By Darlene Donloe
It was three years in the making, but Soul Of A Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983 finally made its West Coast debut at The Broad.
The international exhibition, designed to showcase era-defining artwork that changed the face of art in America, celebrates the work of more than 60 Black artists made over two revolutionary decades in American history, beginning in 1963 at the height of the civil rights, Black Power and Black Feminism movements. The show features more than 200 pieces.
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| John Outterbridge Traditional Hang-up (Containment Series), 1969 |
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| Romare Bearden The Conjur Woman, 1964 |
The exhibit, which includes paintings, sculptures, street photography, murals and more, examines the influences, from the civil rights and Black Power movements to minimalism and developments in abstraction, on artists such as Romare Bearden Barkley Hendricks, Noah Purifoy, Martin Puryear, Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar, Alma Thomas, Charles White and William T. Williams.
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| Senga Nengudi Internal II, 1977, 2015 Nylon Tights |
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| Faith Ringgold The Flag is Bleeding, 1967 |
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| Barkley Hendricks Icon for My Man Superman (Superman Never Saved Any Black People - Bobby Seale), 1969 |
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| Betye Saar Spirit Catcher, 1977 |
The work of Los Angeles artist Betye Saar, who attended the opening, is explored in a gallery that recreates a portion of the artist’s first survey exhibition in 1973 at California State University, Los Angeles. Another gallery examines the unique approaches to the graphic image by Charles White, David Hammons, and Timothy Washington, focusing on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s 1971 exhibition Three Graphic Artists that featured the artists, and which came out of the activist efforts of the Black Arts Council.
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| Joanne Heyler |
“The 60’s to the ’80s defined so much about our contemporary culture,” said Joanne Heyler, founding director, The Broad. “Many of the fault lines we face in our society today are plainly visible in Soul Of A Nation. To walk through the wide array of works in its galleries, starting with Norm Lewis’ abstract painting in black and white, America The Beautiful, which once viewed up close reveals charred symbols of white supremacy, is to feel the present as much as the past.”
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| Norm Lewis America the Beautiful |
It’s such an honor that the show has come here to The Broad,” said Mark Godfrey, senior curator, international art. “The question that really we asked was, Who are the important African American artists and what are the important questions African American artists were asking prior to this generation? In many ways, it was that question that sparked the research for Soul of A Nation.”
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| (l-r) Mark Godfrey and Zoe Whitley |
“And crucially that question why when we think of American art in the 20th century are there a certain set of names that we can think of and many voices that hadn’t been heard and weren’t a part of it, said Zoe Whitley, curator, international art, Tate Modern. “And in terms of our thinking very much about how we can expand the canon and what that means. That may mean looking to different geographic regions. But it also really crucially means taking another look at regions we think we know well. At histories, we think we already have down pat and that became a very important part of the process.”
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| Barkley Hendricks Brilliantly Endowed (Self-Portrait), 1977 |
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| Barbara Jones-Hogu Unite (First State), 1969 |
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| Wadsworth Jarrell Revolutionary (Angela Davis), 1971 |
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| Frank Bowling Texas Louise, 1971 |
There are also works on loan by celebrity collectors Beyonce and Jay Z (a body print by Los Angeles-based artist David Hammons), and Tonya and Spike Lee (Norman Lewis’ America the Beautiful).
In support of Soul of A Nation, there is exhibition programming throughout the run including: Art and Politics: Soul of a Nation Symposium (Sat., March 23, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.) – Location – Aratani Theatre, 244 San Pedro St., Los Angeles; Soul of a Nation Curator Conversation: Mark Godfrey, Zoe Whitley and Bridget R. Cooks (Sun., March 24, 2-3:30 p.m.); Exhibiting Black Art in 1970s Los Angeles (Sat., Apr. 27, 2-3:30 p.m.); An Evening of Music Curated by Quincy Jones and Terrace Martin (Sat., June 1, 8:30 p.m.); Jazz Nights at the Broad (July 17, Aug. 14, 8:30 p.m.); Free Soul of a Nation Gallery Talks (Thursdays 7 p.m., beginning May 2); Time is Running Out of Time: Experimental Film and Video from the L.A. Rebellion and Today (Feb. 2-Sept 14) – Location: Art & Practice, 3401 W. 43rd Place, Los Angeles.
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| Bridget R. Cooks |
Programming today included enriching conversations, artist talks, and poetry, organized by UC Irvine professors Bridget R. Cooks (associate professor, African American Studies and Art History) and Frank B. Wilderson III (chair of African American Studies). The event will include compelling conversations between artists featured in the exhibition, such as Jae and Wadsworth Jarrell and Gerald Williams with Vida L. Brown (visual arts curator, California African American Museum) and Mel Edwards with Dale Davis (artist and co-founder, Brockman Gallery), facilitated by Isabelle Lutterodt (director, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery), as well as renowned art historians and curators like Thelma Golden (director and chief curator, The Studio Museum), Phyllis J. Jackson (associate professor, art history, Pomona College), Kellie Jones (professor, art history and archaeology and the Institute for Research in African American Studies, Columbia University), and Naima J. Keith (deputy director and chief curator, California African American Museum).
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| Charles White J'Accuse! No. 5, 1966 |
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| Roy DeCarava Black Light |
In honor of the Soul of a Nation exhibition, legendary producer, musician, and composer Quincy Jones curated an exclusive playlist on Apple Music that includes James Brown’s Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud and Gil Scott Heron’s The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.
The Broad is a contemporary art museum founded by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad.
Soul of A Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983, The Broad, 221 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles; tickets are $12-$18, free for children 17 and under; free admission to Soul of a Nation every Thursday from 5 – 8 p.m. (last entry at 7 p.m.) during the exhibition’s run. For information: thebroad.org
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