Posts Tagged ‘african american’

Artist of the moment…….Horace Pippin

{ August 26, 2015 @ 11:04 am } · { Uncategorized }
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Horace Pippin was an African- American artist who worked with the figure. Pippin was self taught and often created images that included slavery, racism, and prejudice.

Horace Pippin was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania in the year 1888. The artist served in World War 1 and after being shot by a sniper lost the use of his right arm. He took up painting to rebuild strength in his right arm.

Pippin created notebooks showing sketches he did whilst on the battlefield. In this clip we view some of Pippin’s artwork made during World War One:

As a young child the Pippin won his first box of crayons by winning a contest that was sponsored by an art supply company.

Below a wonderful montage of works by Pippin:

Price range information: Sorry none available.

Horace Pippin passed away in 1946 at the age of 58 years of age.

Pippin is included in prominent collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Pippin was an excellent story teller. His works of interior scenes and landscapes remind me of the self taught American artist Grandma Moses.

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Artist of the moment……..William Henry Johnson

{ May 15, 2015 @ 6:48 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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William Henry Johnson was an African- American painter and printmaker renown for his folk art style of painting the figure. William Henry Johnson was born in Florence, South Carolina in the year 1901.

The second image in the gallery is a self portrait done by William Henry Johnson.

As a youngster he learned to draw by copying the comic strips he saw in his local newspaper.

Johnson attended the National Academy of Design located in New York City.

The artist stopped painting in 1956. His health was poor and the artist spent much of his life in hospital from problems related to syphilis.Johnson passed away in 1970.

Price range information: Works range from $10,000 to $120,000.

In this clip a curator talks about Johnson’s painting “I baptize thee.”:

Below we view an exhibition from 2013 featuring the work of William Henry Johnson:

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Artist of the moment……..Aaron Douglas

{ May 15, 2015 @ 1:59 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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Aaron Douglas was an African- American artist associated with the Harlem Renaissance who painted in a Modernist style. Aaron Douglas was born in Topeka, Kansas in the year 1899.

Douglas attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln earning a B.F.A. A year later he added a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Kansas.

A few years after earning his second degree the artist relocated to Harlem, New York.

Douglas was one of the most sought after illustrators of the leading African- American magazines. He even tried to start his own magazine that was to showcase the up and coming younger artists.

He spent part of 1931 in Paris, France studying art as a grant award recipient.

In this clip we find Aaron Douglas at the Nebraska Museum of Art:

Douglas started the art department at Fisk University located in Nashville, Tennessee.

In this clip we get a peak at Aaron Douglas at the easel. Some jazz music is played and I must pass on the sad news that American Jazz legend B.B. King passed away at the age of 89:

Aaron Douglas passed away in 1979 at the age of  79.

Price range information: Works range from $20,000 to $500,000. Douglas worked in oils, watercolors, and gouache.

Douglas was of the first African American artists to earn a degree, and surely one of the first to earn two degrees. Yet, I feel as he is under appreciated for his contributions to the art world.

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Artist of the moment…….Robert Hodge

{ March 27, 2015 @ 10:33 am } · { Uncategorized }
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Robert Hodge is an contemporary African- American artist renown for his artwork featuring typography and collages. Robert Hodge studied at the Pratt Institute and the Atlanta College of Art.

Hodge is based out of Houston, Texas.

Many of the artists that inspire Hodge have been profiled here already including Basquiat, Glen Ligon, Mark Bradford, and Andy Warhol.

What inspires me about this artist is his way with words. He often quotes historical figures in his work, one of my favorite lines he speaks often was originated by Frederick Douglas, without struggle there is no progress.

Hodge was once asked the most important activity for an artist to do, his response was “read.” Wonderful, and congratulations to you for ending up at this site to read about art and become a better artist!

Below a link to the website of the artist:

http://robertleroyhodge.com/

This artist gets an A+ for his business acumen! In this clip we view a collaborative effort with Hodges and Addidas:

Below we visit a show from late in 2014 and also have a brief interview with the artist:

Price range information: Sorry none available.

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Artist of the moment………Hale Woodruff

{ March 25, 2015 @ 10:45 am } · { Uncategorized }
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Hale Aspecio Woodruff was an outstanding African- American artist renown for his works with the figure. Hale Woodruff was born in the year 1900. Woodruff was a muralist whose artwork represented the hard work ethic of the lower and middle classes. The artist was also a prolific printmaker.

He also spent four years studying in Paris, France. The artist also studied in Mexico with renowned muralist Diego Rivera.

In this clip we view murals commissioned by Talladega College in Alabama. Woodruff also painted many murals at Atlanta University located in Atlanta, Georgia:

The artist also taught at the collegiate level as part of the faculty at New York University. Hale Woodruff passed away in 1980.

Price range information: Works range from $10,000 for a print to $170,000 for an original oil.

I love the emotion and especially the hands and feet of the characters portrayed by Hale Woodruff. Woodruff reminds me of another African American artist who was first an professional football player, Ernie Barnes.

Both artists were great at designing works packed with emotion and many figures. Barnes’ most renown work was his painting titled the Sugar Shack, seen in the credits of the 1970s hit television show Good Times, and on the cover of a Marvin Gaye record album.

