MS01.03.03 - Box 07 - Folder 09 - Introspectives - Exhibition Proposals, 1987, Part 2

CAAM PROPOSAL (DRAFT 4/10)—Henry Drewal

[underscored] Objective [/underscored]

The CAAM seeks -funds -for an exhibition that will explore the central issue of identity in the art of Afro-Americans and Afro—Brazi1ians—that is, how these artists view themselves in relation to their African heritage, their status as citizens in dominant white cultures, and their community. Scheduled for 1988 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Brazilian Emancipation, the exhibit is a timely and appropriate effort to evaluate and to compare the situation of peoples of African descent in the New World whose histories, while unique and distinct, are bound together in countless ways. It will focus on art as objects of deep thought that can reveal the minds of artists who have confronted, or are confronting, the questions 'of "Who are we, where are we?" [HANDWRITTEN DOWN ARROW INSERTED ACROSS THIS 1ST PARAGRAPH]

[underscored]Rationale[/underscored]

Art is a tangible manifestation of the identity of its creator. It is a construction that reveals the ethos of a time and place and the thinking of the artist. Like the individuals who create it, art shapes, and is shaped by, culture and history. Artists are among the foremost creators of culture. At the same time, they reflect the culture and era of which they are a part. Using art as the focus, * this exhibit will examine artists' orientations and intentions, their concerns as evident in the works themselves, as a means of considering questions of identity—as individuals, as members of communities, as minorities, and as descendants of Africans.

[NOTE HANDWRITTEN ON LEFT SIDE OF 2ND PARAGRAPH:] "compelling issue for Afro Am & Afro Braz. Artists --"

Since their ancestors were first brought to the New World, Afro-Americans and Afro-Brazi1ians have been finding solutions to their particular problems and circumstances. They have been shaping and creating ways of living not merely for survival, but for active self-determination. While they certainly did not forget their African traditions, they did not choose simply to "retain" or preserve the old ways (a creative choice in itself). Rather they continued to invent, constructing and transforming themselves and, in the process, American and Brazilian cultures as well. Their art is not a hollow, empty replication of African art without substance or meaning, not "survivals," but rather an invention of a meaningful tradition—created for a new situation to serve new needs, aspirations, and visions. It is not simply a synthesis or derivation, but rather a construction for a new circumstance that exhibits polyvalent attitudes toward Africa—from devotion to disinterest.

[NOTE HANDWRITTEN IN RED INK ON LEFT SIDE OF 3RD PARAGRAPH:]

"*1 [underscored]Active[/underscored] Shaping culture"

Given this perspective, the works of Afro-American and Afro-Brazi1ian artists may be grouped into three main categories based upon their primary focus:

[NOTES HANDWRITTEN IN RED INK ON LEFT SIDE OF 4TH PARAGRAPH:]

"*2 Active idea of creativity"

"*3 Where is the artist in this particular work--]

"*4 Where is he as a construction of reality?"

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[HANDWRITTEN IN RED INK:] [underscored] Start now-- work back [/underscored] where has it come from*

Lengthy interviews with

[HANDWRITTEN IN BLACK INK ON RIGHT-HAND MARGIN:] [underscored] Oyatunjia [/underscored] S.C.

1) [underscored] Constructions of Africa [/underscored]

These include a) re-creations of forms presumed to have been used in Africa, whether ritual objects or those from everyday use, b) images of an African past or present from a variety of perspectives whether idealized or critical, c) utilization of formal elements associated with Africa (techniques, media, palette, etc.) that have been handed down from generation to generation, d) incorporation of forms/styles resulting from detailed studies of tradition (such as the architectural studies of George Smith or Mel Edward), e) assimilation and visualization of philosophical concepts, or f) the total absence/non-existence of Africa. [HANDWRITTEN IN RED INK:] -- (Martin Puryear -- Richard Hunt) [HANDWRITTEN IN BLACK INK:] J. Powell Overstreet Wm T. Wms, P Keane(?)

2) [underscored] Constructions of self in the larger society (Black minorities in white-majority countries) [/underscored]

[HANDWRITTEN IN BLACK INK ON RIGHT-HAND MARGIN:] Keith Jacob Lawrence Mostly Meadows Bearden West

These would include works that comment primarily on issues of citizenship both past and present, that is, national concerns seen from the perspective of Afro-American and Afro-Brazilian artists keeping in mind the active, shaping aspect of these works. These could range from overtly and aggressively political statements to more subtle, indirect, satiric or ironic works, ones that might be said to be subversive yet still unequivocal.

3. [underscored] Constructions of self and the Black community [/underscored]

[HANDWRITTEN IN BLACK INK ON RIGHT-HAND MARGIN:] [Sylvia Catlett]

These are more strictly person in content and impact, more auto-biographical. They would be used to convey the personality of the individual artist and his/her impact as the "shaper" or definer of issues. Such works reveal the search for the inner self and self in relation to a community with shared values.

