George Clinton expands his Afrofuturist universe through paintings, now on display in Chicago
<p>As a boundary-pushing pioneer of funk music, George Clinton imagined entire mythologies of beings from outer space.</p><p>He encountered them, too.</p><p>The pivotal moment occurred one morning in 1976, as he and bassist Bootsy Collins drove from Detroit to Clinton’s home in Canada.</p><p>“We saw a laser light, right out of the clouds, hit the ground,” said Clinton, now 85 and living in Florida.</p><p>A few miles away, that same piercing light struck their car, and dripped a mercury-like substance on the hood. Suddenly, it was nighttime, as though they’d sped through hours in mere moments.</p><p>“When we got to my house, my daughter said, ‘Y'all look like you’ve seen a ghost,’” Clinton said.</p><p>That experience is referenced in Clinton’s painting, “In the Daytime, Bobba!,” which depicts a white spaceship hovering over Earth and against an intense blue sky.
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
<p>As a boundary-pushing pioneer of funk music, George Clinton imagined entire mythologies of beings from outer space.</p><p>He encountered them, too.</p><p>The pivotal moment occurred one morning in 1976, as he and bassist Bootsy Collins drove from Detroit to Clinton’s home in Canada.</p><p>“We saw a laser light, right out of the clouds, hit the ground,” said Clinton, now 85 and living in Florida.</p><p>A few miles away, that same piercing light struck their car, and dripped a mercury-like substance on the hood. Suddenly, it was nighttime, as though they’d sped through hours in mere moments.</p><p>“When we got to my house, my daughter said, ‘Y'all look like you’ve seen a ghost,’” Clinton said.</p><p>That experience is referenced in Clinton’s painting, “In the Daytime, Bobba!,” which depicts a white spaceship hovering over Earth and against an intense blue sky. It is displayed with other works in his art show, “<a class="Link" href="https://marianeibrahim.com/exhibitions/123-george-clinton-mothership/overview/" target="_blank" ><u>Mothership</u></a>,” which opened Saturday at Mariane Ibrahim Gallery in West Town, and remains on view through Sept. 5.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-f70000" name="image-f70000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/40f9aec/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7008x3933+0+369/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F65%2Fa0%2F08182c4f4b7da3e76b4db60e9461%2Fgeorgeclinton-260728-35-1.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5f15830/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7008x3933+0+369/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F65%2Fa0%2F08182c4f4b7da3e76b4db60e9461%2Fgeorgeclinton-260728-35-1.jpg 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0c42d41/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7008x3933+0+369/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F65%2Fa0%2F08182c4f4b7da3e76b4db60e9461%2Fgeorgeclinton-260728-35-1.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="George Clinton’s “Digital Dabbling”" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0c42d41/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7008x3933+0+369/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F65%2Fa0%2F08182c4f4b7da3e76b4db60e9461%2Fgeorgeclinton-260728-35-1.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4326f5e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7008x3933+0+369/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F65%2Fa0%2F08182c4f4b7da3e76b4db60e9461%2Fgeorgeclinton-260728-35-1.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0c42d41/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7008x3933+0+369/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F65%2Fa0%2F08182c4f4b7da3e76b4db60e9461%2Fgeorgeclinton-260728-35-1.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>George Clinton’s “Digital Dabbling,” which is part of the exhibit “Mothership,” is on display at Mariane Ibrahim gallery in West Town.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Pat Nabong/Sun-Times</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>Though he is colorblind, he has created a variety of vibrant motherships using acrylic, spray paint and charcoal.
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- <p>As a boundary-pushing pioneer of funk music, George Clinton imagined entire mythologies of beings from outer space.</p><p>He encountered them, too.</p><p>The pivotal moment occurred one morning in 1976, as he and bassist Bootsy Collins drove from Detroit to Clinton’s home in Canada.</p><p>“We saw a laser light, right out of the clouds, hit the ground,” said Clinton, now 85 and living in Florida.</p><p>A few miles away, that same piercing light struck their car, and dripped a mercury-like substance on the hood. Suddenly, it was nighttime, as though they’d sped through hours in mere moments.</p><p>“When we got to my house, my daughter said, ‘Y'all look like you’ve seen a ghost,’” Clinton said.</p><p>That experience is referenced in Clinton’s painting, “In the Daytime, Bobba!,” which depicts a white spaceship hovering over Earth and against an intense blue sky.
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George Clinton expands his Afrofuturist universe through paintings, now on display in Chicago
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times