Photo:^ Courtesy^of^James^Cohan,^©^Yinka^ Shonibare,^ CBEto perform is to distill,
to share accumulated knowl-
edge in the moment through
a personal perspective. The
best performers have spent
long hours studying and train-
ing; learning theory, technique,
and history; and finding inspi-
rations and antecedents. Then,
when they step onto the stage,
they add to that knowledge
something inherently indivi-
dual, making it fully their own.
We are entranced by per-
formers – actors, dancers,
musicians – because this pro-
cess can appear mysterious,
almost alchemical. Yinka Shoni-
bare, CBE, captures this light-
ning in a bottle in 2018’s Planets
in My Head (Trumpet Girl). A
young musician strikes a trium-
phant pose: instrument raised,
head tilted back, boldly booted
feet planted on the ground. You
can almost hear the note she’ssounding, long and clear-ringing.
Brightly clothed – a trademark
of Shonibare’s work – she’s a
radiant and sure soloist.
For a head, the musician has
a celestial globe showing stars,
planets, and other heavenly
bodies, each labeled with the
name of a famous trumpeter.
Notably, several are women,
the young musician’s forebears
and influences. The careful (or
obsessive) viewer can spend
time searching for every name,
considering what a player who
has studied them might sound
like. The imagined audience at
the young trumpeter’s concert,
though, would have no such
luxury. Each would simply lis-
ten, hearing the shapes of her
melodies and the quality of
her tone. Left to guess what
inspires her music, they instead
enjoy the process by which she
brings her learning to life.Starr y Sound
Planets in My Head
(Trumpet Girl), 2018,
fiberglass mannequin,
Dutch wax-print
cotton, trumpet,
globe, steel baseplate,
5.25 x 2 x 2 ft.80 american craft aug/sept 19one piece