These categories, when applied to both Afro-American and Afro-Brazilian works, can be increased, expanded, contracted, sub-divided or eliminated depending upon the works surveyed and selected. It is therefore a broad, open, and flexible approach that allows us to choose the strongest pieces

[underscored] Historical Background [/underscored]

[HANDWRITTEN IN RED INK ON RIGHT-HAND MARGIN:] Start Up-to-date [underscored] and reverse trend [/underscored] *bring up

Brazil--Africans in large #s (over 3 1/2 million were brought as slaves to Brazil which was more than double the # brought to the British and French Carribean, or Spanish America, and more than 9 times the # brought to North America (Curtin 1969 Atlantic slave trade: a Census, p. 268). they came over a longer period of time to a system of slavery that varied substantially in different regions. Toward the end of the trade, the large #s of Yoruba brought in provided a strong resurgence of African culture and belief. In Brazil, the myth of assimilation was accompanied by the fact of racism in which African identity was suppressed until the 1970s. Several

[HANDWRITTEN IN RED INK ON BOTTOM MARGIN:] African retentions is a passive statement

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Carnival groups (called blocos) such as Ile Aye, Filhos de Gandhi, etc., now celebrate African culture. They are a major social and educational force that asserts the value of black culture. Many songs criticize oppression, poverty, etc. Carnival is not simply a reflection of the state of mind of black Brazilians, it has become a vehicle for the "production” of identity for poor blacks (Bisonette). The hist of Brazil is one of unofficial segregation based presumably on socio-economic status rather than color (or in the words of a well-known Brazilian saying "money whitens"). In Bahia, some Afro-Brazi1ians have lived as Africans who happen to be in Brazil, but many others in Bahia and in other parts of Brazil have adopted the official national ideology, that is "we are all Brazilians no matter what our color, since there is no racism in our country."

US—Shorter history of slavery (approx 200 yrs less than Brazil), but color line drawn in blood, clear division that set sharper separation and stricter suppression of Africanisms (that also could not be sustained through continual massive immigration of Africans as in Brazil). Oppression however fostered stubborn tenacity, and the remnants of African sources still persist in unexpected ways. Protestantism was really no more aggressive than Catholicism, but it da-emphasized certain devotional elements that could be most easily transformed by Afro-Americans—song, dance, music, trance, and art—elements that are essential in African worship. Only in revivalist/evangelical strains could these emerge.

Given the time constraints, the exhibit can only present an initial exploration of the broad question of identity/culture conscienceness. The collections being brought together in Rio may be essential for the historical aspects of the proposed show. There appears to be some small amount of recent unpublished scholarship on early Afro-American art and craft that might be compared with the early Brazilian material, but this cannot be the main thrust of the show (see below). Such a lack of material suggests a clear distinction between the histories of Blacks in Brazil and America. Some African-inspired sacred material was allowed to exist in 18/19th-century Brazil (although transformed by the presence of Iberian Catholic imagery), but it was suppressed in the US.

A reversal of this occurred in the US as Afro-Americans reappraised their Africanness and became devotees of orisa/umbanda/santeria in NY and other American cities following Black and Hispanic immigration from the Carribean (P-R, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, etc.) and Central and South America (Brazil and elsewhere) since the 1950s.

In Brazil, the religions of Afro-Brazi1ians began to attract whites, but overt and political statements of Black identity did not occur until the 1970s. Until then, a separate identity for Afro-Brazi1ians was suppresed or denied. Then with the so-called liberalization policy of the military government (called abertura = opening), African themes began to appear in Bahian carnival, many of them influenced by the Black conscienceness movement in the US of the 1960s.

[underscore] Historical material (availability)[/underscore]

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[HANDWRITTEN EDITS IN LEFT-HAND MARGIN OF THIS PARAGRAPH: "Worth Long*]

Based an conversations with several scholars (J. Vlach and others), I would say that there may be some early material, but it will not be a substantial amount nor will it be very new. The following outlines some of the recent work: 1) A graveyard study in N Carolina that replicates RFT's work, 2) The visionary artists of Athens, Georgia, that appeared in the Corcoran show, some additional writing on these people, 3) Research being done on carved walking sticks by a Fellow in American History, Smithsonian Inst., 4) some good work on quilting by person at UNC, Chapel Hill (Marianne McDonald), but CAAM did textile show in 1986, too similar?, 5) Archeological research in Carolinas now certi-fies that plantation pottery is in African tradition (mostly Akan) but this is all utilitarian ware, 6) African-American table (strong piece) published in [underscored] Clarion, [/underscored] 1981? has African legs and Second Empire top and dates from before 1870, 7) some additional work on quilting among elderly Afro-Americans in Cleveland.

