African American

Kind of Blue

(8,709 posts) Thu Nov 21, 2019, 04:48 PM Nov 2019

In Hartford, Conn., at Wadsworth Atheneum "Afrocosmologies: American Reflections"

Black artists explore spirituality and culture... Alongside artists of the late-nineteenth century, contemporary artists define new ideas about spirituality, identity, and the environment in ways that move beyond traditional narratives of Black Christianity. In dialogue, these works acknowledge a continuing body of beliefs—a cosmology—that incorporates the centrality of nature, ritual, and relationships between the human and the divine. Emerging from the rich religious and aesthetic traditions of West Africa and the Americas, these works present a dynamic cosmos of influences that shape Contemporary art." https://www.thewadsworth.org/afrocosmologies-american-reflections/

"We are a collection that has its genesis in a deep appreciation of African American culture and are dedicated to acquiring works of art that speak to the resilient, creative, and persistent humanity within Black American culture," says Petrucci Family Foundation curator and artist Berrisford Boothe. "Within the African American community and now across America at large, conceptions of race, gender, and community that once seemed fixed are now in flux or at least open for discussion. What was once a binary system of black or white aesthetics, now involves globally transplanted voices of color that exist within, are elevated by, and add authentic cosmological dynamism to American cultural conversations." In this continuing conversation, there must be sensitivity, but also the recognition that America's history and its impact cannot be eluded.
http://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/1946-afrocosmologies-american-reflections-at-the-wadsworth

Waiting

“The painting Waiting was titled because it always seems like Black people are waiting for something. It always seems like we’re waiting for justice. It always seems like we’re waiting for equality in this country” says artist Carl Joe Williams.

The Lamp

"The Lamp, Romare Bearden, 1984, commemorates the 30th anniversary of the landmark court decision Brown v. Board of Education, 1954, which declared segregated schools in the United States to be unconstitutional; the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund used the image on their poster marking the occasion."