‘Mark Bradford: Scorched Earth’ Takes a Close Look at L.A.’s Formative Moments

Sandra Miska

The works of a native Los Angeleno are being celebrated with a one-of-a-kind exhibit at the Hammer Museum. “Mark Bradford: Scorched Earth” will be on view until September 27.

In 1992, Bradford witnessed first-hand the riots in Los Angeles from his studio in Leimert Park.  He channeled the outrage this experience instilled in him into the paintings that make up Scorched Earth, Bradford’s first solo exhibit in L.A.

“As an artist who has long been interested in strategies of mapping and the psychogeography of the city he calls home, Bradford uses his characteristic painting style to excavate the terrain— emotional, political and actual—that he inhabits,” explains the Hammer.

Bradford, who was born in 1961, came into his own as an artist in the mid-1980s, a time the AIDS crisis was taking hold in L.A.  The queer and feminist politics that were developing during this time greatly influenced the artist.  He went on to create works that explore black identity, racism and homophobia.

“This whole show is what I think of as big formative moments,” Bradford recently told the Los Angeles Times.  “In 1992, during the riots, the city was vulnerable. It was covered in cyclone fencing and plywood, where I got so much of my material.  And HIV was happening, and the body became vulnerable. It has to do with transition.  We had to rethink our sex practices.  And we had to rethink our city.”

A highlight of Bradford’s exhibit will be The Lobby Wall, which features a map of HIV diagnoses in the United States as of 2009.

Tropes of Black American stand-up comedy are incorporated in Bradford’s multimedia installation “Spiderman,” which was partly inspired by Eddie Murphy’s controversial 1983 concert film “Delirious,” that is remembered for the comic’s searing commentary on sexuality.

Mark Bradford has both a B.F.A. and an M.F.A. from the California Institute of Arts.  In 2015, he was presented with the National Medal of the Arts.  He currently lives in the West Adams neighborhood with his partner Allan DiCastro, an activist.

“Mark Bradford: Scorched Earth” is on view until September 27 at the Hammer Museum on the campus of UCLA.