Boomboxes at Marcus Garvey Park

I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit at Marcus Garvey Park. There are so many intriguing and beautiful pieces. Out of all the artwork, Bayete Ross Smith’s exhibition, “Got the Power: Bomboxes” stands out to me the most. Smith is a modern multi-media artist, filmmaker, and educator. In this exhibit, he t connects several boomboxes together to make one unique sculpture of boombox stereos.  I have never seen a piece like this before. “Got the Power: Boomboxes” resonates with me because when I was a child, I used boomboxes similar to those in the exhibit to listen to music. Though most people do not use boombox speakers anymore, this piece possibly represents memories of the past for the artist as well as viewers of this exhibition. For children coming to this exhibit, who live in a digital age of handheld devices, they may not connect to this piece. However, they could still have an appreciation for this sculpture.

My least favorite piece was a colorful totem by artist, Mira Gandy. Though I have some appreciation for other artwork she has created, this particular one did not catch my eye. The narrow canvas does not allow park goers to deeply engage with the piece. In contrast, pieces like the horizontal “Lotus” by Naomi Lawrence draws in viewers with its wideness and bright colors. Perhaps, if Gandy made this piece larger and horizontal, voyeurs would attend to it with more engagement.