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Why does the current wave of Black American artists feel like such a new thing? Because it is. Curators are rapidly placing Black art in museums, collectors are learning and understanding what Black artists are trying to say, and fellowships for Black artists are increasing. Finally, the rest of the world is starting to recognize our talents.
The reason it has taken so long is because Black people came into this country as property in 1619. And even though I m sure plenty of those captured Africans were talented artists, there was no way for their work to be acknowledged, let alone highlighted or celebrated. This is the origin of our artistic legacy in America until the Civil War. That was only 156 years ago, meaning that Black people are a century behind in terms of learning, studying and participating in the culture of sharing, showcasing, and making a living through art. Still, as resilient as we are, we somehow found a way to put the biggest exhibitions and
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How the Studio Museum in Harlem Transformed the Art World Forever Essay by Salamishah Tillet; Photographs by John Edmonds; Styling by Miguel Enamorado Feb 26, 2021 JOHN EDMONDS
Betye Saar. Faith Ringgold. Mickalene Thomas. Julie Mehretu. Simone Leigh. Jordan Casteel. These are only a few of the Black women artists who have recently exhibited in the nation’s largest museums, like the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim, and the Getty. But long before, it was the Studio Museum in Harlem that had the foresight and intuition to show their work, linking these women both to one another and to generations of Black artists, curators, and critics who have helped reshape American art history over the past 50 years.
Recently, English shared with me his reflections on our current moment, how art has changed over the past several decades, and why generalizations of Black art are so problematic.
You are very keen on the problems of generalization within the art world with regards to how African American art is taught, critiqued, and discussed. What is your biggest problem with these generalizations? How, in your opinion, can historians work to remove and/or reduce their use of generalizing?
My issue with generalization is that it feels an irresponsible way to respond to art’s diversity and specificity. If you understand art as something different from yourself, as the work of another consciousness, then it is very hard to generalize about it. Art reflects the immense variation in the field of experience, offers us opportunities to explore and come to terms with that plenitude. Accounts of art that suppress variation, that are nonchalant about those precious opportunities, need to be resisted.
Central to the new documentary
Black Art: In the Absence of Light is a pivotal art exhibition that debuted in 1976. Two Centuries of Black American Art was the first major show by a Black curator to look at the history of art produced by African Americans. Covering the period between 1750 and 1950, it featured 200 works and 63 artists, with painting, sculpture, drawing, graphics, crafts and decorative arts.
When it went on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the fall of 1976, it drew unprecedented crowds for an exhibit of American art. Two Centuries of Black American Art, which was shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1976, was pivotal in giving attention to the work of Black artists who had long been sidelined. The exhibit went on to Atlanta, Dallas and Brooklyn in 1977.
HBO Documentary Celebrates Black Art, Indicts The Forces That Marginalize It : NPR npr.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from npr.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.