Danny Simmons is a man of the Arts. With brothers Russell and Joe (aka Rev. Run) Simmons he co-founded the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation to provide disadvantaged youth with significant exposure to the Arts.

The Rush Arts Gallery located in Chelsea and Corridor Gallery of Brooklyn have served to launch the careers of several prominent artists while also promoting diversity in the arts arena.  In 25 years he has become a force to be reckoned with in the New York art world by helping make Brooklyn, New York home to one of the largest community of artists.

He has joined the Boards of the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Recently, he was named Chairman of the New York Council of the Arts (NYSCA), a highly coveted position, where he plans to build a platform for greater arts advocacy.  Simmons has written a novel, “Three Days as the Crow Flies,” and “’85,” a graphic novel that takes you back to a bygone era in New York and an art world abuzz with Basquiat and Warhol. He is a world-renowned self-taught artist with a collection of 1000 plus works of art from Africa and African-American artists spanning decades which includes a pair of Eldridge Cleaver Jeans that celebrate the male phallus. 

At his loft in Clinton Hill, Simmons opens up about Barack, his legacy, his art collection, moving out and moving on.

It’s time. I’m ready to move. The gallery is staying here but I just wanted to move. After seventeen years of living with the gallery right at the beginning of my door and people tramping by I’ll probably get some privacy. When I get over there I’ll have the time to do more creative things. I would like to write more. I intend to retire from public life in the next six, seven years. 

Ijuswannapaint so I think I’m gonna spend the next few years focusing on my career as an artist. Not that it’s been going badly but I could put more time into that than I have been over the last ten years. It’s been going really well but I think it’s time I concentrated a little more on Danny doing more of Danny’s stuff. I’ve never really solicited myself for shows. It’s not what I do. That’s probably why my career is not where it should be.  But I just don’t promote myself like that. I like to do the work and I think it’s probably somebody else’s job to do the promotion. 

In ’85 I was hanging out on the lower East Side. Hanging out with Russell. Hip Hop had just started. Run was just getting started. Def Jam. All that shit was just swirling around right during that period. Basquiat and Warhol. The mid 80s and the late 80s were a very vibrant time. So I wrote a book about it, Three Days as the Crow Flies. Largely, the story was written because it’s a challenge to the mainstream art world, that there is no access for Blacks. When Blacks were being allowed in they were sort of like circus items. 

Rise and Settle

The Black tax is people don’t think they can sell Black artists to White audiences. It’s racism. 

“Why don’t you guys turn this shit into an art book?” I had Floyd Hughes do about four or five pages of art work (inspired by Three Days as the Crow Flies.) And I took it back to Simon & Schuster, who was the original publisher of the book, and sold them the idea of turning it into a graphic novel. So I sold them the same book twice. 

Say it loud and proud, I’m a comic book geek. I started collecting comic books when I was a little kid. I collect vintage comic books.  And I really get a big kick out of that. I have all the first edition Marvel comics. First Spiderman, first Hulk, first Vengeance, first X-Men, first Fantastic Four. From the forties, Captain America 2, Superman 4, first appearance of Robin in Batman & Robin. I’m going to spend more time collecting comics.

The deal is I’ve been collecting shit since I was a little kid. 

In seventeen years most of the stuff I’ve collected I got from art dealers, African traders and other collectors. I got some pieces in Ghana and Togo. There are150 pieces by maybe 75 African-American artists. I have Bokashi Mutu, Mickalene Thomas, Xenobia Bailey, Michael Paul Britto, Derrick Adams… 

 
What I look for when I collect is [that] I make a connection with the piece either intellectually or spiritually, mostly spiritually. But you know sometimes an intellectual piece will attract me. The last thing I look for is valuable collectability. But if it has the spiritual, intellectual, and value, I think that’s the best combination.  I’m narrowing my (collection) focus to power objects, magical and ritual objects from Africa and silver jewelry from the Touareg people. Those are two areas of my collection I want to concentrate on. And get more of the unusual pieces; especially the magical pieces. 

Beyond Heavens Gate

African art speaks. They have spirit in them. They were used to contact spirit or to deal with spirit in some sort of way. They have a life of their own. There is no question about these pieces being vibrant. These things were not created to be beautiful. They’re usually created as a conduit of some sort. So intention is very important. 

Brooklyn has been the heart of, not only for African-American artists, but the heart of artists in the United States. Brooklyn has the largest community of artists in the United States. So you have diversity of artists, diversity of art, diversity of visions. Brooklyn has traditionally, over the last 20 or thirty years, been charged with new ideas, new artists [and] it’s the reason why it’s one of the hottest places to live in today. The Corridor Gallery has helped to add to that. 

There’s a new sheriff in town since I took the position of Chairman of the Board of the New York State Council of the Arts. NYSCA is an organization about to be in transition. I want to move away from an organization that just gives away money to taking on a more advocacy role for artists and organizations throughout the state and beyond. I want to use a platform to promote arts and artists; more than just giving them money. So much money is being taken out of the arts from corporations and foundations that I want to bring together a coalition of people to advocate that money [to be] restored to the arts. When you’re defunding the arts, you’re defunding families because people work there. Arts organizations are not just paintings on a wall they’re economic drivers. 

Loose Me

Barack has been real weak on art. He doesn’t really have a cohesive art strategy. I don’t think he’s put much thought into it. I know that he thinks it’s important but it’s real low on his priority level of things. He should know how important the arts are to our community--how healing it is for African-American kids and for kids who don’t have anything [to have] the creativity in their life. It sparks their imagination, allows them to see outside of the box and allows them to see outside of themselves. There are so many studies out there that show that kids who have art in their life do so much better in every aspect of their life. 

The best part of being a big brother is the respect they (my brothers) have for me. I once asked Russell, “Do you respect what I do?” He said, “You have no idea how much I respect what you do.” I said, “Yeah, but, you’re a big business man.” He said “’Naw, man. Let’s see which one of us gets into heaven easier.” 

I embody what my parents taught me. My father was a writer and my mother was a painter. So I sort of made a career out of what they did. I’m a writer and I’m a painter.

Danny Simmons’ new collection is entitled Spiritual Rhythms.  Currently showing at the Pinnacle Gallery until Nov. 23rd. (320 E. Liberty St in Savannah, GA).  Images Above Courtesy of www.dannysimmonsartist.com