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Ode to ‘Dena

On June 10, nine Villagers took Metrorail to see the new exhibit “Ode to ‘Dena: Black Artistic Legacies” at the California African American Museum (CAAM) in Exposition Park in LA. The exhibit pays tribute to the black artistic community of Altadena that was devastated by the Eaton Fire. 

The Metro trip was easy and uneventful. There was one quick line change, from A to E, at the Grand Arts/Bunker Hill station and shortly afterwards we debarked at the Expo Park/USC station,  and walked to CAAM through the rose garden.

Founded in 1977, CAAM has been at its current location since 1984 and recently completed a $5-million building upgrade. The atrium is a tranquil, sunlit area with floor to ceiling murals and plenty of seating for contemplative reflection. 

“Ode to ‘Dena” features 25 well-known and community artists. Prominent names include Charles White and Betty Saar. It also includes work created by multiple generations of families including Keni and Peggy Davis, their daughter Kenturah Davis and her 2-year-old son, Micah Davis O’Connor. We had a guided tour led by Marie Jennings, CAAM’s Gallery Educator. True to her job title, she was knowledgeable and very accommodating with our questions. 

Another exhibit “Really Free: The Radical Art of Nellie Mae Rowe” was a joyful explosion of color and self-expression, a welcome counterpoint to the poignancy of ‘Dena. This is the first major exhibition of Rowe’s art in more than twenty years.

Afterwards, we stopped for lunch at Trimana Grill, Market and Coffee Bar in the California Science Center. The benefit of eating here is that it’s conveniently close to CAAM and has lots of shaded outdoor seating which provided us an opportunity to talk about the exhibits we’d just seen and share our opinions and impressions. 

Before lunch, while we were still in CAAM’s atrium, we noticed a metal sculpture that was outside near the Museum entrance. It looked like a person in a space suit, walking and reaching forward. When we left the Museum, guided by our growling stomachs, we made a beeline for Trimana Grill and forgot to look closely at the sculpture. Too bad! 

After the trip I did a bit of googling and realized it’s an eco-kinetic solar sculpture by Charles Dickson, an African Diaspora sculptor based in the Los Angeles area. Titled “Wishing On A Star,” the sculpture holds a dowsing/divining rod held up to the sky to locate a starburst of imagination, rather than water or buried treasure. Made of all recycled materials, it collects and funnels rain water and turns in the wind. And we missed it!  If any Villagers would like to participate in a second trip to CAAM in July (before a couple of the exhibits close), let me know. I’d welcome the opportunity to go back and view the sculpture closeup. My contact information is in the Village Membership Directory.

I’ve lived in the Pasadena area since 1982 - five early years in Altadena and the last 29 years in northeast Pasadena, near the Altadena border.  “Ode to ‘Dena” felt personal to me, like the loss of a dearly loved neighbor whose proximity and charm I took for granted. The exhibit is a meaningful tribute to the talent, richness and depth of the community it honors.