"Published on the occasion of the exhibition Art and race matters: the career of Robert Colescott, organized by the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati"--Colophon. Exhibition schedule: Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati: September 20, 2019-January 12, 2020; Portland Art Museum, Oregon: February 15-May 17, 2020; Chicago Cultural Center, Illinois: June 20-September 27, 2020; Akron Art Museum, Ohio: October 25, 2020-January 31, 2021; Sarasota Museum of Art, Florida: March-June 2021. Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-249) and index. "Art and Race Matters: the Career of Robert Colescott" : September 20, 2019-January 12, 2020, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. "Art and Race Matters: the Career of Robert Colescott" : February 15-May 17, 2020, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, United States. "Art and Race Matters: the Career of Robert Colescott" : June 20-September 27, 2020, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States. "Art and Race Matters: the Career of Robert Colescott" : October 25, 2020-January 31, 2021, Akron Art Museum, Akron, Ohio, United States. "Art and Race Matters: the Career of Robert Colescott" : March-June 2021.
Contents:
Selection of writings / Robert Colescott. Colescott in the 1980s and '90s: stranger in a strange land / Lowery Stokes Sims -- Robert Colescott and family: making an artist / Lauren Mcintosh Walrod -- Robert Colescott: pride and prejudice--a memory / Mitchell D. Kahan -- Pleased to remember / Mary Lovelace O'Neal -- Robert Colescott then and now / Miriam Roberts -- Making Carrie Mae Weems's Framed by Modernism: a conversation / Carrie Mae Weems, Lowery Stokes Sims -- Reminiscences / Alfred J Quiroz, John Louder, Leon Dockery, Ramsay Bell Breslin -- Interview with Jordan and Arlene Schnitzer / Jordan Schnitzer, Arlene Schnitzer -- Those Africans look like white elephants: an interview with Robert Colescott / Joe Lewis -- Black humor squared / Richard J. Powell -- Reckoning with Robert Colescott / Barry Linderman -- Selection of writings / Robert Colescott.
Summary:
"Robert Colescott (1925-2009) was a trailblazing artist, whose august career was as unique as his singular artistic style. Known for figurative satirical paintings that exposed the ugly ironies of race in America from the 1970s through thate 1990s, his work was profoundly influential to the generations of artists that have followed him, such as Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley, and Henry Taylor, among many others. This volume--accompanying the largest retrospective of the artist's work ever mounted--surveys the entirety of Colescott's body of work, including early works which have rarely been seen. The book includes substantive essays by two of the curators of the exhibition, Lowery Stokes Sims and Matthew Weseley, as well as reminiscences and thought pieces by a variety of family, friends, collaborators, students, curators, dealers, and scholars on his work and a selection of writings by the artist himself. This collection of diverse essays, interviews, and personal remembrances presents perspectives and insights which allow for a richer understanding of the artist's work. Importantly, this catalogue provides detailed stylistic analyses of Colescott's politically inflected oeuvre, focusing on the artist's own consideration of his work in the context of the grand traditions of European painting and contemporary polemic. Relying on previously unpublished transcripts of lectures, reviews, and archival materials provided by institutions and individuals, the book offers a fuller story of the artist's important life and career." --publisher's description, dust jacket. "The most comprehensive volume devoted to the life and work of pioneering African American artist Robert Colescott, accompanying the largest traveling exhibition of his work ever mounted. Robert Colescott (1925-2009) was a trailblazing artist, whose august career was as unique as his singular artistic style. Known for figurative satirical paintings that exposed the ugly ironies of race in America from the 1970s through the late 1990s, his work was profoundly influential to the generations of artists that have followed him, such as Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley, and Henry Taylor, among many others. This volume surveys the entirety of Colescott's body of work, with contributions by more than ten curators and writers, including a substantive essay by the show's cocurator, the renowned Lowery Stokes Sims. It provides a detailed stylistic analysis of his politically inflected oeuvre, focusing on Colescott's own consideration of his work in the context of the grand traditions of European painting and contemporary polemic. In addition, the book features reminiscences and thought pieces by a variety of family, friends, students, curators, dealers, and scholars on his work as well as a selection of writings by the artist himself. Relying on previously unpublished transcripts of lectures, reviews, and archival materials provided by institutions and individuals, the book will provide a fuller story of the artist's life and career." --Publisher's website.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.