GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

SECTION B

Evenings Out

African-American Works On Paper

Rheinberger Galleries

Cleveland Institute of Art

Reviewed by Charlton Harper

Did you know that the Roosevelt image on the dime was designed by an African American artist named Selma Burke? If not, then you might want to check out "African American Works On Paper,” a show currently on view at the Cleveland Institute of Art in the Rheinberger Galleries. The exhibit features 75 works from the private collection of Georgia collectors Wes and Missy Cochran, and covers a broad range of artists, styles and techniques. CIA has made an effort to broaden the scope of the show with the addition of a film series by African American women filmmakers; a second gallery exhibit running concurrently entitled “African American Alumni"; and a series of eleven lectures focusing largely on participating alums. The show runs through December 5.

The focus of the Cochran show is necessarily limited in several ways. Because it is a private collection, it offers a basic how-to look at collecting. The astute viewer can read the subtle signs of the tastes and interests that motivate a collector. There is a limit in scope as well. The show does not attempt to tell the history of African American art, but instead focuses on 20th century artists, many still living, providing a lesson on 20th century styles and themes. And of course there is the obvious emphasis on paper, for once the star of the show rather than the step-child status it usually receives.

But that is where the limitations end. Anyone expecting a boring repetition of ideas because of the use of paper and printmaking techniques is in for a surprise. Many styles are evident, from photo-realistic techniques, through abstract expressionism, and beyond to minimalism.

The many portraits represented give good examples of this stylistic range. Try Morgan Smith's 1932 untitled watercolor of a man. Facial details are clearly realistic, but lines trail off, suggesting hair patterns and shirt collars. Elizabeth Catlett's litho-collage, Virginia, reveals a quasicubist approach to portraiture. The subject's face is sharply defined, but the emphasis is on the basic, angular shapes that form the head, set in a flat, one-dimensional space. Then there's Jack Whitten's 1964 drawing, Jimmy 1. Here, bold

"African Fantasy," linocut, James Wells

"Dialogue," etching, John Wilson

nose

lines provide a vague facial outline, nose and eyes, set amidst swirling, scribbled jagged lines and patches of light and dark. The aggressive energy is balanced by a discreet use of lighter tones around the subject's eyes, and mouth, providing a depth of character usually associated with painting.

Prints account for a

prints, like Mavis Pusey's Mobile Images, an almost ordered jumble of geometric figures, or Eldzier Cortor's steely, futuristic Compositional Study No. III, where a cold,

"John Wilson's Dialogue, a 1973 etching, packs a chilling punch, Will this boy escape his looming fate, if only, like all of us, for now? Or will he succumb to a statistical fate that few white Americans can comprehend?"

good portion of the Cochran collection. Because prints are usually made in multiple copies, they provide an easy

means of wider dissemination for the artist. Printmaking usually takes one of two forms, intaglio and relief. Intaglio printmaking (etching, engraving), involves cutting the design to be printed into the surface of the printing plate. Relief printmaking (woodcut, linocut), leaves the print on the surface of the plate, while cutting away the rest of the plate material. The wide variety of prints on view makes for an informative lesson about the form.

Ed Clark's minimalist 1977 etching Yucatan Series is almost a study in line and shades. A centered, sun-like orb is bisected horizontally by an expanse of light-toned lines. Muted grays filter downward from the top and into this central band and continue downward into black, much like a setting sun over water. James Wells has an eye for the exotic that can be traced over a lifetime of work. His early, 1929 linocut, African Fantasy, fuses bold, flowered images with an almost archaic, head-wrapped figure. The simplicity of his 1987 linocut, Bathseba and Attendant No.2 seems to pick up where Matisse's cutouts left off. His figures bear luscious, sensual curves, while the surrounding nighttime detail is equally exotic and fragrant. There are other, more complex

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mechanistic human form is surrounded by complex angled lines and shapes. There also a political message apparent in one or two works. Chains, by Mel Edwards,

is a looming forest of chains, their vine-like tentacles hanging down, ready to ensnare, reluctant to let go.

Jacob Lawrence's 1989 silkscreen, Revolt on the Amistad is a depiction of an uprising aboard a slave ship. It's a powerful, seething, melding of disjointed black, white, and brown arms and hands, oars, whips and waves. There is no realistic image of a ship, just the abstract, frenzied moment of revolt itself. We are told in a note to the work that the uprising actually occurred, was successful, and that the participants were allowed to return to Africa.

John Wilson's Dialogue, a 1973 etching, packs a chilling punch. The smiling face of a young boy, lips parted maybe in song or mid-speech, is countered by a grinning skull overlooking his left shoulder. The image says much about the inevitability of death that awaits everyone, yet it undeniably says something more about the horrific reality of the current African American experience. Will this boy escape his looming fate, if only, like all of us, for now? Or will he succumb to a statistical fate that few white Americans can comprehend? It's a private dialogue that should be heard in the public arena. A haunting, commanding work.

This is an exciting show. Its purpose seems twofold: to present to the wider public (read: white public) a group of artists who seldom receive this kind of attention, flushing out the few well-known names (like Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence), with lesser-known talents. But a walk through the gallery provides a subtle yet striking realization of the magic of paper and the techniques involved. It's fascinating to see that woodcuts have a history beyond medieval religious texts. Printmaking is alive and well in the 20th century.

Make a date to see this show, maybe check out one of the lectures or a film. Support CIA's continuing efforts to make the unfamiliar, familiar.