Ernie Barnes * Rhythm In His Art

Ernie Barnes * Rhythm In His Art

Ok! It’s that time of year again. Noticed so many Instagram posts announcing college football events. Tons of clips of HBCU marching groups, with their fancy Drum Majors, big bands and cheerful Cheer leaders. All the best to them!

Watching reminds me of the image above. Can’t you just hear his whistle, the brass section, the drums? Strut on.

I Love it!

A former football player turned artist, Mr Barnes’ work, filled with sports figures and images of everyday people, is known for his use of bright color and elongated figures.

Ernie Barnes, 1939 – 2009, “Drum Major”.

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Caravaggio -“Thug”?

Caravaggio -“Thug”?

(Originally posted 3/5/12)

A PBS program that I enjoyed is now on DVD –  “Simon Schama’s – Power of Art”. Relaxed and informative, it even includes some personal tidbits about one of my favorite artists. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was gloriously talented, but he was also a youthful offender – violent and incorrigible. Not a cute “Denis the Menace” type, (he murdered a rival) but, as Schama labels him – a thug. I was shocked! Does his anger and madness show in his art?  Maybe.

Considered part of the early Italian Baroque style of painting, his work, perhaps as a way of seeking redemption, focused on biblical themes – but, if you look at the faces, you will notice that these are no cherubs or saints, his paintings are inhabited by the people that he found in the local taverns with all their blemishes and wrinkles. I’ve found his work to be vibrant and alive regardless of its theme – whether card players or John the Baptist – full of energy, often full of violence, always very up close and in your face. 

Schama narrates the hour and takes a gossipy, anecdotal look at the short life of Michelangelo Caravaggio, (1571 – 1610), and includes some re enactments to give background as to why/how certain paintings were created – like “Calling of Saint Matthew” and  his “David with the Head of Goliath”.

BTW – Caravaggio was like Alfred Hitchcock, who always had a walk on or walkthrough in his movies and TV shows – the artist liked to paint himself in the middle of his scenes – with a table of card sharks, with a group of musicians and most notably, he serves himself up as the “Head of Goliath”. 

The PBS series included the same 8 artists that are highlighted in Mr. Schama’s book of the same name, “Power of Art”: Caravaggio, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso, Rothko and Bernini.

(Image:   David with the Head of Goliath, c. 1609. Oil on panel)

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Art Conversation Series: Artist and Teacher, Dr. J. Eugene Grigsby Jr.

Artist Eugene Grigsby,1918 – 2013, taught at Arizona State for 20 years and spent two decades teaching in Phoenix public schools.

  1. What are the ideas or points of view that you’ve wanted to communicate in your paintings? I don’t know what I am communicating really until the painting is done. While I am working I am concentrating on design and how to cover a white canvas or paper. Using themes or patterns that I’ve found in African Sculpture or fabrics I wait until I’m done to see what’s there in terms of a social nature.
  2. Is there any one of your paintings that you feel epitomizes your thinking about art? The “Family” it represents design as well as a family which is an integrated family and is pulled together with design of faces and figures influenced by the artThe Family by JEGrigsby of the Kuba people of the Congo. This is a multiracial family, White mother, Black father and bi-racial children, a situation that was seen as illegal not long ago in this country. It is not lost on me that this portrays the family of some one who may become the President of the US.
  3. Is there anyone, who’s work you appreciate and that you feel is communicating along the same line? Samella Lewis' oil painting ``Interior,`` painted in 1996Rip Woods and Samella Lewis, who has written several books on Black/African American Artist and was the founder of International Review of African American Art, which has been taken over by Hampton University.
  4. You’ve spent a long time teaching and training young artists. Do you feel that your ideas/methods, what and how you taught, are being carried forward by new instructors? I feel that my major contribution is that of teaching more so then in my art. Many of my students have gone on to teaching art and have been, I believe, influenced by my teaching and method of teaching.
  5. Tell me about your teaching method? I’ve worked with my students on all aspects of their creativity. Each of my students was a class, meaning if I had ten students in one room I approached this as if I was teaching ten classes, because each student could be doing something different and with a different ability level. Some students would be working with jewelry, fashion design or painting etc. They would create a work book, which was a plan on what they wanted to get accomplished in my class, the materials they would use and the steps they would take to have their goal completed. Students were responsible for grading themselves and evaluating their progress based on what they said they wanted vs. what they actually did. Home work for my classes was to have students observe something in their lives, memorize what they had seen and as part next days class to compose a painting of what they observed the day before. They had a goal of completing a painting each day, and seeing the progress in their work. I also encourage students to make contact with an artist they admired. One of the students was interested in fashion design and wrote to “Coco Chanel”. Not only did she receive a response but continued for a while to receive information, advice and feedback that supported her in her studies. Something else I did was to have students study artists and their method of working. Later on they would do a self portrait in the style of the artist they studied. This way of learning I believe provided the students with a deeper understanding of the artist. Over the years many of my students were able to accomplish wonderful results, some in the arts and others in different fields. Many of them have stayed in touch and recount how what they had learned had assisted them with their careers as historian, nurses, writers and teachers. My goal was always to recognize individual ability and to see if I could help maximize their results.
  6. Activism, do you think that art can change the world? Some of my heroes, great artist like Picasso and Goya created work that spoke about a time in the world’s history that needed to change. They and others painted and wrote about an unvarnished truth that I feel may have helped to motivate people and governments to do something different. Art can free people up to think.
  7. Over the years, you have known many great artists, would they be surprised about the diversity in art today? I don’t think they would be surprised at all, they were all so different. Many of our African American painters and writers were forerunners to some of what we see now coming from our communities. No I don’t think they would be surprised, but they would be pleased.
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Faith Ringgold, R.I.P. * American Artist ~ 1930 – 2024

