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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Artist Eugene Grigsby,1918 – 2013, taught at Arizona State for 20 years and spent two decades teaching in Phoenix public schools.
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. 
Rip 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.
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.
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:
“P.S. Art is an annual celebration of achievement in the arts in New York City public schools. This juried exhibition of work created during the 2019–20 school year by talented young artists showcases the creativity of 122 prekindergarten through grade 12 students from all five boroughs, including students from District 75, a citywide district serving students with disabilities. The exhibition consists of paintings, prints, sculptures, photographs, mixed-media works, collages, and drawings…”
Click here for online Catalog info
P.S. Art 2020:
Celebrating the Creative Spirit of New York City Kids
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
5th Ave and 86 Street, NYC