Philadelphia artist Daniel Heyman, whose work puts the personal face on politics, war and other injustices, has won a Guggenheim! He is one of 180 Fellows named this year from about 3,000 applicants. The awards go to work in the arts, humanities and sciences.
![heyman heyman1](https://www.theartblog.org/wp-content/uploaded/heyman1-225x300.jpg)
Heyman is not the only artist with a Philadelphia connection, and all things considered, not so many fine artists got named–only 23 of them from across the country. So being among them is a great honor! Others with Philadelphia connections are painter John Zurier, a Californian who shows here at Larry Becker Contemporary Art, and Philadelphia-based choreographer Rennie Harris!
I asked Heyman, whose moving print portraits bear witness to atrocities and injustices, what project he had planned for the fellowship. Here’s what he emailed me:
The project was to continue to work with issues related to the war, civil rights and torture, both here and overseas if the opportunity comes up. I am following a case of US service women who were raped by their male counterparts while stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan (see Helen Bennedict’s book The Lonely Soldier) and also about to start a portrait project with the noon-time aids and lunch ladies in the Philadelphia school system. My brother, who is a union organizer, works with them and they sound like they could really tell a story!
![heymaninstallation heymaninstallation](https://www.theartblog.org/wp-content/uploaded/heymaninstallation-300x225.jpg)
Heyman’s portraits, with their compressed stories inscribed in the background of the portraits, is the antithesis of Zurier’s calm colorfield paintings.
![zurierverge zurierverge](https://www.theartblog.org/wp-content/uploaded/zurierverge-289x300.jpg)
Also of note is 2010 Fellow Anne Chu, whose dramatic sculptures mix folklore and myth-making, humility and awe.
![chu ica chu ica](https://www.theartblog.org/wp-content/uploaded/chu-ica-300x225.jpg)