New Exhibit by
Political MathArtist John Sims
March 4–25, 2022
San Francisco, CA – March 1, 2022 - Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore & Gallery is excited to announce its upcoming exhibit of artist, John Sims.
From artist John Sims: “Over 20 years, I have worked concurrently on two large systems of work: one mathematical and one political. One project, “SquareRoot: A Quilted Manifesto” deals with the mathematics versus art divide and the other one, “Recoloration Proclamation” responds to the sounds and symbols of a Confederate state of mind, and the legacy of American slavery. Both bodies of work arbitrate the language and culture of division by confronting the symbols and culture of white supremacy that separate us, while simultaneously searching for a path toward balance. Both bodies of work challenge spaces of power and exclusion to lay down the arms of separation, segregation, and the means and ways to further the culture of white supremacy and Black subjugation. In these bodies of work, there is a call to claim space, past, present and future, for Black bodies and minds, so that all bodies may eat at the table of humanity in grace, peace, and respect. I am proud and honored to present here at Medicine for Nightmares for the very first time, the intersection of these two projects—a midnight meeting of work that speaks and conspires to a forthcoming transformation.”
The exhibit runs from March 4–25, 2022 during John Sims’ residency at San Francisco’s Exploratorium and admission is free.
Upcoming Events
Art Opening: BlackPi/AfroDixie: A John Sims Project
Friday, March 4, 2022
6–8 PM PST
Hybrid (virtual/in-person) event
Live music by David Boyce and poetry with an art tour by John Sims
Link to attend virtually: https://fb.me/e/kvxfTAuLA
Address for in-person attendance: Medicine for Nightmares, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Patrice Lumumba Anthology Celebration with John Sims
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
6–8 PM PST
Hybrid (virtual/in-person) event
Celebration of Nomadic Press’ + EastSide Arts Alliance’s Patrice Lumumba Anthology (cover art by John Sims). Live music by Azuah, readings by anthology contributors Mimi Tempestt, Brandon Logans, adrienne danyelle oliver, and Tureeda Mikell, and an artist talk by John Sims
Order a copy of the anthology: https://www.nomadicpress.org/store/p/patricelumumba
Link to attend virtually: https://fb.me/e/2hbtGx91I
Address for in-person attendance: Medicine for Nightmares, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Film Screening: Artis Mathematicae by John Sims
Monday, March 14, 2022 (Pi Day)
6–8 PM PST
In-person event
Film screening to be followed by short artist talk
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/680207553
Link for more information: https://fb.me/e/2fgy9VaqZ
Address for in-person attendance: Medicine for Nightmares, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Artist Bio
John Sims, a Detroit native, is an interdisciplinary conceptual artist who creates multimedia projects spanning the areas of mathematics, art, text, performance and political-media activism. His main projects are informed by the vocabulary of mathematical structure, the politics of sacred symbols and poetic reflections. As the former coordinator of mathematics at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, he designed a visual mathematics curriculum for artists and visual thinkers. Sims has curated more than 15 mathematical art exhibitions including the year-long exhibition and film project Rhythm of Structure: Bowery and Beyond, featuring Sol LeWitt, Karen Finley, Adrian Piper and former U.S. Poet Laureate Mark Strand, at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City. This lead to his project SquareRoots: A Quilted Manifesto, a 13 mathart quilt collaboration with Amish quilters.
Currently, he is working on Recoloration Proclamation, a 16-year multimedia project that features a series of Confederate flag installations, including The Proper Way to Hang a Confederate Flag, music compilation The AfroDixieRemixes, and the yearly nationwide Memorial Day Confederate flag performance, Burn and Bury.
John Sims’ activism goes all the way back to his college days. After graduating from Antioch College, he returned as special assistant to the Dean of Faculty, where he created and organized the Cross Cultural Field Program (CCFP) and African American Cultural Week (AACW), a program of 26 events celebrating the African American experience, featuring Henry Threadgill, R.L. Burnside, Karen Williams and many others. That annual event became the AACW Blues and Gospel Fest and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016. The CCFP, an academic service learning program, took a diverse group of students to the South to learn about African American culture by visiting areas in Charleston, Sea Islands, and rural Georgia. The program received strong support from both Coretta Scott King and congressman John Lewis and was covered by The New York Times, going on to become a vital part of Antioch College’s history of creating innovative curricula. These two projects later inspired the creative cultural activism that has come to be a foundational component of JohnSimsProjects.
Sims has given lectures and presented his exhibitions not only nationally but internationally in countries such as Hungary, Spain, Slovenia, Israel and Argentina. His work has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, CNN, NBC News, The Guardian, The Root, ThinkProgress, Al Jazeera, Guernica, Art in America, Transition, Sculpture, FiberArts, Science News and the science journal Nature. He has written for major publications such as CNN, Al Jazeera, The Huffington Post, Guernica Magazine, The Rumpus and The Grio.