She's Gotta Have It (2017–…): Season 2, Episode 4 - Episode #2.4 - full transcript
♪ One, two, one, two, free ♪
♪ Where Brooklyn at?
Where Brooklyn at? ♪
♪ There's a girl that I once knew ♪
♪ Who often had a friend a friend or two ♪
♪ She gave them time,
love of wit and rhyme ♪
♪ Sublime ♪
♪ They would come from far away ♪
♪ And often gather there all day ♪
♪ To show their love
And see which one would stay ♪
The Darling clan never made it out
to the black Mecca of Oak Bluffs.
Stokes didn't care to socialize
with what he called...
High-yella, high-siddity,
upper-middle, ass-acting,
wannabe-talented-tenth,
Jack-and-Jill,
summer-vacation-going,
no-dirt-under-their-nails,
having-paper-bag-test,
taking-fur-coat-
in-the-summertime-wearing,
thinking-that-they-better-than-us,
regular-ass-Negro Negros.
Ain't that some shit?
Can you believe it?
In just one hour,
we'll be in the Martha's Vineyard.
Nation Time, here we come.
Ten thousand Gs, here we come.
Studio space, fresh air,
and hot clandestine hook-ups,
here you come.
- Hook-ups? What?
- Yeah. I mean, we work,
but Nation Time
is for the fine and fucking.
Not this week.
I'm just blessed to get out of Brooklyn
and away from Opal, you know?
I feel like I can still smell her skin.
You know what they say:
the best way to get over someone
is to get on your art game.
Literally no one says that!
- It's a thing.
- It's not a thing.
I've been thinking about adding
all this nature to my work
by using, like,
raw materials or something.
- Yeah.
- Yeah. What are you gonna do?
Well, I told you I'm trying to mount
this solo show this summer.
But I have no idea
what the theme is gonna be yet,
so I'll probably try to figure that out.
But at the very least,
I'm gonna explore the vineyard.
Okay, but we came here to work,
so you can always like,
- come back to the vineyard.
- I know, but it's Martha's Vineyard!
- Yeah?
- You gotta hide it, though.
From the scavengers.
- Wow, is this it?
- Yeah.
Nation Time,
the black artist Shangri-La-La-La.
Yes!
Aha.
- Hello, ladies.
- Hi.
Ebon Cuddy, Nation Time
program director. Welcome.
And welcome back, Dutch.
Hi!
Mr. Cuddy, another amazing tie.
It's true.
- I'm Nola Darling.
- Yes.
I know all of Nation Time's
retreat fellows.
Lots of repellent,
pinot grigio, and no red meat, am I right?
Facts!
Now, this is your first time
in Martha's Vineyard, if I'm not mistaken.
- It is.
- And how do you like it?
It's really beautiful here.
Mm.
We have provided for you here 55 acres
of the most lush and creative land
that we could find.
We want to inspire these young minds. Hm?
Well, I feel inspired already.
Your quarters.
Okay.
Well?
It is...
perfect.
Remember, we're not here
to seek perfection.
We're only here to seek truth.
- Hi.
- Taking in the memories?
- Indeed.
- Indeed.
What has Dutch told you
about her time here?
Well, I just remember when she came back
with all this
fucking stunning...
next-level work.
It had a huge impact on Dutch.
Okay, and what are you looking for?
I don't know. I just feel like I'm...
I'm more open now.
So I'm trying to remain... open?
- This was the perfect time to hear that...
- Yeah?
...because I've saved the best for last.
Hmm?
This is your solitary space to create.
All mine?
Some fellows stay holed up in here
the entire time, but...
these seven days are yours.
Free from the distractions of the outside,
a safe environment with which to play
with all of your muses.
This is phenomenal.
I'm gonna move in here.
Well, I look forward to what you have
to create here, Nola.
Thank you.
I'll leave you to it.
Yes.
Welcome to Nation Time.
You're the welcoming committee?
Oh, I'm official.
It's my second year.
- I say it's me.
- That's true.
- Yes.
- 'Sup with this guy?
Oh, boy.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Can you believe five years ago
we were toiling in sketch pads
and paints at Pratt?
And now we are here with the masters.
Look.
Even Re.Mark.Able,
king of the insta-ratti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti
art hacks, is here.
Good for him.
All ages, all disciplines,
all backgrounds, all black.
I don't know how I got here,
but I'm all in.
And by the way, scrumptious
crumpets and trumpets over there.
- He's single.
- That's fine.
Ain't he? If I were single
and not in a loving relationship.
He's looking at you, too.
- So what? I am here to work.
- No, thank you.
Preeta, my gallerist,
reps him too.
I'll introduce you
at our portfolio showing.
Oh, you mean the portfolio showing
that I completely forgot about?
That's cool. It's cool.
It's cool. It's cool.
Tomorrow, I am ready and inspired
to get to work.
- Good. But for tonight, Olu!
- Oh, wow.
- Oh, you are trash.
- Just saying welcome.
I just have not been single
for over two years.
