This week, Lonnie Holly released his new single ‘That’s Not Art, That’s Not Music’, a reflection on his early experiences in the art world and larger institutions’ apprehension in accepting Black self-taught fine art. The single is taken from his forthcoming album, Tonky, out March 21st on Jagjaguwar and features guest performances by Isaac Brock, Angel Bat Dawid, Billy Woods, Alabaster de Plume, Mary Lattimore, and more.
On the new single, Jagjaguwar shared: Holley is once again joined by Jacknife Lee, The Legendary Ingramettes, Kelly Pratt, and Jordan Katz. Budgie also contributes here. Atop atmospheric horns, flute, and marimba, Holley sings: “Gathering our arts / Gathering our music / Incorporating it into song / Us being rejected / They were saying, ‘That’s not good enough’/Not good enough / That’s not art / That’s not music.”
Stream the single: https://lonnie-holley.lnk.to/thats-not-art-thats-not-music
Since 1979, Holley has devoted his life to the practice of improvisational creativity, following a tumultuous and chaotic childhood. From performance and sound to painting, sculpture, or drawing, Holley’s ecstatic creation process has blossomed from struggle, hardship, and, perhaps most importantly, furious curiosity and biological necessity. Although Holley had been making private musical recordings since the mid-‘80s, his first album, Just Before Music, wasn’t released until 2012 via Dust-to-Digital, when Holley was 62. He celebrated his 75th Birthday earlier this month.
Holley’s sculptures are constructed from found materials in the oldest tradition of African American sculpture; his artwork can be found in the collections of major museums throughout the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, among others; on permanent display in the United Nations; and was previously displayed in the White House Rose Garden.
Although now several years old, this documentary is still an insightful watch into the man and his art.