African American art in the era of Malcolm X and the Black Panthers
In the period of radical change that was 1963-83, young black artists at
the beginning of their careers confronted difficult questions about art,
politics and racial identity. How to make art that would stand as
innovative, original, formally and materially complex, while also making
work that reflected their concerns and experience as black Americans?
Soul of a Nation surveys this crucial period in American art history,
bringing to light previously neglected histories of 20th-century black
artists, including Sam Gilliam, Melvin Edwards, Jack Whitten, William T.
Williams, Howardina Pindell, Romare Bearden, David Hammons, Barkley L.
Hendricks, Senga Nengudi, Noah Purifoy, Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar,
Charles White and Frank Bowling.
The book features substantial essays from Mark Godfrey and Zoe Whitley,
writing on abstraction and figuration, respectively. It also explores
the art-historical and social contexts with subjects ranging from black
feminism, AfriCOBRA and other artist-run groups to the role of museums
in the debates of the period and visual art's relation to the Black Arts
Movement. Over 170 artworks by these and many other artists of the era
are illustrated in full color.
2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the first use of the term "black
power" by student activist Stokely Carmichael; it will also be 50 years
since the US Supreme Court overturned the prohibition of interracial
marriage. At this turning point in the reassessment of African American
art history, Soul of a Nation is a vital contribution to this timely
subject.
