“New Perspectives in Black Art”—Excavating the Black Arts Movement
In 1968 the recently opened Oakland Museum mounted an exhibition called “New Perspectives in Black Art.” Organized by E. J. Montgomery, then a student at nearby California College of the Arts, the show was pivotal in the art careers of many African Americans. This was but one among a wave of artistic activity throughout the country during the Black Power era in which African American artists took to heart Black Arts Movement goals to “launch a cultural revolution” as Malcolm X had challenged. The presentations in this session ask what it meant to make “Black Art” during the Black Arts Movement, generally considered to span from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. How did visual artists reconcile being fine art painters, printmakers, and sculptors, plying trades perceived as Eurocentric, with being African American? Was there a regional aspect to how artists conceived of Black art? What can be learned from lesser known artists and events of the Black Power era? How was Black art political? “New Perspectives in Black Art”—Excavating the Black Arts Movement aspires to broaden the lens on what is known about visual art of the Black Arts Movement.
Field of Study:
United States of America
Twentieth Century
Printmaking
Painting
Photography (history and studio)
Chair:
Jo-Ann Morgan, - j-morgan@wiu.edu