  Her son, Anderson Cooper, delivered an obituary on CNN this morning. 
By Sarah Spellings
gallery June 17, 2019
See Photos of Natasha Lyonne, Busy Philipps, and More in the Vulture Emmy Studio  For your consideration. 
By Vulture Editors
gallery June 10, 2019
See the Faces of the 2019 Tony Winners  Bryan Cranston, Rosemary Harris, and more. 
By Vulture Editors
gallery May 15, 2019
A Trove of ‘Lost’ New York City Crime Scene Photos, Unearthed After 82 Years  Seventy-three prints from legendary photographer Weegee were stashed in a kitchen cupboard and unseen until now. 
By Christopher Bonanos
gallery May 6, 2019
The Faces of 2019 Tribeca Film Festival  Jennifer Lawrence, Zac Efron, Ethan Hawke, and more. 
By Vulture Editors
More Galleries
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Comedy
  • Music
  • What To Stream
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Media Kit
  • We’re Hiring
  • Press
  • Trademark
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Accessibility
vulture is a Vox Media Network. © 2021 Vox Media, LLC. All rights reserved.