Danielle Kadtke, an Interior and Spatial Design and Art History student at Russell Sage College, has been selected to present research at the College Art Association annual conference, to be held online Feb. 10-13, 2021. 

Kadtke’s recorded presentation, “David Hammons: Racism, the Black Body and Reclaimed Identity” will be available to registered conference participants through March 15, and she will participate in a live online Q&A session about her research on Feb. 12.

“David Hammons is an influential artist who rose out of the Black Power movement and a leading force in the quest to reclaim and define Black art and Black culture in America,” said Kadtke. “His art is incredibly multifaceted. He utilizes historical and cultural references, African traditions and humor to create assemblage and performance-art pieces that are thought-provoking and raw.”  

Her presentation focuses on three works that span Hammons’ career, historical influences on that work and Hammons’ use of art as social and political commentary. 

Kadtke, an Art History minor, began her research in the college’s Contemporary Art Criticism and Theory class taught by Associate Professor of Art History Melody Davis, Ph.D. 

“Pursuing a minor is enriching my major,” said Kadtke. “Art history is something that, from an architectural standpoint, is going to enrich what I do in the future. I also think that it’s enriching my capabilities of looking deeper and understanding different perspectives and cultures.”

At Russell Sage College, Kadtke is Student Council president, Design Club treasurer, an Art History tutor and a student member of the American Society of Interior Designers. She will receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in May 2021. 

Art History Minor Danielle Kadtke's CAA poster

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