“Black Artists of America”
Reconnecting with African heritage has always been an important part of black American culture, and many exhibitions reflect this relationship with the use of historical narratives that begin with the traditions of tribal ancestry. But it has also been very interesting to critique some of the more recent themes. For example the African Modernism in America 2024 exhibition at the Taft Art Museum in Cincinnati, meant to demonstrate relationships between African expressions of art from the perspective of modernization and black American nationality.
Similarly, with Black Artists of America: From Civil Rights to the Bicentennial at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, Ca (arranged by Memphis, Tennessee organization Dixon Gallery and Gardens), we are being asked to observe the “maturation” of black American artists through a progressive as opposed to traditional lens. The collection includes black art from the World War ll era (NAACP fighting discrimination in the armed forces, 19th century Jim Crow laws, etc.) as well as artists who “came of age” during the 1960s – showing sculpture, paintings, and works on paper. A concurrent exhibition, Penetrating Expressions: Kifwebe Masks of the Songye and Luba People – consisting of approximately 50 Central African masks was positioned adjacently, allowing patrons to cross back into the aesthetic of the continent.
Luther Hampton "Woman At Peace" (1973) Tennessee gray marble.
African masks are generally believed to pre-date the Paleolithic era and were used for spiritual and social rites of all types. Masks are still composed for various ceremonies, but production has become more commercialized. African art is known to have heavily influenced European artists like Matisse, Gauguin, Cezanne, Picasso, and avant-garde styles of art like Cubism in the 1900s.
Included in the exhibition: Emma Amos’ Three Figures (1966) oil on canvas, one of the larger works at 60×50, displayed prominently in the collection with its vibrantly colorful female forms and exuberant 1960s aesthetic. The painting seems to nod serenely to the plucky pop art of the era while also embodying the complex themes she is known for. In the year following Emma’s death in 2020, her work was displayed in several high-profile shows: Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power at the Tate Modern and We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85 held at the Brooklyn Museum.
Superman artist Cliff Joseph (1966) oil on Masonite, described his expression as “social art.” He attended Pratt Institute in NY and later became a professor at the school. For a time, Joseph also worked as a commercial artist, and is well remembered as an art therapy Titan who encouraged therapists to consider cultural differences in their approaches. Murals of the Mind was co-authored along with psychiatrist Joy Harris, and he has published many other books and papers on art therapy. Cliff Joseph, like Emma Amos, passed away in 2020.
Woman At Peace (1973) perches stunningly on her plinth without need of any appendages, in Tennessee marble. Luther Hampton’s favorite materials included granite, marble, sandstone, and wood – and his forms reveal his affinity for African art. Yet, these images are said to be informed by ‘the vernacular of the refined sculptural traditions.’ Tops Gallery in Memphis, the city he was born in, held an exclusive exhibit of his works – 17 sculptures, at the end of the year in 2020.
Written by: m.wilson