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Romare Bearden in Black-and-White: Photomontage Projections, 1964

 

The Emerson Gallery at Hamilton College presents Romare Bearden in Black-and-White: Photomontage Projections, 1964 from August 25 through December 15, 2000.

Marking Romare Bearden's return to figurative work, the exhibit was first seen at Cordier and Eckstrom Gallery, New York, in 1964 and at the Corcoran Gallery, Washington D.C., in 1965. The current exhibition, which opened at the Whitney Museum of American Art's Philip Morris branch on January 17, 1997 with a record-breaking attendance, will be the first since 1965 containing both the photomontages and the collages used in Bearden's process. (left: The Dove, 1964, Estate of Romare Bearden, ACA Galleries, New York and Munich)

Romare Bearden in Black-and-White: Photomontage Projections, 1964 includes 24 photomontage projections and four collages that have not been seen together for over 30 years. In 1963 Bearden helped organize Spiral, a group of African American artists seeking to find the "Black" aesthetic and their role in the Civil Rights Movement. Bearden, inspired by the social concerns of the times, gathered together materials for the Spiral group to collaborate on a mural. When the collaborative project did not materialize, Bearden created collages depicting his world -- his childhood and summers spent in the South and in Pittsburgh, Biblical themes, jazz and blues music, and Harlem. This body of works from 1964 signifies the major themes that Bearden was to explore for the remainder of his long and successful career as an artist, themes which celebrate the rich cultural contributions of African American life.

Dr. Gail Gelburd, Executive Director of the Council for Creative Projects, is curator of the exhibit, which was an awarded an NEA grant. The Council for Creative Projects is a unique not-for-profit museum organization traversing cultural and social boundaries through the creation and distribution of innovative, multicultural art exhibitions. Funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Council works with large and small museums and educational organizations worldwide. (left: Jazz (N.Y.) Savoy--1930's, 1964, Estate of Romare Bearden, ACA Galleries, New York and Munich)

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