It's like riding a bike, I heard.
You've got this. Get it together. Go.
- Dutch.
- Hi.
- So good to see you, love.
- Good to see you.
- How's your work coming along?
- Good.
Yeah, I think I'm gonna add all this,
like, nature to my work.
- This is my Brooklyn bud, Nola Darling.
- Nice to meet you, Olu.
It's nice to meet you, Nola.
- Olu makes sculptures.
- Out of cow dung.
You know my work?
Mm-hmm.
You use cow dung to reflect the prickly
relationship between the black male visage
and the white gaze's disgust
and enticement of it.
Aha.
You da shit.
Clever.
I'm just gonna go check
this patch of grass over there.
I... The wind is, like, coming this way
and you smell really good.
What is that?
Is that eucalyptus and lavender or...
- It's black soap.
- Oh.
Clears all that crap up.
Literally.
And what do you work in?
Oils.
More recently, photography.
Whatever mediums call out to me.
What's calling your name these days?
What is this? The Inquisition?
I have a week to figure that out.
True.
Well, once you're inspired...
let me know.
Will do.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Focus.
Focus, Nola. Focus.
Hi, Nola.
Thank you!
Good black geniuses and our
generous patrons at large, thank you.
- And welcome to...
- Nation Time!
Yes.
Our amazing talents, you...
you have been chosen
to explore your work here.
Here, without the outside pressure
to define your work
through the limited prism of race.
Now, I pray you all use
your time here wisely.
Let me introduce to you
Nation Time's largest benefactor,
Mr. Dean Haggin.
Yes.
Dean.
Thank you, Ebon Cuddy,
my soldier in the struggle.
- Boom.
- Boom!
Thank you, sisters.
Thank you, brothers.
I would just like to say
that there is no greater cause to support
than the artistic expression
of the black artist.
Amen.
Which, can we all agree, is the last
great bastion of black resistance
to white supremacy.
Yeah.
But y'all don't need me to tell y'all
the real deal.
What y'all need is Nation Time.
- Nation Time!
- Nation Time!
- Uhuru.
- Uhuru!
Yes.
- What the hell was that?
- Dean Haggin, everybody.
Haggin's coming over here.
- What?
- Enjoy!
Coming for you, girl.
Perv alert. We out.
- Come on.
- We gotta go.
Good luck.
Bye, Nola.
What's up, Nola?
I just wanted to congratulate you
on being selected for the retreat
this year.
I can't wait to see
what you're gonna create
in this Eden of black solitude
and intelligence.
You all right?
That's all right, sis. I know. I...
I tend to overwhelm.
Dutch!
Oh, God.
All right, okay, breathe. Breathe.
Okay, drink this.
Breathe.
What... the fuck is he doing here?
What the fuck is he doing here?
I don't know.
Mmm...
Mm-hmm.
♪ Hold your head up, oh ♪
♪ Hold your head up, oh ♪
♪ Hold your head up, oh ♪
♪ Hold your head up ♪
♪ Hold your head up, oh ♪
Bitch, who are you
about to burn at the stake?
I popped up at the crack of dawn
with an idea.
Use wood, like actual sticks,
to create dimension.
Like! Like, like, like, like.
Being here, you know, just...
Shit just flows, you know?
I do not know. That sounds great.
Feel like that run-in with Dean
kinda blocked me.
Well, don't let it.
You said you've got work to do, right?
Yeah. You're right.
I think I'm gonna grab
one of these Nation Time bikes
and head on over to Oak Bluffs
and try to awaken the muses.
All right.
Well, don't stay out too late.
See you at dinner, right?
Thanks, Mom.
May I take your picture?
Sure.
Y'all look like goddesses.
- Thank you! You look beautiful.
- Thank you.
♪ I'm walking in rhythm ♪
♪ Singing my song ♪
♪ Thinking 'bout my baby ♪
♪ Trying to get home ♪
♪ It's been so long... ♪
- Hello!
- Hello.
- How are y'all today?
- Good.
We're blessed. How about you?
I'm a little thirsty.
- Could I trouble you for a glass of water?
- Sure.
I'm Joseph Petiport and this is my wife
of about a hundred years,
Mrs. Myra Petiport.
It's nice to meet you both.
- You've never been to Oak Bluffs?
- Nope.
Well, blacks and Oak Bluffs,
we had humble beginnings,
but we sure made it something.
The first blacks to come here worked
as indentured servants
for white vacationers.
Then black whalers came in
and out of the town.
Then, after World War II,
old Adam Clayton Powell came.
And he put the word out
in the black papers, said "Come!"
Oak Bluffs was a place
a Negro could feel like a man.
And a woman.
And so we came.
I think I've taken up enough of your time.
I should get going. I'm trying to catch
the sunset at Menemsha Beach.
I hear it's amazing.
That's all the way up the island.
It'll take you a month of Sundays
to get there that way.
You might as well hitch a ride.
