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She created Some Patterns Hold Weight, a series of fibre quilts using gingham, a white checked fabric that was originally manufactured from cotton picked by slaves in the American South in the 19th century. For the 2018 exhibition, Say It Loud, Massey was inspired by African standards of economic vitality through the lens of the African Diaspora. Nowhere is this more evident than in her 2018 exhibition Say It Loud at Detroit’s Library Street Collective gallery and in 2019’s Proud Lady at Red Bull Arts Detroit. Massey’s art is an observation of class, race and Black culture, viewed through the optics of life in Detroit. Images courtesy of Tiff Massey’s website. Part of Massey’s 2018 exhibition Say It Loud at Library Street Collective, Detroit.
Part of Massey’s 2018 Say It Loud exhibition at Library Street Collective, Detroit Detail view of blackish-grey steel sculptures bordering the gold and brass sculptures in Everyday Arsenal (Bling Edition). Referring to a series of brass jewelry she created, Massey stated, “ It’s all about that moment when you’re really feeling yourself.”įrom left to right: Center detail view of brass sculptures from Everyday Arsenal (Bling Edition) series, 2018. In particular, dookie chains, the gold rope chains of varying lengths worn by rappers and considered status symbols in hip hop fashion, oversized hoop earrings, four-finger rings and chunky stack bracelets all impacted her. She counts the iconic material culture of 1980s hip-hop as well as the custom jewelry her dad bought when she was a kid as major influences. It was recorded and produced by the Detroit record label, Rainy City Music, and the song was included on the anthology album, Forward: 20 Years Rainy City Music 1996-2016 in 2017.Īn internationally recognized artist, Massey’s oeuvre ranges from wearable sculpture, sculptural jewelry, to large-scale public works and performance pieces. While a Visual Arts Fellow at the Kresge Foundation in 2015, Massey made a music video with a group of friends to accompany the song. Image courtesy of American Craft Magazine Fist photo with close-up of Massey’s signature four finger rings. What makes a city? What nurtures a city?įrom left to right: I’m Still Down For You, portrait of Tiff Massey in font of a section of Detroit’s skyline wearing jewelry she designed and made by hand, including a necklace with her signature form: the coil. The native tongue is lacking in the conversation. Everyone is talking about Detroit, but no one wants to talk about the real issues surrounding the city. There's a cover story, and then there's the real thing what’s happening on the ground. ‘"Detroit Is Black," is based on a previous work written in 2014 entitled "I SEE WHAT YOU DOIN." Speaking after the song’s release on January 12, 2016, Massey explained to the online music retailer Bandcamp: I wanted to comment on what was truly taking place in Detroit at that moment, which unfortunately are current events. In an original 2015 song, “Detroit Is Black,” Massey blasted her contempt for gentrification and its effects that have not solved Detroit’s ongoing problems in a city that is 83% Black. In addition to being an artist, she is also an adjunct professor of metalsmithing at Macomb Community College in Macomb County, Michigan. Massey earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Eastern Michigan University in 2005, then attended Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, an upper-middle-class white suburb, where she became the first black woman to graduate with a Master of Fine Arts from Cranbrook’s metalsmithing program in 2011. Tiff Massey, wearing hair extensions featured in Proud Lady. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, 10. Her body of work and commitment to empowering the Detroit community exemplify the UN Sustainable Development Goals 4. She unapologetically attacks what she sees as the “fetishization of Detroit” in the wake of the city’s rebirth as a hip and trendy urban art center. Massey is critical of the gentrification that has made Detroit a profitable tourist attraction and local arts destination. “I definitely have mad respect for artists who haven’t forgotten about their communities and keep hold of the ethics of their culture,” she asserts in an interview with Absolut Art. Unafraid to provoke conversations about race, the Black experience, gender inequalities and her identity as a woman of colour in her work, Massey also expresses deep love for the city of her birth. Bridging art with activism as a means of social commentary drives the work of Detroit-born and bred interdisciplinary artist, scultptural jewelry designer, and metalsmith, Tiff Massey (b.
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