Danny Simmons, the older brother of Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons of Run-DMC and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, is an internationally acclaimed abstract-expressionist painter, author and the founder and vice chairman of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation and Rush Arts Gallery. The native New Yorker recently became “Philadelphian” and his Hoppin’ The Hoodoo Express: The Art of Danny Simmons exhibition is presently on view at Harlem School of the Arts, where he is hosting an artist talk Thursday (April 6).
What was the draw around moving to Philly?
I think it was a bit of a draw and a push, and the fact that I needed something new that landed me in Philly. I had been in Brooklyn for 30-something years. When I moved there it was a dense artist community. Gentrification took a lot of the authenticity out of New York City and out of its arts community. Over the last 10 years, most of the artists got priced out of the city. I found myself sitting on the boards of art institutions that were serving the larger community but not the community I was interested in – the working class and poor, who didn’t have access to those things. Philadelphia wasn’t too far from New York and my roots. It was different but it felt like New York 15 years ago. Also, I knew there were communities I could open an art gallery in. The other part was the real estate market that allowed me to buy a really great home and open another gallery, Rush Arts Philly, situated in a working class, poor neighborhood. So Rush now has three operating galleries.
What will viewers see at your HSA exhibition?
The works that that I am showing at HSA have a lot of indigenous fabrics collaged in with paintings of mine. They feel like tribal, indigenous or abstract works. I’m really attempting to reach audiences and touch them in ways beyond just intellectually. I want them to feel what I am doing, and travel past the painting tapping into something more personal. I’ve been really careful to give these works some spiritual resonance.
What is thread that runs through your entire body of work?
Modern art basically came from African and indigenous culture, their masks and sculptures. You can see it all through the modernists of Europe, Picasso to Basquiat. There are references and takes on indigenous art. I wanted to tie some of that into my painting, to “re-appropriate” those elements, as a friend put it. I incorporate what the modernists took from Africa and make it more authentic. That has been the thread since I started. I began with figures and found a way to move that feeling into abstraction. I’ve gone even further now, using materials from various cultures to create highly abstract forms of artwork.
Your casual clothing game is distinctly colorful, and you’ve actually taken your art from the canvas straight into our closet. Where do you get your style or signature look?
I didn’t know I had a signature look. But yes, I like to dress artistically. I guess that reflects in the clothing I wear. So yeah, a lot my sport jackets are made out of African materials. But there is a part of my dress that is very counter culture also, referencing the movements of the ‘60s. So between that and pants with patches all over them and psychedelic sweatshirts, yeah – it’s all artistic. I sometimes feel like creating an artistic palette when I get dressed. And sometimes I don’t care.
In our nation’s current political and cultural climate, what role do you think art and the arts should play?
I think artists have always led the way in exposing and talking about issues within society. That’s nothing new. When times get hard, artists respond even more. There was a lot of praise from the arts community for the last administration. There’s political opposition now, and that is also being represented. Art is a catalyst to dialogue, and because of who artists are and the level on which they function, artists talk more about social issues than your average person. They’re more astute and aware, and they follow these things more closely than your average citizen. It all comes out in the artwork. Many artists have changed their styles to reflect current issues because they see them affecting them personally and affecting their landscape, the cultural landscape. There is a lot of activity right now from artists across the board, across races, across cultures. We’re engaging politically. But I do think it’s incumbent upon everybody, not just artists, to have and express a voice in this or any political landscape.
Hoppin’ The Hoodoo Express: The Art of Danny Simmons is on display at Harlem School of the Arts, 645 St. Nicholas Avenue near 144th Street, through May 27