♪ I'm tired and so all alone ♪
♪ I've traveled so very far ♪
♪ I've got to get back home ♪
♪ Got to get back home ♪
♪ Walking in rhythm ♪
♪ Moving in sound... ♪
My name's Carrie Mae Weems, and this
piece is called The Shape of Things.
My name is Tatyana Fazlalizadeh,
and the name of my piece is
You're the nigger, baby. It isn't me.
And Lady Liberty.
My name is Tschabalala Self
and my piece is Milk Chocolate.
My name is Doreen Garner
and my piece is Saartjie's Triangle.
My name is LaToya Ruby Frazier,
and these are my pieces
from Flint is Family series.
My name is Titus Kaphar,
and this is my piece, Seeing Through Time.
Yeah, my name is Re.Mark.Able.
That's Re, dot, Mark, dot Able.
And this is my piece, Duality.
Yeah.
My name is Juliana Huxtable
and my piece is called Transexual Empire.
My name is Amy Sherald
and this painting is called
She Always Believed the Good
In Those She Loved.
I have to ask,
because it's such amazing work,
tell us the story of how you, um,
got to do the beautiful piece
of Mrs. Obama.
I won the National Portrait Gallery
competition,
and they gave the Obamas
a portfolio of 21 artists to choose from.
Um, they shortlisted me to five.
I went to the White House
and interviewed with her and Barack
and I found out two months later
she chose me to paint her.
What's really interesting about it is
how it fits in this long history
of portraiture.
There are not a lot of black images
in the National Portrait Gallery.
And there are nothing painted the way
you painted that, right, for sure.
And so, you walk in and all of a sudden
it hits you in the face, it stands out.
It's like, "You have to notice me.
I don't give a fuck if you like me,
but you have to notice me."
Snacks, oh, snacks!
Hmm!
I included dimension and texture,
especially here,
so you can feel the fluidity,
the motion of the human tissue,
inspired by Henrietta Lacks,
the HeLa cells, and her non-consensual
contribution to science.
And yet, the continuity of her gift grows.
I feel that, Dutch, it's very potent.
Thank you.
- Impressive.
- Thank you.
I want you to meet a friend of mine.
Her name is Nola Darling.
- We went to school together.
- All right.
She's great stuff. Yeah.
Where does she live?
Brooklyn. Yeah.
- Local.
- Yeah, she is. She's really great.
- Excellent.
- Yeah.
So, really it's my interpretation of me
right now.
An unsung black female voice.
Self-portraiture.
Self portrait of a young artist.
Really it's more of an experiment,
you know...
a work-in-progress, that kind of thing.
- No.
- Hey.
Nola, this is my rep, Preeta Shankar.
Hi. Nola Darling.
- Lovely to meet you.
- Lovely to meet you as well.
Shall we get some wine?
Yeah.
- Hi.
- Hi.
I'm Carrie, Carrie Mae Weems.
I love you.
I don't know you. I...
I love your work and you...
know my name.
I do, absolutely.
This is... This is not my best work.
I got a little distracted this week,
but...
Yeah.
- It's not easy, right?
- No.
Being here
with all these prolific artists,
this amazing work. I mean...
But I am a little better than this.
No, you're good.
You know I'm on the Board
with Creative Capital.
I was on that panel and I put
your name forward. I vouched for you.
- You did?
- Absolutely.
I loved the samples.
I saw something in the work
that I thought was amazing
and fresh and innovative,
which is the thing that I'm looking for.
And you should have made it
to the second round.
- You didn't, but you should have.
- That's very generous.
And so the moment that, you know,
I had this opportunity
to think about Nation Time,
I thought, well, I have to invite Nola.
So, you're here.
Enjoy it.
That's really generous of you.
Sorry if I'm a massive disappointment.
You're not a disappointment at all.
You are here.
And enjoy every minute of it.
Be here, be present, and do this work,
make this work.
Okay.
- You're fabulous.
- Thank you.
- Beautiful. And you look fabulous.
- It's the only thing I got right.
I love it.
It's hot!
Thank you.
Have a great, great time.
- Peace. I'll see you later. Okay.
- Okay.
Between Titus and Tatiana, I am undone.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
How's it going for you?
It's good, but tense.
I figured it was time for a drink
or fresh air.
- Fresh air is good.
- Mm.
Walk with me to the beach.
Okay.
I've been here three times.
I've never shown my work.
I don't want it interrupting my process.
I come to be with the work, not to be
with other people's opinions of it.
I guess it is my signature style.
Though I never meant for it to be
a commentary on the fear of blackness.
Well, I'm clear.
I make work for my people, you know?
I want to have the impact
of Kerry James Marshall.
I want black folks to see my work
and feel loved.
Black Americans get so caught up
speaking to and for each other.
And what's wrong with that?
It seems constricting, no?
I mean, it's our binding.
Black folks in America are bound together,
you know?
The history of how we got here
and being here made it so.
Why do you think we need
a separate space on an island
for black artists to begin with?
I don't know.
- But I love the cuisine.
