HIP HOP FROM THE AGO 50 YEARS OLD

 Fifty years later the AGO is locking, tutting, and krumping to Hip-Hop

By Stephen Weir

Do yourself a favor, pop in your earbuds, and ask Spotify to play the AGO-curated soundscape they label as The Culture. It starts loud and proud with Run-D.M.C.’s 1988 hit “Beats to the Rhyme.” It’s early hip-hop, all about the group’s talent to make rhymes, make money, and, well, have fun. And that is just the beginning.

Once you have the music throbbing in your head, get yourself down to the Art Gallery of Ontario on Dundas Street and take in their new show. Hip-hop has just bounced into town and taken over the top floor of the Art Gallery of Ontario from now until April. The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century is an exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) that explores the profound impact of hip-hop culture on contemporary art and visual culture.

PHOTO OF DRAKE ON TOWER

It opened to its members only last week, but come January 7th, anyone can take it in for the price of a ticket (free if you’re a young’un under 25). The exhibition features over 100 artworks and objects, including paintings, photography, sculpture, video, and fashion, created by more than 65 artists such as Derrick Adams, John Edmonds, Deana Lawson, and Hank Willis Thomas.

A version of the show has already played out at AGO partner galleries in Baltimore and St. Louis to rave reviews. The Washington Post highlighted the exhibition's significance, noting that it "leaves no doubt" about hip-hop's transformative impact on art in the 21st century.

MR DOGG (RIGHT)

Hip-hop just had a birthday. Hard to believe that urban centres in North America have been popping, locking, tutting, and krumping to the groups you can hear on the Spotify playlist for 50 years. It is organized around six thematic chapters—Language, Brand, Adornment, Tribute, Pose, and Ascension, says the AGO. Their exhibition delves into various facets of hip-hop culture in its art, sculptures ,and film displayed in the top-floor space.

While this is a wild theme, one must remember that it is being shown in the very proper Toronto art gallery. The Caribbean Camera toured the show during the members' preview earlier this week. I’m white and over 70, and I fit right in. There was much tsk-tsking as people checked out the giant pair of hip-hop-influenced sneakers and the graffiti-covered car wreck in two gallery spaces.

I was hoping to be hit by a wall of music when I got off the elevator, but it was art-gallery quiet. Hence, my need for earbuds. The first thing I saw was a warning that the content of the show might offend—this in a building that revels in its collection of nude paintings and body-perfect sculptures.

The content in this show is rather tame. The examples of hip-hop fashion, 50 years later, are so conservative that they would elicit yawns if worn on the Red Rocket these days. The language is tame. So is their selection of portraits. Snoop Dogg, for instance—teens nowadays think of him as Martha Stewart’s TV bro and not a trendsetter.

Most of the content in this show is American and may not be recognized by art lovers in the Six! Prominent artists include Derrick Adams, Mark Bradford, Lauren Halsey, Julie Mehretu, Adam Pendleton, Tschabalala Self, Hank Willis Thomas, and Carrie Mae Weems.

The exhibition also features contributions from Canadian artists, reflecting Toronto's unique role in the evolution of hip-hop culture. Notably, it includes Caitlin Cronenberg’s iconic photograph of the CN Tower for Drake's Views album cover, a young Snoop Dogg, and apparel from the legendary Toronto streetwear brand Too Black Guys.

Despite the sign, this is a show that will not offend. If anything, their whitewashing of the dark side of hip-hop—Nipsey Hussle, Jam Master Jay, The Notorious B.I.G., and the demise of 2Pac (Tupac Shakur)—are famous murdered performers that don’t seem to be mentioned in the show. The recent spate of revelations about the sexual deviances by some hip-hop figures should be mentioned if our institutions are going to celebrate the culture of the day (and please play some music loud).

The exhibition is free for Ontarians under 25, AGO Members, Annual Passholders, and Indigenous Peoples, and is included in General Admission. AGO Members have exclusive access from December 4 to 6, 2024; Annual Passholders from December 7, 2024; and single ticket buyers from January 7, 2025. The exhibition runs until April 6, 2025.