Soul of a nation: art in the age of Black power

Uittreksel

In the period of radical change that was 1963-1983, young black artists at the beginning of their careers in the USA confronted key questions and pressures. How could they make art that would stand as innovative, original, formally and materially complex, while also making work that reflected their concerns and experience as black Americans? This significant new publication, accompanying an exhibition at Tate Modern, surveys this crucial period in American art history, bringing to light previously neglected histories of twentieth-century black artists, including Sam Gilliam, Melvin Edwards, Jack Whitten, William T. Williams and Frank Bowling. This book features substantial essays from co-curators Mark Godfrey and Zoé Whitley, writing on abstraction and figuration respectively. It will also explore the art historical and social contexts with subjects including black feminism; AfriCOBRA and other artist-run groups; the role of museums in the debates of the period; and where visual art sat in relation to the Black Arts Movement.

Inhoud

Spiral to FESTAC / Mark Godfrey and Zoé Whitley ; with contributions by Susan E. Cahan -- Essays. Notes on Black abstraction / Mark Godfrey ; American skin : artists on Black figuration / Zoé Whitley -- Recollections. Samella Lewis ; Edmund Barry Gaither ; David C. Driskell ; Jae and Wadsworth Jarrell ; Linda Goode Bryant.