- I'm for real.
You know we can't be black out there
and not feel it.
I wonder if my dad was right,
if we should have just
been separated and left things alone,
you know?
And not fight for integration?
Bloody hell, Nola.
I'm just saying, at one point we had
our own great businesses that we owned.
Yeah, but theirs were better.
Because of white supremacy. And then
we thought we could, what, integrate
into these racist institutions
and turn out okay?
It's the only way
to level the playing field.
There's no such thing
as a black planet, Nola.
Like, what the fuck
is Dean Haggin doing here?
I think you're the only one who
cares where the money's coming from.
Really?
Yeah.
But it might also be what makes you
so damn special.
- It rubbed off a little bit?
- It did, it rubbed off on me.
Ladies and gentlemen,
my good black geniuses, yes.
It is invigorating to have you all
collected here in our gathering space
one last time.
Our artists, their light, their work,
their passion has inspired us all.
Let's give them a round of applause,
shall we?
Absolutely.
And now, let's all take our seats
and have one final
celebratory meal together.
To Nation Time!
- Nation Time!
- Yes!
Eat, drink, be merry, please.
I love that they know what kind of wine
I love, you know what I mean?
I know.
- Full bodied?
- Full bodied.
Excuse me, everyone.
I'd like to take a moment to shout out
our patron,
Mr. Dean Haggin.
Or as I've unfortunately come to know him,
Onyx.
Onyx is a man who not only appropriates
black culture,
but defaces the work
of black women artists,
namely my very personal,
My Name Isn't campaign.
He's a hack, a fucking fraud.
So how does someone like Onyx
even come to Nation Time?
The infamous poet Amiri Baraka
would be turning over in his grave.
If it's Nation Time,
then what the fuck are you doing here?
What,
just because you foot the bill?
You think you can buy us?
Nope! Come on, guys!
Join me in tossing out
this succubus trash.
It's time to get together.
It's time to make one strong,
black energy space.
It's Nation Time! It's Nation Time!
Come on!
- It's Nation Time!
- It's Nation Time...
Now, I think what the sister means to say
is that I do not deface artwork.
I deface white folks' property.
I plastered "G" all over Brooklyn
to scare whitey from gentrifying black
and brown spaces.
Know what I mean?
For reals.
On my dead moms.
Who is not really dead,
but she don't recognize my Nubian wife
and my mixed-race child,
so she's dead to me.
And that's dead ass.
Know what I mean?
And I would like to say one more thing:
There's so much division
and friction and...
problems in the world.
And I just feel like, you know, racism...
Pah! It could get the bozak.
I have a story that actually pertains
to this matter
that I would like to share with y'all.
See, my great-grandfather,
he died in the Holocaust.
Yeah.
He got drunk and fell out the guard tower.
It's sad.
But, even generations later,
it hurts.
It leaves a very emotional
boo-boo
inside me.
And I just wanted to share that, 'cause...
it's Nation Time.
Thank you. Know what I mean?
Nola...
Darling, I enjoyed your performance.
That was... bold.
I like bold.
Stay in touch.
I can show you
one of my favorite integrated spots.
- Integrate this pussy.
- Yeah!
- You did good, real good.
- Mm-hmm.
Uh-oh. Dean, 12 o'clock.
Dutch, right?
- Aha... That's me.
- Powerful work, my sister.
Bigger, blacker, and uncut?
Mind if I have a minute with Nola?
Nola, you good?
Yeah, girl, I'm good.
I'm gonna be right over there.
- Nola.
- G for gentrification, huh?
I should've known that was you.
You know my friend Divine
spent 18 months in jail for that shit?
My bad.
Nola, I'm sorry if you misunderstood
my being at Nation Time.
I just wanted to help the cause.
You know what, sis?
I thought what you said
was really on point.
- You did?
- No dis, now.
Matter of fact,
I was so inspired by what you said,
I thought...
"She shouldn't have to take
this cracker's money."
So, I'm gonna donate your $10,000 stipend
to the strong black soul sisters
at Spelman College.
'Cause, you know,
a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
Peace and love, sis.
Ashay.
- Later, my sister.
- For real?
Here, let me get that for you.
- Thank you.
- I'll take your bag, too.
There is nothing
that's more important than art.
Art is the basis of our deepest humanity,
and it's through that that we articulate
our deepest concerns,
our deepest beliefs,
and our most profound ideas
about who we are.
And not only are
these amazing young artists
dealing with notions of social justice
as the core of the work,
they're also extraordinary artists
of invention.
In 1984, at a lecture,
I heard the president of Bank of America
give a talk,
and it was on the changing demographics
that were going
to be affecting this country.
And he said something like,
by the year 2020, 2025 or so,
that this would be a country
that would be primarily
a majority minority country.
And now here we are,
some 30-some-odd years later,
where this extraordinary tide,
this extraordinary shift
is indeed finally in the making
for all to see.
I think that there's something dynamic
that's going on,
something extraordinary that's going on,
something powerful that's going on.
And the ways in which artists
are articulating this
is also really incredible for this moment.
♪ Where Brooklyn at?
Where Brooklyn at? ♪
♪ There's a girl that I once knew ♪
♪ Who often had a friend a friend or two ♪
♪ She gave them time,
love of wit and rhyme ♪
♪ Sublime ♪
♪ They would come from far away ♪
♪ And often gather there all day ♪
♪ To show their love
And see which one would stay ♪
The Darling clan never made it out
to the black Mecca of Oak Bluffs.
Stokes didn't care to socialize
with what he called...
High-yella, high-siddity,
upper-middle, ass-acting,
wannabe-talented-tenth,
Jack-and-Jill,
summer-vacation-going,
no-dirt-under-their-nails,
having-paper-bag-test,
taking-fur-coat-
in-the-summertime-wearing,
thinking-that-they-better-than-us,
regular-ass-Negro Negros.
Ain't that some shit?
Can you believe it?
In just one hour,
we'll be in the Martha's Vineyard.
Nation Time, here we come.
Ten thousand Gs, here we come.
Studio space, fresh air,
and hot clandestine hook-ups,
here you come.
- Hook-ups? What?
- Yeah. I mean, we work,
but Nation Time
is for the fine and fucking.
Not this week.
I'm just blessed to get out of Brooklyn
and away from Opal, you know?
I feel like I can still smell her skin.
You know what they say:
the best way to get over someone
is to get on your art game.
Literally no one says that!
- It's a thing.
- It's not a thing.
I've been thinking about adding
all this nature to my work
by using, like,
raw materials or something.
- Yeah.
- Yeah. What are you gonna do?
Well, I told you I'm trying to mount
this solo show this summer.
But I have no idea
what the theme is gonna be yet,
so I'll probably try to figure that out.
But at the very least,
I'm gonna explore the vineyard.
Okay, but we came here to work,
so you can always like,
- come back to the vineyard.
- I know, but it's Martha's Vineyard!
- Yeah?
- You gotta hide it, though.
From the scavengers.
- Wow, is this it?
- Yeah.
Nation Time,
the black artist Shangri-La-La-La.
Yes!
Aha.
- Hello, ladies.
- Hi.
Ebon Cuddy, Nation Time
program director. Welcome.
And welcome back, Dutch.
Hi!
Mr. Cuddy, another amazing tie.
It's true.
- I'm Nola Darling.
- Yes.
I know all of Nation Time's
retreat fellows.
Lots of repellent,
pinot grigio, and no red meat, am I right?
Facts!
Now, this is your first time
in Martha's Vineyard, if I'm not mistaken.
- It is.
- And how do you like it?
It's really beautiful here.
Mm.
We have provided for you here 55 acres
of the most lush and creative land
that we could find.
We want to inspire these young minds. Hm?
Well, I feel inspired already.
Your quarters.
Okay.
Well?
It is...
perfect.
Remember, we're not here
to seek perfection.
We're only here to seek truth.
- Hi.
- Taking in the memories?
- Indeed.
- Indeed.
What has Dutch told you
about her time here?
Well, I just remember when she came back
with all this
fucking stunning...
next-level work.
It had a huge impact on Dutch.
Okay, and what are you looking for?
I don't know. I just feel like I'm...
I'm more open now.
So I'm trying to remain... open?
- This was the perfect time to hear that...
- Yeah?
...because I've saved the best for last.
Hmm?
This is your solitary space to create.
All mine?
Some fellows stay holed up in here
the entire time, but...
these seven days are yours.
Free from the distractions of the outside,
a safe environment with which to play
with all of your muses.
This is phenomenal.
I'm gonna move in here.
Well, I look forward to what you have
to create here, Nola.
Thank you.
I'll leave you to it.
Yes.
Welcome to Nation Time.
You're the welcoming committee?
Oh, I'm official.
It's my second year.
- I say it's me.
- That's true.
- Yes.
- 'Sup with this guy?
Oh, boy.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Can you believe five years ago
we were toiling in sketch pads
and paints at Pratt?
And now we are here with the masters.
Look.
Even Re.Mark.Able,
king of the insta-ratti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti
art hacks, is here.
Good for him.
All ages, all disciplines,
all backgrounds, all black.
I don't know how I got here,
but I'm all in.
And by the way, scrumptious
crumpets and trumpets over there.
- He's single.
- That's fine.
Ain't he? If I were single
and not in a loving relationship.
He's looking at you, too.
- So what? I am here to work.
- No, thank you.
Preeta, my gallerist,
reps him too.
I'll introduce you
at our portfolio showing.
Oh, you mean the portfolio showing
that I completely forgot about?
That's cool. It's cool.
It's cool. It's cool.
Tomorrow, I am ready and inspired
to get to work.
- Good. But for tonight, Olu!
- Oh, wow.
- Oh, you are trash.
- Just saying welcome.
I just have not been single
for over two years.
It's like riding a bike, I heard.
You've got this. Get it together. Go.
- Dutch.
- Hi.
- So good to see you, love.
- Good to see you.
- How's your work coming along?
- Good.
Yeah, I think I'm gonna add all this,
like, nature to my work.
- This is my Brooklyn bud, Nola Darling.
- Nice to meet you, Olu.
It's nice to meet you, Nola.
- Olu makes sculptures.
- Out of cow dung.
You know my work?
Mm-hmm.
You use cow dung to reflect the prickly
relationship between the black male visage
and the white gaze's disgust
and enticement of it.
Aha.
You da shit.
Clever.
I'm just gonna go check
this patch of grass over there.
I... The wind is, like, coming this way
and you smell really good.
What is that?
Is that eucalyptus and lavender or...
- It's black soap.
- Oh.
Clears all that crap up.
Literally.
And what do you work in?
Oils.
More recently, photography.
Whatever mediums call out to me.
What's calling your name these days?
What is this? The Inquisition?
I have a week to figure that out.
True.
Well, once you're inspired...
let me know.
Will do.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Focus.
Focus, Nola. Focus.
Hi, Nola.
Thank you!
Good black geniuses and our
generous patrons at large, thank you.
- And welcome to...
- Nation Time!
Yes.
Our amazing talents, you...
you have been chosen
to explore your work here.
Here, without the outside pressure
to define your work
through the limited prism of race.
Now, I pray you all use
your time here wisely.
Let me introduce to you
Nation Time's largest benefactor,
Mr. Dean Haggin.
Yes.
Dean.
Thank you, Ebon Cuddy,
my soldier in the struggle.
- Boom.
- Boom!
Thank you, sisters.
Thank you, brothers.
I would just like to say
that there is no greater cause to support
than the artistic expression
of the black artist.
Amen.
Which, can we all agree, is the last
great bastion of black resistance
to white supremacy.
Yeah.
But y'all don't need me to tell y'all
the real deal.
What y'all need is Nation Time.
- Nation Time!
- Nation Time!
- Uhuru.
- Uhuru!
Yes.
- What the hell was that?
- Dean Haggin, everybody.
Haggin's coming over here.
- What?
- Enjoy!
Coming for you, girl.
Perv alert. We out.
- Come on.
- We gotta go.
Good luck.
Bye, Nola.
What's up, Nola?
I just wanted to congratulate you
on being selected for the retreat
this year.
I can't wait to see
what you're gonna create
in this Eden of black solitude
and intelligence.
You all right?
That's all right, sis. I know. I...
I tend to overwhelm.
Dutch!
Oh, God.
All right, okay, breathe. Breathe.
Okay, drink this.
Breathe.
What... the fuck is he doing here?
What the fuck is he doing here?
I don't know.
Mmm...
Mm-hmm.
♪ Hold your head up, oh ♪
♪ Hold your head up, oh ♪
♪ Hold your head up, oh ♪
♪ Hold your head up ♪
♪ Hold your head up, oh ♪
Bitch, who are you
about to burn at the stake?
I popped up at the crack of dawn
with an idea.
Use wood, like actual sticks,
to create dimension.
Like! Like, like, like, like.
Being here, you know, just...
Shit just flows, you know?
I do not know. That sounds great.
Feel like that run-in with Dean
kinda blocked me.
Well, don't let it.
You said you've got work to do, right?
Yeah. You're right.
I think I'm gonna grab
one of these Nation Time bikes
and head on over to Oak Bluffs
and try to awaken the muses.
All right.
Well, don't stay out too late.
See you at dinner, right?
Thanks, Mom.
May I take your picture?
Sure.
Y'all look like goddesses.
- Thank you! You look beautiful.
- Thank you.
♪ I'm walking in rhythm ♪
♪ Singing my song ♪
♪ Thinking 'bout my baby ♪
♪ Trying to get home ♪
♪ It's been so long... ♪
- Hello!
- Hello.
- How are y'all today?
- Good.
We're blessed. How about you?
I'm a little thirsty.
- Could I trouble you for a glass of water?
- Sure.
I'm Joseph Petiport and this is my wife
of about a hundred years,
Mrs. Myra Petiport.
It's nice to meet you both.
- You've never been to Oak Bluffs?
- Nope.
Well, blacks and Oak Bluffs,
we had humble beginnings,
but we sure made it something.
The first blacks to come here worked
as indentured servants
for white vacationers.
Then black whalers came in
and out of the town.
Then, after World War II,
old Adam Clayton Powell came.
And he put the word out
in the black papers, said "Come!"
Oak Bluffs was a place
a Negro could feel like a man.
And a woman.
And so we came.
I think I've taken up enough of your time.
I should get going. I'm trying to catch
the sunset at Menemsha Beach.
I hear it's amazing.
That's all the way up the island.
It'll take you a month of Sundays
to get there that way.
You might as well hitch a ride.
♪ I'm tired and so all alone ♪
♪ I've traveled so very far ♪
♪ I've got to get back home ♪
♪ Got to get back home ♪
♪ Walking in rhythm ♪
♪ Moving in sound... ♪
My name's Carrie Mae Weems, and this
piece is called The Shape of Things.
My name is Tatyana Fazlalizadeh,
and the name of my piece is
You're the nigger, baby. It isn't me.
And Lady Liberty.
My name is Tschabalala Self
and my piece is Milk Chocolate.
My name is Doreen Garner
and my piece is Saartjie's Triangle.
My name is LaToya Ruby Frazier,
and these are my pieces
from Flint is Family series.
My name is Titus Kaphar,
and this is my piece, Seeing Through Time.
Yeah, my name is Re.Mark.Able.
That's Re, dot, Mark, dot Able.
And this is my piece, Duality.
Yeah.
My name is Juliana Huxtable
and my piece is called Transexual Empire.
My name is Amy Sherald
and this painting is called
She Always Believed the Good
In Those She Loved.
I have to ask,
because it's such amazing work,
tell us the story of how you, um,
got to do the beautiful piece
of Mrs. Obama.
I won the National Portrait Gallery
competition,
and they gave the Obamas
a portfolio of 21 artists to choose from.
Um, they shortlisted me to five.
I went to the White House
and interviewed with her and Barack
and I found out two months later
she chose me to paint her.
What's really interesting about it is
how it fits in this long history
of portraiture.
There are not a lot of black images
in the National Portrait Gallery.
And there are nothing painted the way
you painted that, right, for sure.
And so, you walk in and all of a sudden
it hits you in the face, it stands out.
It's like, "You have to notice me.
I don't give a fuck if you like me,
but you have to notice me."
Snacks, oh, snacks!
Hmm!
I included dimension and texture,
especially here,
so you can feel the fluidity,
the motion of the human tissue,
inspired by Henrietta Lacks,
the HeLa cells, and her non-consensual
contribution to science.
And yet, the continuity of her gift grows.
I feel that, Dutch, it's very potent.
Thank you.
- Impressive.
- Thank you.
I want you to meet a friend of mine.
Her name is Nola Darling.
- We went to school together.
- All right.
She's great stuff. Yeah.
Where does she live?
Brooklyn. Yeah.
- Local.
- Yeah, she is. She's really great.
- Excellent.
- Yeah.
So, really it's my interpretation of me
right now.
An unsung black female voice.
Self-portraiture.
Self portrait of a young artist.
Really it's more of an experiment,
you know...
a work-in-progress, that kind of thing.
- No.
- Hey.
Nola, this is my rep, Preeta Shankar.
Hi. Nola Darling.
- Lovely to meet you.
- Lovely to meet you as well.
Shall we get some wine?
Yeah.
- Hi.
- Hi.
I'm Carrie, Carrie Mae Weems.
I love you.
I don't know you. I...
I love your work and you...
know my name.
I do, absolutely.
This is... This is not my best work.
I got a little distracted this week,
but...
Yeah.
- It's not easy, right?
- No.
Being here
with all these prolific artists,
this amazing work. I mean...
But I am a little better than this.
No, you're good.
You know I'm on the Board
with Creative Capital.
I was on that panel and I put
your name forward. I vouched for you.
- You did?
- Absolutely.
I loved the samples.
I saw something in the work
that I thought was amazing
and fresh and innovative,
which is the thing that I'm looking for.
And you should have made it
to the second round.
- You didn't, but you should have.
- That's very generous.
And so the moment that, you know,
I had this opportunity
to think about Nation Time,
I thought, well, I have to invite Nola.
So, you're here.
Enjoy it.
That's really generous of you.
Sorry if I'm a massive disappointment.
You're not a disappointment at all.
You are here.
And enjoy every minute of it.
Be here, be present, and do this work,
make this work.
Okay.
- You're fabulous.
- Thank you.
- Beautiful. And you look fabulous.
- It's the only thing I got right.
I love it.
It's hot!
Thank you.
Have a great, great time.
- Peace. I'll see you later. Okay.
- Okay.
Between Titus and Tatiana, I am undone.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
How's it going for you?
It's good, but tense.
I figured it was time for a drink
or fresh air.
- Fresh air is good.
- Mm.
Walk with me to the beach.
Okay.
I've been here three times.
I've never shown my work.
I don't want it interrupting my process.
I come to be with the work, not to be
with other people's opinions of it.
I guess it is my signature style.
Though I never meant for it to be
a commentary on the fear of blackness.
Well, I'm clear.
I make work for my people, you know?
I want to have the impact
of Kerry James Marshall.
I want black folks to see my work
and feel loved.
Black Americans get so caught up
speaking to and for each other.
And what's wrong with that?
It seems constricting, no?
I mean, it's our binding.
Black folks in America are bound together,
you know?
The history of how we got here
and being here made it so.
Why do you think we need
a separate space on an island
for black artists to begin with?
I don't know.
- But I love the cuisine.
- I'm for real.
You know we can't be black out there
and not feel it.
