It is not necessary that we come to an agreement about what is good works of art. It is important that we independently see value in the art that we like and appreciate. To have our own listening, our own sight, that we are not relying on what others think. We don’t need talking heads for everything.
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Isn’t this beautiful!
This 16th century brass piece is the head of a West African “Oba”, or king. Many such examples of royal sculpture, from the Benin Kingdom of Nigeria, Edo Empire (it flourished from 1440 to the late 1800’s), are included in the Met’s “Arts of Oceania, and the Americas” permanent exhibits.
I am so grateful that some of this former kingdom’s art has been preserved. Art can be such a history lesson sometimes. So often it represents what is most important to a people during specific periods of their time.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
5th Ave and 86 Street, NYC
*Head of an Oba, 16th century (ca. 1550)
Nigeria; Edo, Court of Benin (Brass)
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Mr Sidney Poitier, whom I considered a national treasure, has left us, 1/7/22 at age 94, with great stories, great images and lots of pride and warm thoughts. He lived his life. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Grammy. He had success as an actor, director, author and perhaps more importantly, as a man.
Born in 1927 in the Bahamas, Mr. Poitier went to New York as a teen, taught himself to read and catapulted himself into an acting career- a movie star. Not an easy road, but he did it with humor, grace, determination and a never wavering belief in him self.
He condensed some of the life lessons learned into books, not just about his journey, but also about how to conduct himself in an often difficult and complicated world.
Sir Poitier shared:
“The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography”, 2000
“Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter” 2005
“Those that stop their questioning at 75, 60, even 30, cut short their explorations and end up with permanently unfinished lives.” – From “Life Beyond Measure: Letter to My Great-Granddaughter”
~The below text was originally posted in 2009. With the popularity of Mr Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” last year, (film still available on Netflix) I wanted to list his other work again.
The ambitious intentions of a playwright resulted in the impressive, and enjoyable, “August Wilson Century Cycle”. It consists of a play for every decade of the 20th century that would chronicle some part of the black experience in America.
Through the use of his great ear for dialogue, Wilson (1945 – 2005) was able to give us some insight into the daily life – both struggles and triumphs – of an assortment of universal characters that his audience could easily recognize.
An ambitious undertaking, but, his huge vision was realized and, btw, it resulted in 2 Pulitzers and a Tony award. He accomplished a lot doing what he loved to do and perhaps more importantly, August Wilson left a powerful body of work that will be read and performed for years to come. Dreaming big has rewards of all kinds.
All 10 of August Wilson’s plays are collected in hard cover with a nice presentation box. Each has an introduction by an actor, director or writer familiar with his work.
In 2005, August Wilson completed the ten-play cycle:
The annual event will be different this year. After 22 years of welcoming children and adults to their wide selections of events in person, the 2020 HBF will be “virtual”.
~ “HBF2020 will be live-streamed on Facebook Live, with simultaneous links to YouTube, Instagram Live, QBR.com, Harlembookfair.com, CAOTtv.com”
~ “Multi-platform broadcasting: The Harlem Book Fair will be available where online readers go for their information. New readers; new audiences”
~ “Your favorite books, authors, and most compelling issues presented directly to your device.”
Saturday, July 18, 2020
“The vision of the Harlem Book Fair is to partner with local and national leadership organizations under the banner of literacy awareness, affirming HBF as the nation’s largest African American literary event celebrating family literacy, community empowerment, and community cooperation.“
The “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983″ exhibit has been traveling the U.S. since last year. NYC, Houston and most recently last Fall in LA, it is now ending its San Francisco stay at the De Young Museum. The presentation “shines a bright light on the vital contribution of Black artists made over two decades, beginning in 1963 at the height of the civil rights movement…”
“Featuring the work of more than 60 influential artists* and including vibrant paintings, powerful sculptures, street photography, murals, and more, this landmark exhibition is a rare opportunity to see era-defining artworks that changed the face of art in America.”
* Romare Bearden, Barkley Hendricks, Noah Purifoy, Martin Puryear, Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar, Alma Thomas, Charles White, William T. Williams
Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983 (Til March 15, 2020)
De Young Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA
(Photo: A Boy in front of the Loew’s 125th Street Movie Theater, Dawoud Bey, 1976)