Tom Lloyd's Moussakoo

In September 1968, an exhibition of electronically-programmed light works by artist Tom Lloyd (1929–1996) opened The Studio Museum in Harlem. That exhibition inspired the title of the current traveling exhibition, “Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem.” One of the works on display in the 1968 exhibition was “Moussakoo,” four hexagons created by rows of industrial lamps. Lloyd thought art and technology should work in tandem and works like "Moussakoo" underscored the pervasiveness of electricity in the twenty-first century. The lights’ resemblance to traffic signals brought the outside indoors.

Marked by the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, 1968 was a watershed in the history of the U.S. The choice of Lloyd's work for the inaugural exhibition of The Studio Museum was considered controversial, as many audience members at the time expected art by artists of African descent to be representative Lloyd and others like him argued for a more comprehensive understanding of work made by black artists. He believed that white cultural institutions should do more to include black people but also encouraged black artists to build community and organize to empower themselves. Image: Tom Lloyd, b. 1920, Detroit, MI; d. 1996 Mastic Beach, NY. “Moussakoo,” c. 1968. Aluminum, light bulbs, and plastic laminate. The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of The Lloyd Family and Jamilah Wilson

Learn more about about the exhibition “Black Refractions: Highlights from the Studio Museum: https://bit.ly/3bBqTn3