NEW YORK, NY.- The Studio Museum in Harlem today announced the publication, on December 13, of Smokehouse Associates, the first critical examination of the artist collective that transformed Harlem, between 1968 and 1970, with vibrant, community-oriented abstract murals and sculptures. Established by William T. Williams and including Melvin Edwards, Guy Ciarcia, and Billy Rose, Smokehouse Associates grew to encompass a range of creative practitioners united around the revolutionary potential of public art.
Published by the Studio Museum and distributed by Yale University Press, Smokehouse Associates is the first book to document and critically explore the work of this groundbreaking artist collective, which has long been underrepresented in art history. Developed over the course of five years in close collaboration with the artists, the publication is edited by Eric Booker, former Assistant Curator and Exhibition Coordinator at the Studio Museum and now Associate Curator at Storm King Art Center. In addition to its scholarly study of the collective’s work, Smokehouse Associates features essays by Charles L. Davis II and James Trainor that delve into the historical context of public art, urban design, and architecture. The book includes an astonishing collection of previously unpublished photographs documenting Smokehouse’s work outdoors, which Williams preserved in his personal archive for more than fifty years, as well as archival ephemera. Also included is a roundtable discussion with the Smokehouse artists moderated by Ashley James, and a rich chronology that provides a framework in which to consider the group’s work.
“This groundbreaking publication brings to light the integral artistic and cultural work of the Smokehouse Associates within the Harlem community,” said Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of the Studio Museum. “Laying the foundation for public arts programs in our community on which institutions like the Studio Museum stand, Smokehouse invigorated the neighborhood’s creative, collaborative spirit by establishing art as a medium under which the people of Harlem could unite.”
Eric Booker said, “The Smokehouse Associates transformed Harlem’s urban landscape through collective action and vibrant abstraction. Today, their work holds a similar transformative potential, inviting us to consider history anew. Boldly envisioned by William T. Williams amid the struggle for civil rights, the group’s astonishing work outdoors remains entirely distinct—a vivid blueprint for art’s ability to foster community, collaboration, and change.”
Smokehouse believed art could seed change. Emphasizing the participatory process, the artists completed approximately nine projects throughout the Harlem community over the course of three summers. Smokehouse projects were community affairs. The collective not only sought to engage Harlemites through cleaning out and painting each site, but the work itself also reflected the surrounding environment. The artists keyed their hard-edged forms to the movement and geometries of the city, and the colors from neighborhood shop signs, storefront displays, and residents’ clothing informed their vibrant compositions.
Smokehouse Associates serves as a sourcebook that expands the narrative of public art and social practice in the United States to include the contributions of artists of African descent. Over fifty years later, the collective’s work feels particularly important amid another period of upheaval, offering collective creation as a means of transformation and unification.
