Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Deeper Discussion
Artists converge on Crystal Bridges -
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville presents its first temporary exhibition of the year starting Feb. 3, and with it, a momentous symposium featuring artists represented in the exhibition.
“Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power” assembles works by more than 60 African-American artists, created during the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s in response to the civil rights movement. The collection, co-curated by Crystal Bridges contemporary art curator Lauren Haynes in collaboration with the Tate Modern museum in London, provides an introspective look at the role African-American artists served during the social and political movements of the time, and how their influence has endured today.
Though black artists living in specific parts of the country, or working in specific media, have been closely examined by art historians and curators before, Haynes asserts “Soul of a Nation” is a significant contribution to the conversation about the legacy of black artists during this tumultuous time.
“This exhibition is … a very particular time in our nation’s history. And work that was created as people were processing and living that shows the connection that artists are always taking in everything that’s happening [around them] and responding and reflecting to what’s going on,” she shares. “The newest work in the exhibition is close to 35 years old, so I think that lets us see how art is timeless in a way, and [how] things made in a particular moment can still have resonance in the present and allow us to think about where we are and where we have been.”
That dialogue between past and present comes full circle for the museum as it hosts a daylong symposium featuring several artists whose work is included in the exhibition. Conversations and panel discussions with artists, curators of the exhibition and experts on art history will reflect on art, politics, music and community in the age of black power.
It’s no small achievement for Crystal Bridges to be hosting so many prolific artists on one day, for one event, and Haynes and senior museum educator Moira Anderson are excited to see how the artists’ experiences will affect audiences’ engagement with and understanding of the exhibition.
“Most of the artists are prepared to discuss the artworks they have in the ‘Soul of a Nation’ exhibition, but this also provides the opportunity to hear personal stories and direct accounts of what was happening while they were creating the work,” Anderson reveals. In addition, many of the artists are still working and can speak to how their art continues to be responsive to the world around them.
“Any time we bring a living artist in to speak about their work, it ends up creating [such] a richer access point,” she continues. “We’re hoping [guests] will have that opportunity themselves to go back to the exhibition and to examine that work with some of the questions that might arise while they’re listening to the presenters speak.”
One example is the lasting influence of groups like Afri-COBRA in Chicago and the Kamoinge Workshop in New York. Founded in the 1960s, members of both collectives will speak during the symposium about their struggle against inequality and their goals as artists.
“This exhibition is a reflection and reminder [of] the men and women who picked up the camera in order to document and reflect on the beauty, style and struggles in black communities across the country,” offers Deborah Willis, moderator for the photography panel discussion with the Kamoinge founders. “We have seen countless images on black life across the diaspora, and I consider these photographs to be a mosaic of the black experience [as] they expand our consciousness and challenge what we think we know about black life.”
“I think it’s going to allow for much deeper understanding and people are going to see this new dimension to the work,” Haynes adds of the symposium’s significance. “We’ll hear the different perspectives about individual experiences, [which is nice], because I think often we group people together or say, ‘This is the way black artists experienced this time,’ or ‘This is how they made work.’ But this exhibition shows the multiple voices, and with the symposium we’ll get to hear firsthand from multiple people.”