[underscored]Other Alternatives:[/underscored]

[HANDWRITTEN EDITS IN LEFT-HAND MARGIN OF THIS PARAGRAPH: "Major Leifmotif"]

1."States of Mind: Afro-American and Afro-Brazi1ian Art Today" — A comparison of the works of five contemporary artists in each country as expressions of self, community, and culture with particular focus on the presence or absence of African influence. A strictly visual art exhibit with a substantial catalog that discusses the historical/cultural contexts in a summary essay and concentrates on the works, based on interviews with the artists and analysis of the pieces.

[HANDWRITTEN EDITS IN LEFT-HAND MARGIN OF THIS PARAGRAPH: "Faith belief no separation of [underscored] Secular & Sacred [/underscored] cosmos, faith, belief --]

2. "100 years of Afro-American and Afro-Brazi1ian Art, 1888-1988” — An historical survey of art created in two different cultural contexts that shows the suppression of African identity in America until Harlem Renaissance and the assertion of africanness from 1960s-present compared with multi-streams including the continuity of African idioms in Brazil and assertion of Blackness in the 1970s. Approximately 1/2 of the exhibit would consider the past (c 1888-1960) and 1/2 would deal with contemporary (1960-1988) as expressions of self and culture.

3. "Spiritual Images: Art and Faith in Afro-American and Afro-Brazi1ian Culture Today" — A comparison of the works of contemporary artists in both countries tracing the persistence of religious/spiritual themes as a leitmotif in the history of African American art. Works from Brazil would express themes ranging from broadly philosophical to specifically religious (eg Candomble, Macumba, Umbanda, Spiritualist) and those from America would consider a similar range — Christian, Muslim, Spiritualist, and African (Santeria, Yoruba, Akan, Umbanda, Vodun, etc).

4. "Spiritual Images: Art and Faith in Afro-American and Afro-Brazi1ian Culture" — Same theme as (3) above but with an historical dimension.

These last two emerged from my thoughts about a recent conversation with Mary Campbell. She remarked about the fact that so many of the artists with spiritual themes in their work were 1st generation artists from the south and that in many cases they came from families

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of preachers or deeply religious people. Artists from other backgrounds seemed to be concerned with other issues and had a fundamental difference view of the world (positivistic vs spiritual). My thought on this would be to compare the strong and continuous cultural ties to Atrica o-f some Black Bahians with Black southerners and their spiritual ties to A-frica. Then look at the work of Afro-Bahians who migrated south to Rio, San Paulo, Porto Alegre and Blacks who migrated north to NYC, Chicago, etc. and west to California to see if there are similarities. I do not know if such Brazilian artists and their work are available.

5. "Africa in Bahia and Brooklyn"—compare sacred images in clearly African traditions and the factors (historical and cultural) that give them life in the 2 places. [HANDWRITTEN "*"]

6. Determine the scope and focus of the exhibit (and catalog) being planned for Rio. On the basis of this, construct the African-American exhibit to parallel the Afro-Brazi1ian one and integrate the two in LA.

7. "The Cultural Triangle: Africa, Afro-America, and Afro-Brazil" — The cultural unity and diversity of this triad, the history and present status of the peoples, their products, ideas, and aesthetic sensibilities will be explored. This conceptual plan mirrors the architectural plan of the Museum itself. Therefore the court might display work from Africa (sculpture and large textiles) that relate closely to Afro-Brazi1ian and early Afro-American objects, and the other galleries (I, II, and III) would be open to each other and display contemporary works from Brazil and America.

RESOURCES:

[underscored] Afro-America: People [/underscored]

1. John Vlach, GWU—Early Afro-Amer art and architecture 2. John Mason, NYC—Black artists creating for African faiths (Yoruba and others) in NYC 3. Marianne McDonald, UNC, Chapel Hill—good work on black quilters 4. Maude Walhman, FSU—work on black quilters (RFT student) 5. John Nunley, St. Louis AM—Carnival exhib. 6. Victor Davson, Newark—gallery doing black diaspora shows 7. Lowery Sims, MMA—20th c. Afro-Am artists (women and performance) 8. John Moore, NYC—contemp black artists in NYC and beyond 9. Bill Ferris, Miss—Southern Black art and culture 10. Ramona Walker?, Wash, DC—research on Black carved walking sticks 11. Leslie Hammond, Maryland Inst. of Art 12. Suzanna LeVau, Mus. of Contemp Hispanic Art 13. Rosalyn Jefferies, CAA 14. Jane Farver, Alternative Mus.

[underscored] Afro-Brazil: People [/underscored]

1. Dillard Poole, Cleveland—historian of black Brazil 2. Michael Turner, Ford Foundation?—Afro-Brazi1ian/African History 3. Juana and Didi dos Santos, Bahia—scholar and artist/priest,

[HANDWRITTEN: "*Some visible--questions--underground"]

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