A multi-media experience that shines a spotlight on the endangerment of Black men in America is coming to the New York metro area this weekend.
“Endangered” is a collaborative project that combines music and poetry to explore the historical conundrum that has left Black men feeling endangered. Inspired by the art of Floyd D. Tunson, whose work has been informed by racial injustice since the 1970s, “Endangered” created a lyrical/musical response to the injustice through the voices of three artists.
“I lived in Colorado in the mid-70s and I met this incredible artist Floyd Thompson. We had lost contact with each other for some time and then we got back in each other in 2009. Here he was, still doing his paintings,” said Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa. “He’s an incredible artist and his dedication, it inspired me and sort of paralleled my experience as well.”
Inspired by Tunson’s art, Komunyakaa teamed up with New York City-based world-renowned composer/producer Tomás Doncker teamed up to integrate the three artists’ respective disciplines into a unique, powerful and emotional journey.
“I mentioned Floyd’s work to Tomás Doncker because he and I had worked on a project called the Mercy Suite. We started this dialogue about Floyd’s work and then I realized we were actually talking about a collaboration. So I started writing some songs around it,” said Komuyakaa. “I knew Floyd’s brother had been killed in Denver, and Floyd seemed to have in a way taken that pain that he internalized to his artwork. And there was a quality of beauty in that work that interested me a lot, just the quality of making a painting putting his heart and soul into it almost like a tribute, some kind of severe silence.”
What came of the collaboration was a live show/art installation, complete with conceptual video art and projections by award-winning filmmaker/videographer William Murray. The socio-politically charged audio and visuals vocalize dissent, discomfort and reclamation of what it means to be a Black man in the United States.
For Komuyakaa, the art expressed through “Endangered” is not just confined to where the art started, but has the possibility to expand even further.
“It’s not just one place, it’s multiple places it expands. I like something to expand,” said Komuyakaa. “I often say that it’s not really what I say but if it engages others, then that’s a collaboration and the possibility extends.”
The first “Endangered” live show was originally performed in Colorado Springs, where a lot of the content of Tunson’s work stemmed from. This performance will take place at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, located at 1 Center St. in Newark, as a part of the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Program’s 2022 Dodge Poetry Festival, where “Endangered” will be a headlining performance at 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 22.
This show will feature Doncker and Komuyakaa as well as a lineup of poets: Jan Beatty, Elizabeth Bradfield, Benjamin S. Grossberg, Sakinah Hofler, Petra Kuppers, Peggy Robles-Alvarado and Jane Wong. Each poet will perform their work in between musical performances throughout the show, which will be performed by Tomás Doncker and the True Groove All Stars.
Tickets start at $50 for single day passes for the festival ($45 for Seniors/Teachers with ID and $25 for students with ID). To purchase tickets, visit dodgepoetry.org.
You can listen to the “Endangered” album on Spotify and Soundcloud.
