Revolutionary Icons: The Power of Black Madonnas and Folk Saints with Artist Mark Steven Greenfield

EcoJustice Radio

Join us in this episode featuring the profound art of Mark Steven Greenfield, whose work delves into the African American experience, historical stereotypes, and social justice. Discover his two thought-provoking series, HALO and Black Madonna, which reimagine influential black figures as saintly icons and challenge the narratives of white supremacy. Through a rich tapestry of stories and imagery, Greenfield invites us to explore the transcendental divinity within every black face. Listen as he shares his journey of using art to deconstruct stereotypes, preserve history, and inspire change. We present Los Angeles Art Critic Shana Nys Dambrot and African American visual artist Mark Steven Greefield discussing his exhibition from the Ronald Silverman Gallery at Cal State LA, recorded by L.A. Art Documents. We also feature Yoruba DUNDUN Talking drum ensemble, and an excerpt from a PBS show featuring Greenfield called Craft in America. For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio Resources/Articles: L.A. Art Documents YouTube: https://youtu.be/IMFtfhAdJM4?si=gcXNAZfIYh38QStd PBS Craft in America: https://www.pbs.org/video/mark-steven-greenfield-his-work-qakt1c/ Yoruba DUNDUN Talking Drum Ensemble: https://youtu.be/F0L2fhqFzKU?si=xFJMJ9axI-p9nV7V Mark Steven Greenfield is an African American visual artist from Los Angeles [https://www.markstevengreenfield.com/]. His work deals primarily with the African American experience and in recent years has focused on the effects of stereotypes on U.S. culture stimulating much-needed and long overdue dialog on issues of race. He has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States as well as internationally. He has served on multiple arts and community boards and received a long list of awards, accolades, and residencies over the years. Shana Nys Dambrot features a weekly substack called 13Things LA [https://hijinxarts.substack.com/]. She has been Arts Editor for the L.A. Weekly, and a contributor to the Village Voice, Flaunt, Artillery, and other culture publications. She studied Art History at Vassar College, and is the recipient of the 2022 and 2024 Mozaik Future Art Writers Prize, the 2022 Rabkin Prize for Art Criticism, and the LA Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Critic of the Year award for 2022. Her surrealist novel Zen Psychosis (Published by Griffith Moon) was released in 2020. Her personal substack is https://substack.com/@shananys Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes a column on PBS SoCal called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs. Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/ Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/ Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats Episode 238 Photo credit: Detail of Mark Steven Greenfield painting “The French Solution” from the Black Madonna Series