Beauford Delaney (1901–1979), Portrait of a Young Musician, Studio Museum in Harlem,
An exploration in what was called “Avant-garde” , sometimes dismissed because of unfamiliarity and being seen as ahead of it’s time, because it was. Starting over, musically and visually. Realism was found to be not real.
“The exhibition’s title is drawn from a 1960 solo album by virtuoso jazz pianist Jaki Byard in which improvisation on blues form becomes a basis for avant-garde exploration. The title suggests that the expanded poetics of the blues is pervasive—but also diffuse and difficult to pin down. By presenting an uncommon heterogeneity of subject matter, art historical contexts, formal and conceptual inclinations, genres and disciplines, Blues for Smoke holds artists and art worlds together that are often kept apart, within and across lines of race, generation, and canon.” Blues for Smoke,
[youtube http://youtu.be/mhBFk54qBNk]
The Whitney Museum of Contemporary Art exhibit “Blues for Smoke” accompanied by a series of musical performances will be on view until April 28th.