My favorite way to celebrate Black History Month is reconnecting with famous Black artists and discovering new ones. I love it when the “history” for the month is a recognition of paintings, images, designs, and craft created by Americans of African descent.
Once I had to find a unique way to commemorate Black History Month to an audience that was perceived to be antagonistic to the whole idea of this event. The challenge was to find a way to both honor achievements of African Americans while not offending those who may be put off by this acknowledgment in the first place.
To me, creativity is universal. It is not race-based or ethnically dependent. Art, no matter who creates it, allows you to look beyond the developer and gaze upon the visuals. However, if prejudice exists, then it negates the ability to be open to images and refuses to accept the brilliance therein.
Conversely, if art is presented for its beauty and the viewer can appreciate it without judgment, then perhaps barriers can be broken down. Art, therefore, becomes a door to introduce another culture and a unique way to experience it.
The paintings I selected for this exhibit were all “outsider” or “folk” art, (http://flavorwire.com/203515/the-13-most-amazing-outsider-artists-of-all-time)\ created by African American artists. Outsider art is work created by people who have had no formal training in illustration or design. They just picked up their tools and started to paint or sculpt. They are “outside” of the formal art world. I selected this category because many of the topics did not signal the race of the artists, but the design, composition, color and presentation all said “great.”
Now, as we enter the month of February 2016, I was excited to walk in my neighborhood in Brooklyn and wander upon an artist using storefronts as their canvas.
The exhibit, “No Assembly Required” is free to anyone who wants to walk the Myrtle Avenue block in Fort Greene, and is sponsored by the Myrtle Avenue organization.
Their website (www.myrtleavenue.org/BlackArtStory) explains ”SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED recognizes Arts’ ability to act as a medium and conduit to expose, question and inspire when other forms of communication or action fall short, will explore themes that include cultural, racial, gender and identity politics. Rather than framing the month’s programming /exhibition content around one theme, participants were invited to respond to a series of prompts that included but were not limited to: Obama’s 2008 ‘Race Speech’; the Young Lords/Black Panthers/ Black Lives Matter; Intersections of Art and Politics; the Role of Religion and the Church in Social Change Movements; Worker Assembly Lines; Protests; the Civil Rights Movement; Police Brutality; Collective Change and more. Programs and exhibitions are curated by Daonne Huff.”
It is a rewarding experience to walk around your neighborhood and be treated to art. It’s even better when you get a chance to see the artist creating their work. I had the chance to meet one artist, Aston Agbomenou. He painted the interesting work of President Obama, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X on horseback riding next to a bus with freedom riders. It reminded me of the satirical approach taken by Robert Colescott to the painting, “George Washington Crossing the Delaware” by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze. His painting is called “George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware.” It was a part of an exhibit called “Black Male, Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art.” It was at the Whitney Museum of American Art from Nov.29, 1994 – Mar. 5, 1995. I love that he took the famous Black American scientist, Geroge Washington Carver, and put had him leading the crossing. The poster and the paintings from the neighborhood exhibit are attached.
Enjoy and Happy Black History Month!
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