In This Issue…
• Queen of Diamond Playing with a Full Deck – Touchstone Gallery – June 29 to July 29, 2011; Reception – July 8 from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
• Editor’s Perspective: Freedom Riders Crusaders for Equality
• The David C. Driskell Center Executive Director & Art Collector: Robert E. Steele, PhD
• Artistic Reflections: David C. Driskell Exhibition Honoring His 80th Birthday – Brentwood Arts Exchange – June 27 to August 13, 2011; Reception – July 16 from 4 to 7 p.m.
• Jazz Lovers Alert!: A Jazzy Evening with Marcus Johnson & Art Sherrod – Radisson Hotel Largo-Washington DC – July 15, 2011 from 8 to midnight; Lake Arbor Jazz Festival – Mitchellville, MD – July 16 from 2 to 10 p.m. – Free Admission
Great News: Queen of Diamond Playing with a Full Deck – Art Deck-O: DC Playing Card Originals
Queen of Diamond – mixed media – 16”x12”
If you missed the Queen of Diamond in Is It Fine Art? Does It Matter? at The Pen and Brush, Inc., NYC, she’ll be on display with the full Washington Project deck, featuring 54 DC Metro Area Artists, at the Touchstone Gallery 901 New York Avenue, NW, D.C. from June 29 through July 29. The Washington Project deck of cards is produced by Art in Hand Cards.com.
Order a deck for $12.95 at https://www.jenneglover.com/gallery/the-washington-project-deck-of-cards/ or email jenneglover@gmail.com or call Jenne at 202-253-8098.
Editor’s Perspective: Freedom Riders Crusaders for Equality
On May 4, the Freedom Riders 50 year celebration was quietly recognized. Instead of a loud national roar heralding this historic event and their successful defeat of Jim Crow segregation, the Freedom Riders accomplishment tiptoed by. It was 1961, when these brave volunteers of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), men and women, black and white, risked their lives traveling on buses through the Deep South challenging segregated seating on interstate buses, White Only waiting areas, and race-based bathrooms in bus stations throughout the South.
I remember the turmoil incited by their non-violent actions to test the unenforced Supreme Court ruling in Boynton v. Virginia that declared segregation in interstate bus and rail stations unconstitutional. I remember seeing the brutality of crazed racist on t.v. And, I remember the joy felt when the change the Freedom Riders had courageously rallied for came to be.
Where would our Nation be today if the Freedom Riders never existed and nothing was done to correct segregation’s unlawful practices? I wonder what’s happened to our collective spirit to oppose injustice and how many today would risk their lives for the principles of freedom, justice, and equality. The bravery and commitment of the 400+ Freedom Riders should be honored, reverently celebrated, and never forgotten. Their actions are a testament to what we can do when we work together.
Click here to watch Freedom Riders, directed by Stanley Nelson.
Peace!
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The David C. Driskell Center Executive Director & Art Collector: Robert E. Steele, PhD
Energizing self…
Affirming culture!
Art is an essential ingredient in Dr. Robert Steele’s life. In 2004, he took the reigns as Executive Director for The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland, College Park.
The David C. Driskell Center was established to exalt the significant institutional legacy Dr. Driskell has made. The Center serves as a repository for growing and training people who will promote African American art and it is tasked with building a significant collection. The Center’s art collection spans the 1880’s to 2008 and includes works by Edward Bannister, Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglass, Meta Warrick Fuller, Jacob Lawrence, and many more. Commissioned pieces include art by Dr. Driskell, Faith Ringgold, Benny Andrews, Joseph Holston, and William T. Williams.
David Driskell
Reclining Nude
Woodcut 2000
Under Dr. Steele’s leadership the Center has become a nationally-known institution. He’s established a visual arts education program, including lectures and conferences, and he’s founded several endowed funds to support the Visual Art program. He calls working at the center a labor of love and his goals are to establish programs highlighting Dr. Driskell’s contributions as an artist, historian, collector, curator, and educator. He’s creating structures that document and support African American artists including producing publications, brochures, and organizing traveling programs; and he’s supporting African American printmaking operations including the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in New York, the Brandywine Workshop in Philadelphia, and the Lou Stovall Workshop, Inc. in Washington, DC.
David Driskell
Spirits Watching
Offset Lithograph 1986
Dr. Steele has written numerous entries in the St. James Guide to Black Artists. He serves on a number of advisory and board memberships including the Board of Directors of the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, the Governing Board of the Yale University Gallery of Art, and is the Founder of the National Black Arts Festival’s Collectors Guild.
Dr. Steele believes art affirms the humanity of the people and the people reflect the art. Art profoundly impacts a society’s self-worth, esteem, and sense of self. To demonstrate the power art has on a society’s self-worth, esteem, and sense of self, he points out the negative stereotypical images once used to disempower and denigrate African Americans. He believes surrounding your life with positive images will energize and affirm your self-respect.
James Wells
Untitled (model resting)
Oil on canvas c. 1950
He and he and his wife are serious art collectors. In April 2002, The Art Gallery, the Department of Art History and Archaeology and The David C. Driskell Center presented Successions: Prints by African American Artists from the Jean and Robert Steele Collection. In February 2009, Dr. Steele and his wife gifted 227 works of art by more than 120 African American artists to strengthen the Centers collection for future generations of students, artists, scholars, and the public.
Sam Gilliam
Scarcely Blue
Acrylic on wood 1995
Dr. Steele’s interest in African American art began when as an undergrad at Morehouse he worked in the Atlanta University Trevor Arnett Library. On his breaks he visited the art gallery which was featuring The Atlanta University Annual Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture and Prints by Negro Artists. At the time, he did not realize the significance of this exhibition which was organized by Hale Woodruff. Some of the artists included in the exhibit were Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, and David Driskell. Later, while attending the Episcopal Divinity School, he did a clinical internship at Harlem Hospital and during his breaks he continued developing his appreciation for African American art by visiting the Harlem Art Gallery.
Dr. Steele’s interest in African American art began when as an undergrad at Morehouse he worked in the Atlanta University Trevor Arnett Library. On his breaks he visited the art gallery which was featuring The Atlanta University Annual Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture and Prints by Negro Artists. At the time, he did not realize the significance of this exhibition which was organized by Hale Woodruff. Some of the artists included in the exhibit were Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, and David Driskell. Later, while attending the Episcopal Divinity School, he did a clinical internship at Harlem Hospital and during his breaks he continued developing his appreciation for African American art by visiting the Harlem Art Gallery.
Margo Humphrey
The Red Bed
Lithograph 5/20 2006
Dr. Steele notes in the 1960’s and 1970’s, African American art was under valued and under appreciated and it was rare if two shows in a year featured African American art. Over the last fifteen years, mainstream galleries and museums are becoming more aware of the quality of African American art, of both living and dead artist, and their recognition is driving prices up. In 2007, Swann Auction House, a major player in the arts arena, added an African American art department and they conduct regular sales.
Today, Dr. Steele’s collection includes nearly 400 established, mid-career, emerging, and graduate student artists. He buys works directly from the artists and from galleries. He collects strategically specializing in works on paper, religious and jazz imagery, and works in black and white. When purchasing art he considers the quality of the work, does it speak to him, is it well constructed, can he live with it over time, and does it fit in with his collection. He does not view his purchases as an investment, but is pleased if the work appreciates in value.
Dr. Steele’s advice to collectors:
1. Collect what’s visually pleasing to your eyes and appeals to you.
2. