Public Art Fund Talks: Clifford Prince King and Lyle Ashton Harris

Watch a conversation between artists Clifford Prince King and Lyle Ashton Harris on the occasion of King’s first public art exhibition, "Let me know when you get home." The discussion explores the intersections between the artists’ practices in photography and collage, examining ideas of gender, sexuality, and belonging.
How does one create a sense of home when far away from the usual sources of comfort? For his Public Art Fund exhibition, King has photographed the people and places he encountered during recent trips to Brazil and the Cayman Islands, and artist residencies on Fire Island, Syracuse, and Vermont. In 13 new works, King captures intimate moments of desire, affection, and self-realization. The conversation will share insights into the making of his new series of photographs, which function as a visual diary. "Let me know when you get home" marks a nomadic period in the artist’s life where the people that surrounded him temporarily became his home.
About the artists
Lyle Ashton Harris has cultivated a diverse artistic practice, ranging from photography and collage to video installation and performance art. His work examines the impact of race, gender, and desire on the contemporary social and cultural dynamic globally through intersections of the personal and the political. Harris has been widely exhibited globally, and his work is represented in the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, and the Tate Modern, among numerous public and private collections internationally. Over three decades, Harris has been on the faculty of New York University, where is a Professor of Art and Art Education.
Clifford Prince King lives and works in New York City. A self-taught photographer and filmmaker, King documents his personal relationships in traditional, everyday settings that speak on his experiences as a Queer Black man. King takes photos of friends, lovers, and acquaintances, many of whom have significant connections to the sites where they are pictured. His recent solo exhibitions include Hush-a-bye Dreams, Gordon Robichaux, New York, NY (2023); Yesterday and Beyond, Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, Long Beach, CA (2023); RASPBERRY BLOW, Stars Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2022); We Used to Lay Together, Light Work, Syracuse, NY (2021); Where Beauty Softens Your Grief, No Moon, Los Angeles (2021), CA. King’s photographs are in the public collections of the Hammer Museum, Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, ICA Miami, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and Studio Museum in Harlem.
About the Talks
Public Art Fund Talks, organized in collaboration with The Cooper Union, connect compelling contemporary artists to a broad public by establishing a dialogue about artistic practices and public art. The Talks series features internationally renowned artists who offer insights into artmaking and its personal, social, and cultural contexts. The core values of creative expression and democratic access to culture and learning shared by both Public Art Fund and The Cooper Union are embodied in this ongoing collaboration. In the spirit of accessibility to the broadest and most diverse public, the Talks are offered free of charge.