“Faith Ringgold: American People”  was her West Coast debut at the de Young museum in San Francisco, CA November 2022.

“Bringing together fifty years of work, this is the most comprehensive exhibition to date of Faith Ringgold’s groundbreaking vision…”

“From creating some of the most indelible artworks of the civil rights era to challenging accepted hierarchies of art versus craft through her experimental story quilts, Faith Ringgold’s body of work bears witness to the complexity of the American experience.”

Faith Ringgold: American People

de Young Museum: Golden Gate Park \ 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive,  SF, CA

(Image: Faith Ringgold, pictured before her 1997 painting, “The Flag Is Bleeding #2”)

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Vision & Sound * Black History At The Sedona Arts Center, AZ

“ Vision & Sound: An African American Experience program highlights the work of eight prolific artists that represent various mediums and genres of art…”  

“We strive to build supportive relationships to encourage cultural equity throughout Arizona and beyond – recognizing that professional American artists of African descent are too often overlooked.”

Featured Artists:

  • Patricia Bohannon
  • Dorrell Bradford
  • Jacqueline Chanda
  • Amber Doe
  • Debra Edgerton
  • Jerome Fleming
  • Isse Maloi
  • Bob Martin
  • Chip Thomas
  • George Welch
  • Shoreigh Williams

~Schedule of Events and Exhibitions~

Sedona, Goodyear, Peoria

 

*January 5-March 27, 2024

Peoria Library Exhibition / Peoria Main Library

8463 W Monroe St, Peoria, AZ 85345

Featuring the artwork and creativity of Patricia Bohannon, Jacqueline Chanda, Dorrell

Bradford, Jerome Fleming, and Isse Maloi.

*February 1-29, 2024

Sedona Arts Center Vision & Sound Exhibition & Sale

15 Art Barn Road, Sedona, AZ

Open: Mon-Sat 10AM – 5PM, Sun 12PM-5PM,

Featuring the artwork and creativity of Patricia Bohannon, Dorrell Bradford, Jacqueline

Chanda, Amber Doe, Debra Edgerton, Jerome Fleming, Isse Maloi, Chip Thomas, and

George Welch

*January 31- March 26, 2024

Goodyear Library Exhibition

Georgia T Lord Library, Goodyear, AZ

1900 N. Civic Square, Goodyear, AZ 85395

Featuring the artwork and creativity of Patricia Bohannon, Dorrell Bradford, Amber Doe,

Jerome Fleming, Isse Maloi, and Bob Martin

*Sunday-Monday, February 25-26, 2024

Vision and Sound Symposium

Sedona Arts Center, 15 Art Barn Road, Sedona, AZ

The Symposium will feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, performances, receptions,

and reflections. In addition, ADEI training will be included throughout, incorporating Critical

Response methodology. This year’s symposium will feature guest speaker Chip Thomas and a workshop led by Liz Lerman.

*Saturday, March 2, 2024, 9am-3pm

Peoria Arts Festival, City of Peoria

Vision and Sound artists will be demonstrating and providing workshops during the event.

*Saturday, March 2, 2024, 7-8:30pm

Concert featuring Don William and Friends

Peoria Center for the Performing Arts, Peoria

10580 N 83rd Dr, Peoria, AZ 85345

Join us for a special concert featuring Don William and Friends.

 

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