Last night we went to Casa Frela in Harlem to see Iyaba Ibo Mandingo's one-man show, "Self Portrait." To say that the evening was amazing is to damn with faint praise. The evening is electrifying, educating, provoking, emotionally tender, and at times, shocking. Life, race, art, politics, love, and the meaning of manhood are interwoven in the story of Mandingo's childhood, youth and adulthood.
An award winning poet, Mandingo tells his story through what seems casual encounter, mingled seamlessly with his intense, perceptive verse. All the while he is literally painting a self portrait as he speaks.
As the show opens, Mandingo stands alone in front of the audience looking down, then occasionally making eye contact. It's evident that he is in a situation of shame and humiliation. He acknowledges instructions from an unseen authority, obediently removing his clothes until he is standing before the audience naked, defenseless. And then we realize that he is in prison and is being subjected to a cavity search. That moment of realization -- that moment which is at once intimate and unbearably brutal -- forms a connection between the performer and audience that makes observer and observed inseparable for the next 90 minutes.
From a childhood on the isle of Antigua to his sojourn as a Black man in this country, Mandingo has us see and feel and understand the progress of a mind searching for truth, dignity and freedom. It was once said of the first heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson that he was a "brunette in a blonde nation." Iyaba Ibo Mandingo's journey illuminates that in a way that will be both new and recognizable no matter what your background.
I originally became aware of Iyaba's work while engaged in the fight to get justice for Amadou Diallo, the young African man who was murdered by the New York City police. Mr. Diallo, unarmed, was shot by those police 41 times. As Professor Arthur "Arturo" Pfister said in his introduction to "Self Portrait," if police shoot a man once or twice, that's a shooting, but 41 times is murder. Iyaba's poem "41 Times," included in this show, was what had me realize that he was a major talent.
I could say so much more about the evening--the story about a mystical experience in the South with spirits of the ancestors, the wondrous memories of learning to cook in Grandmother's kitchen, and the journey of spiritual awakening of one man as he learns what it means to respect women and treasure his family--but I am simply going to urge you to find out more for yourself.
You can call (203) 504-4600 for information about future shows. Go to http://iyabart.blogspot.com/ to see Iyaba's paintings and learn more about his poetry.
I'm grateful to Lawrence Rodriguez of Casa Frela Gallery (47 West 199th Street, NYC 10026) for hosting this extraordinary event. You can find out more about exhibitions at the gallery at: http://www.casafrela.com/main.php
