Indeed, Booker has channeled her creativity to reinvent and transform one of the most common man-made objects of the 20th century — the rubber automobile tire. Make no mistake — the process of cutting an old tire is very difficult. Booker must use heavy industrial tools to slice and rip the tires into the strips and calculated pieces she needs to do her work. Once reassembled and cleaned, these assemblages of black rubber absorb light and reveal a stunning array of black densities — which Booker says calls attention her African identity.
The Georgia Museum of Art in Athens will soon end a year-long exhibition of Booker’s work (May 8, 2012 - April 28, 2013). Aptly titled Defiant Beauty: The Work of Chakaia Booker, the exhibit features four large-scale works in steel and rubber in the Jane and Harry Willson Sculpture Garden.
Booker received a bachelor of arts in sociology from Rutgers University in 1976 and an MFA from City University of New York in 1993. She has studied a variety of subjects, including African dance, ceramics and weaving, all of which influence her work in sculpture. Her work is in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Bronx Museum of Art, Laumeier Sculpture Park and Museum, The Newark Museum, The Studio Museum of Harlem and many others.
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.01_525.jpg)
30” x 22.5” Photogravure produced in collaboration with the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Southeastern Center for Printmaking in Atlanta, Georgia, 2010.
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.02_525.jpg)
New York artist Chakaia Booker with her work 3 made of rubber tires, wood and steel, at the Colorado State University Art Museum in 2010. (© RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.03_525.jpg)
Phobic Digression, 2006
Rubber tires and steel
114 x 60 x 54 inches
Exhibited at the Georgia Museum of Art (May 8, 2012 – April 28, 2013) on loan to the Georgia Museum of Art courtesy of Marlborough Gallery, New York
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.04_525.jpg)
Shhh, 2006
Rubber tires and steel
240 x 84 x 66 inches
Exhibited at the Georgia Museum of Art (May 8, 2012 – April 28, 2013) on loan to the Georgia Museum of Art courtesy of Marlborough Gallery, New York
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.05_525.jpg)
One Way, 2008
Rubber tires and stainless steel
96 x 45 x 65 inches
Exhibited at the Georgia Museum of Art (May 8, 2012 – April 28, 2013) on loan to the Georgia Museum of Art courtesy of Marlborough Gallery, New York
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.06_525.jpg)
Holla, 2008
Rubber tires and stainless steel
96 x 48 x 60 inches
Exhibited at the Georgia Museum of Art (May 8, 2012 – April 28, 2013) on loan to the Georgia Museum of Art courtesy of Marlborough Gallery, New York
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.07_525.jpg)
Chakaia Booker speaks with a group from East Athens Community Center, Georgia.
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.08_525.jpg)
Booker's work “Meeting Ends,” rubber tire, wood and stainless steel, was on display at Colorado State University Art Musuem in Fort Collins in 2010. (© RJ Sangosti | The Denver Post)
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.09_525.jpg)
“It’s So Hard to Be Green”, by Chakaia Booker
Image © The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.10_525.jpg)
“It’s So Hard to Be Green” (detail) by Chakaia Booker
Image © The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.11_525.jpg)
“It’s So Hard to Be Green” (detail) Chakaia Booker
Image © The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
In this short video, Chakaia Booker describes her commitment to art at ACA Gallery at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Atlanta.
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.13_525.jpg)
Chakaia Booker at National Museum of Women in the Arts with “Acid Rain”, 2001; Image © Max Hirschfeld
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.14_525.jpg)
“Mixed Message,” a sculptural wall piece at The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, MO in 2008.
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.15.jpg)
“Tailgating,” outdoor sculpture, rubber and steel, image © Visual Arts Center of New Jersey.
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.16_525.jpg)
“Tailgating (Detail),” outdoor sculpture, rubber and steel, image © Visual Arts Center of New Jersey.
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.17_525.jpg)
30” x 22.5” Photogravure produced in collaboration with the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Southeastern Center for Printmaking in Atlanta, Georgia, 2010.
![Definat Beauty](/media/images/03.24.13.18_525.jpg)
“No More Milk and Cookies,” outdoor sculpture, rubber and steel, image © Visual Arts Center of New Jersey.
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03.24.13
11:44