Contradictions, 2016.

Akinsanya Kambon (American, born 1946)

Raku-fired ceramic, 27-1/2 in. x 18-1/2 in. x 18 in. Crocker Art Museum purchase with contributions from Barbara and William Hyland, Becky B. Krisik Fund, and Emily Leff and James L. Davis III, 2020.85.1

Ceramic

21st Century

Modern and Contemporary Art

Ceramics

black artists

california artists

people

Details

  • artist/culture
    Akinsanya Kambon
  • nationality
    American, born 1946
  • title
    Contradictions
  • date
    2016
  • medium
    Raku-fired ceramic
  • dimensions
    27-1/2 in. x 18-1/2 in. x 18 in.
  • credit line
    Crocker Art Museum purchase with contributions from Barbara and William Hyland, Becky B. Krisik Fund, and Emily Leff and James L. Davis III
  • accession no.
    2020.85.1
  • collection
    Modern and Contemporary Art, Ceramics

Audio

00:00 / 00:00

Art Stories: Akinsanya Kambon

Listen in as students from Sacramento State discuss the life, work, and social impact of artist, activist, and visual griot Akinsanya Kambon.

Student Perspectives – Contradictions

This poem by Sacramento State student Nicole Kieth was inspired by Akinsanya Kambon’s Contradictions.

Gazing eastward  
returning again and again  
Being given a new name (a true name)  
and carrying back sculptural wisdom  
Inspiration in three dimensions  
shaped toward the sky  
changed by fire  
and smoke of eucalyptus  
Flames fed by yesterday’s news  
engage with the earth  
then cool  
and become still  
A reality freestanding  
A story with faces  
A history with volume  
The vessel keeps watch  
Over all that it contains