What is Black Art?

Friday 24 February brought together a tremendous gathering of artists, educators, and civic leaders for the opening of the Black Art and Black Artists exhibit at the Tacoma Community College Gallery. The exhibit runs through 17 March, open M-F, 10-5.

What is “black art”?  I’ve been pondering that, since before I started painting.  My most fundamental answer is “creative work that results from the African diaspora.”  Simple words, but not straightforward. 

                  For a few centuries, and especially in the US since the beginning of the twentieth century, the phrase “black art” in visual arts has implied some kind of social realism, using representation to depict the struggles and successes of Black people.  For me and other abstract artists, this poses a conundrum. 

                  We can easily circumvent the conundrum by declaring black art to be any creative work produced by a member of the African diaspora, whatever the medium and style – orchestral music, abstract poetry, abstract painting or sculpture.  A diaspora is exactly that – a spreading of people across a wide geographic and cultural territory, resulting in a myriad of experiences and expressions.

                  Can a nonblack artist produce “black art”?  Just last week, at the opening reception for the TCC Gallery show, my very thoughtful colleague Travis Johnson declared that the answer is “yes,” if the art reflects the culture and experiences of the African diaspora.  Contemporary white artists produce hip-hop art that reflects African-American-rooted culture.  Many composers and musicians have added to the jazz world of the twentieth century and beyond.  

                  So I’ll return to that fundamental answer I gave above.

Painting news

As I’ve admittedly procrastinated in composing an update on my painting, things to share have piled up.  But I haven’t procrastinated in painting!

My primary current series is titled The Impossibility of Knowing.  The works share an attempt to capture a moment (for those that are representational) or a set of shapes, and to indicate the passing of the moment or the absence of those shapes, usually by an outline of a mirrored image of the subject.  Each is on a muted background, usually graduated from light to dark.  Here’s one example, The Impossibility of Knowing (16).    Each of these is acrylic paint on a 16”x 24” canvas.

This summer, I’m also fascinated by creating an illusion of depth within a composition.  Here’s an example, in which I challenged myself to maintain a distinction in the apparent distance from the viewer to the various features, and to provide enough detail to hold the viewer’s interest.  

I’ve not abandoned my abiding interest in visual abstraction.  Here’s one of my favorite paintings, Reach (40”x 30”).

One major development has been joining the cooperative gallery Collective Visions.  It’s at 331 Pacific Avenue in Bremerton, WA.  What attracted me to the gallery is the quality of the artists, the diversity of the work, and the space being large enough for each member to have an area for display.  We rotate our exhibits at the beginning of each month, so there’s always something new, and always some works by each of us.  For those of you in or near Seattle, it’s two blocks from the ferry terminal.  Bremerton’s worth a visit:  there’s been a lot of redevelopment on the waterfront, and of course, the ferry trip is magnificent.   For those of us in or near Tacoma, it’s only a 25-minute drive beyond the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

I’ve also been accepted into the art-rental program of Ryan James Fine Arts, a commercial gallery in Kirkland, WA.  They currently have four of my pieces, for rental to commercial or individual clients.

This month (August), 13 of my small works are on display at Bluebeard Coffee Roasters at 2201 Sixth Avenue in Tacoma (standing at the east end of the Sixth Avenue collection of shops and restaurants).  These include the entire Faces of Evil series, which didn’t scare away the shop owner, and bring quizzical looks from the café’s patrons.

As always, I invite you to visit my website, jwharrington.com, to see what new things I’ve completed!