Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power

© Wadsworth Jarrell 'Revolutionary 1972' Private Collection

On Saturday 22nd July, I took my family to the Tate Modern to see Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power. The show opens in 1963 when the Civil Rights Movement and its dreams of integration was at its heights. 

Artists responded to these challenging times with their vibrant paintings, powerful murals, collage, photography, revolutionary clothing designs and sculptures made with Black hair, melted records, and tights.

Some of the artists have engaged with legendary figures from the period, with paintings in homage to political leaders Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Angela Davis, musician John Coltrane and sporting hero Jack Johnson. 

Muhammad Ali appears in Andy Warhol's famous painting. This was a rare opportunity to see era-defining artworks that changed the face of art in America. 

It was my granddaughter's first visit to the Tate (and to an art museum) and she loved it. She will soon be 10 years old and she said going to this event made her feel, 'all grown up.' 

It was startling to see the actual green front door of the Black Power Movement's offices covered in bullet holes! Striking photography included an image of just a noose hanging from a tree. Artifacts from lynchings were on display like something out of Medieval times.

Here are the artists:

The artists (71) 

There were 12 rooms holding the exhibition:

Room 1:  SPIRAL
Room 2:  ART ON THE STREETS
Room 3:  FIGURING BLACK POWER
Room 4:  LOS ANGELES ASSEMBLAGE
Room 5:  AFRICOBRA IN CHICAGO
Room 6:  THREE GRAPHIC ARTISTS, LOS ANGELES
Room 7:  EAST COAST ABSTRACTION
Room 8:  BLACK LIGHT
Room 9:  BLACK HEROES
Room 10:IMPROVISATION AND EXPERIMENTATION
Room 11:BETYE SAAR
Room 12:JUST ABOVE MIDTOWN

Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power runs 
from 12 July - 22 October 2017

Tate Modern and The National Gallery

View from the Cafe at the Tate Modern

On Saturday 29th August, as part of a social event, a group (6) of us went to the Tate Modern based in the former Bankside Power Station, London and to the National Gallery in London's Trafalgar Square.  

Tate Modern is a modern art gallery and Britain's national gallery of international modern art.  The Tate holds the national collection of British art from 1900 to the present day and international modern and contemporary art.  

At the Tate there were numerous exhibitions: 'Poetry and Dreams' featured a large central room dedicated to Surrealism, while the surrounding rooms featured works by artists influenced by Surrealism and its methods.  

'Energy and Process' was both challenging and controversial, particularly one room, which displayed three large canvasses that had red paint thrown at them! Is that really art I wondered!

The National Gallery was where I viewed magnificent works by the movers and shakers. There was no doubt in my mind that here was one of the greatest collections of Western European painting in the world, ranging from the Middle Ages to the first decade of the twentieth century. 

Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' (1888) was the most popular, judging by the sheer numbers of young tourists crowded in front of the painting all eagerly taking photos.  I had to jostle my way through the crowd so as to get a couple of photos for myself!

Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' (1888) at The National Gallery

The National Gallery far outweighed my expectations. I ended up buying a National Gallery Souvenir Book plus '...isms Understanding Art' by Stephen Little, which will be a handy guide to a wide range of art 'isms' which have formed the history of Western art from the early Renaissance to the present day.

...isms Understanding Art by Stephen Little (Bloomsbury, Publ 2014)

I thoroughly enjoyed this cultural and artistic treat as I'd never been to either of these galleries before.