I wonder if my dad was right,
if we should have just
been separated and left things alone,
you know?
And not fight for integration?
Bloody hell, Nola.
I'm just saying, at one point we had
our own great businesses that we owned.
Yeah, but theirs were better.
Because of white supremacy. And then
we thought we could, what, integrate
into these racist institutions
and turn out okay?
It's the only way
to level the playing field.
There's no such thing
as a black planet, Nola.
Like, what the fuck
is Dean Haggin doing here?
I think you're the only one who
cares where the money's coming from.
Really?
Yeah.
But it might also be what makes you
so damn special.
- It rubbed off a little bit?
- It did, it rubbed off on me.
Ladies and gentlemen,
my good black geniuses, yes.
It is invigorating to have you all
collected here in our gathering space
one last time.
Our artists, their light, their work,
their passion has inspired us all.
Let's give them a round of applause,
shall we?
Absolutely.
And now, let's all take our seats
and have one final
celebratory meal together.
To Nation Time!
- Nation Time!
- Yes!
Eat, drink, be merry, please.
I love that they know what kind of wine
I love, you know what I mean?
I know.
- Full bodied?
- Full bodied.
Excuse me, everyone.
I'd like to take a moment to shout out
our patron,
Mr. Dean Haggin.
Or as I've unfortunately come to know him,
Onyx.
Onyx is a man who not only appropriates
black culture,
but defaces the work
of black women artists,
namely my very personal,
My Name Isn't campaign.
He's a hack, a fucking fraud.
So how does someone like Onyx
even come to Nation Time?
The infamous poet Amiri Baraka
would be turning over in his grave.
If it's Nation Time,
then what the fuck are you doing here?
What,
just because you foot the bill?
You think you can buy us?
Nope! Come on, guys!
Join me in tossing out
this succubus trash.
It's time to get together.
It's time to make one strong,
black energy space.
It's Nation Time! It's Nation Time!
Come on!
- It's Nation Time!
- It's Nation Time...
Now, I think what the sister means to say
is that I do not deface artwork.
I deface white folks' property.
I plastered "G" all over Brooklyn
to scare whitey from gentrifying black
and brown spaces.
Know what I mean?
For reals.
On my dead moms.
Who is not really dead,
but she don't recognize my Nubian wife
and my mixed-race child,
so she's dead to me.
And that's dead ass.
Know what I mean?
And I would like to say one more thing:
There's so much division
and friction and...
problems in the world.
And I just feel like, you know, racism...
Pah! It could get the bozak.
I have a story that actually pertains
to this matter
that I would like to share with y'all.
See, my great-grandfather,
he died in the Holocaust.
Yeah.
He got drunk and fell out the guard tower.
It's sad.
But, even generations later,
it hurts.
It leaves a very emotional
boo-boo
inside me.
And I just wanted to share that, 'cause...
it's Nation Time.
Thank you. Know what I mean?
Nola...
Darling, I enjoyed your performance.
That was... bold.
I like bold.
Stay in touch.
I can show you
one of my favorite integrated spots.
- Integrate this pussy.
- Yeah!
- You did good, real good.
- Mm-hmm.
Uh-oh. Dean, 12 o'clock.
Dutch, right?
- Aha... That's me.
- Powerful work, my sister.
Bigger, blacker, and uncut?
Mind if I have a minute with Nola?
Nola, you good?
Yeah, girl, I'm good.
I'm gonna be right over there.
- Nola.
- G for gentrification, huh?
I should've known that was you.
You know my friend Divine
spent 18 months in jail for that shit?
My bad.
Nola, I'm sorry if you misunderstood
my being at Nation Time.
I just wanted to help the cause.
You know what, sis?
I thought what you said
was really on point.
- You did?
- No dis, now.
Matter of fact,
I was so inspired by what you said,
I thought...
"She shouldn't have to take
this cracker's money."
So, I'm gonna donate your $10,000 stipend
to the strong black soul sisters
at Spelman College.
'Cause, you know,
a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
Peace and love, sis.
Ashay.
- Later, my sister.
- For real?
Here, let me get that for you.
- Thank you.
- I'll take your bag, too.
There is nothing
that's more important than art.
Art is the basis of our deepest humanity,
and it's through that that we articulate
our deepest concerns,
our deepest beliefs,
and our most profound ideas
about who we are.
And not only are
these amazing young artists
dealing with notions of social justice
as the core of the work,
they're also extraordinary artists
of invention.
In 1984, at a lecture,
I heard the president of Bank of America
give a talk,
and it was on the changing demographics
that were going
to be affecting this country.
And he said something like,
by the year 2020, 2025 or so,
that this would be a country
that would be primarily
a majority minority country.
And now here we are,
some 30-some-odd years later,
where this extraordinary tide,
this extraordinary shift
is indeed finally in the making
for all to see.
I think that there's something dynamic
that's going on,
something extraordinary that's going on,
something powerful that's going on.
And the ways in which artists
are articulating this
is also really incredible for this moment.