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Artist of the moment………..Charles Burwell

{ March 24, 2015 @ 12:14 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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Charles Burwell is an African-American painter renown for his abstract style which features strong design patterns and color.

Charles Burwell was born in the year 1955. For his collegiate education Burwell earned a B.F.A. from the Tyler School of Art Temple located in Philadelphia. The artist went on to earn a M.F.A. from Yale University located in New Haven, Connecticut.

What I like most about the artist is his sense of design and layering shapes on top of each other. Some works, especially when seen in small thumbnails on a computer screen, appear to be collage works. With his wonderful sense of repeating shapes and placement Burwell is able to create a tremendous amount of depth in the picture plane.

The artist often works with acrylics and oils.

Below a great interview with Charles Burwell:

Price range information: Sorry none available.

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Artist of the moment……….Joel Christian Gill

{ February 16, 2015 @ 1:44 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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Joel Christian Gill is an African- American artist who works with comics to tell true stories about remarkable people of color over the course of history. Gill earned B.A. degree from Roanoke College located in Salem, Virginia. Gill went on to earn a M.F.A.  from Boston University.

The artist founded his own company called Strange Fruit Comics. You can find titles by this company on amazon.com.

Below Joel Christian Gill is interviewed a comic book festival in 2011. The artist is asked why he chooses to do stories about Black American history:

Gill is also associate dean of student affairs for the New Hampshire Institute of Art.

Price range information: Books and titles available on amazon.com and from Fulcrum Publishing House located in Golden, Colorado.

I enjoy Gill because as a youngster and person of color myself all I really had to watch was Fat Albert and the Cosby kids, which I watched as much as possible!  I would have loved to read about a true life hero like Bass the U.S. Marshall.

Below a link to the website of Joel Christian Gill:

https://joelchristiangill.wordpress.com/

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Artist of the moment…….John Woodrow Wilson

{ February 4, 2015 @ 5:48 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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John Woodrow Wilson was an African-American social realist artist. John Woodrow Wilson was born in Boston, Massachusetts in the year 1922. Wilson was inspired to create art because when he visited nearby museums as a teenager he didn’t see anyone that looked like him.

Wilson wanted to show that people of color could also be beautiful and often portrayed people of color in his artwork. As a social realist artist Wilson’s goal was to show racial injustice and to show the dignity and pride of persons of color.

Wilson took art classes at his local boys club where he was mentored by current art students that were attending the School of the Museum of Fine Arts located in Boston. After the student’s showed some of Wilson’s fantastic works to the faculty and they were impressed giving Wilson a scholarship immediately.

Wilson went on to earn a B.F.A. from Tufts University. The artist also won awards and fellowships that allowed him to study abroad in Paris, France with modernist Fernand Leger.

The artist taught at the collegiate level at Boston University.

You may have seen John Woodrow Wilson’s most renown work, a bronze sculpture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which is located in Washington D.C. on the capital rotunda. Wilson beat out many other artists for this prestigious commission. The work is the first image in the picture gallery.

The artist was an outstanding and prolific printmaker.

John Woodrow Wilson passed away just a few days ago in late January of 2015. The artist was 92 years old.

Price range information: Sorry none available.

Some other artists who worked in a similar style include Elizabeth Catlett, Robert Gwathmey, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White and Jack Levine.

John Woodrow Wilson is included in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art located in New York City.

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Artist of the moment……..Jeff Donaldson

{ January 12, 2015 @ 12:32 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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Jeff Donaldson is an African-American painter and printmaker renown for his rather abstract work with the figure. Jeff Donaldson was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in the year 1932. Donaldson attended the University of Arkansas located in Pine Bluff.

 

Donaldson went on to complete his masters degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology located in Chicago, Illinois. Donaldson went on to earn a Ph.D. in African Art history from Northwestern University. The first African American to do so.

In this clip many of the artist’s peer group talk about Jeff Donaldson:

Donaldson was a leader in the AFRICobra and Black Arts Movements across the country.

Jeff Donaldson passed away in 2004.

Price range information: Sorry none available.

Some of the artists of the Black Arts movement had very similar styles. It seems they all could have been music album cover designers. As a group I enjoy the level of abstraction found in their figure works.

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Artist of the moment……..Allen Stringfellow

{ January 11, 2015 @ 1:41 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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Allen Stringfellow was an American painter and illustrator. Allen Stringfellow was born in the year 1923. He was raised in Chicago, Illinois by his grandmother. His parents were professional entertainers and didn’t raise of their six kids.

Stringfellow often appeared wearing a red hat when in public.

The artist was a friend of an artist already profiled here, Elizabeth Catlett. She was the African-American sculptor who moved to Mexico and only passed away in the past few years.

The artist often draws inspiration for his work from music and also from church. Stringfellow avoided political statements in his artwork.

Allen Stringfellow passed away in 2004.

In this clip we view some works by Allen Stringfellow. The section on this artist begins at 4 minutes into the clip:

Price range information: Works range from $2,000 to $10,000. The artist worked in gouache, watercolor, collage, acrylics, and ink.

I enjoy this artists sense of design and in particular with the church scenes. The artist made the space much bigger than it was due to his mastery of composition.

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