In An Old Synagogue, Detroit Artist Tony Rave Brings “Family Matters” to Life
Tony Rave’s one-night only installation will be held at Shylo Arts on the city’s westside — a former synagogue-turned-church-turned-arts space.
On Sunday night at a former synagogue converted into the Shylo Arts space for both local and national artists, Detroit’s own Tony Rave will premiere his one-night only art installation “Family Matters” from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Eschewing the traditional gallery format of leaving the show on display for at least a month, Rave is hoping to create an immersive experience for patrons.
“You see the white innocence in the white porcelain angels that’s been put out into the world.” – Tony Rave, artist
At “Family Matters,” he’ll unveil hundreds of angel and cherub figurines with their white porcelain faces painted in the fashion of a minstrel performer. It makes the venue — first a synagogue built in 1923 before it was a church-turned-arts space — a fitting platform for Rave’s latest body of work, which he describes as “propaganda.”
“You see the white innocence in the white porcelain angels that’s been put out into the world,” says Rave during an interview at the 101.9 WDET studios in Detroit. “Then you have the black face. That’s another thing that’s a white art form, white propaganda — something that was used to manipulate people’s character and mind with this idea of white angels and white godly figures.”
Click the player above to hear the full conversation with Detroit artist Tony Rave about his new installation “Family Matters.”
“Family Matters” opens on Sunday, November 17th at Shylo Arts from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. It’s free and open to the public. More info via the official Facebook event page.
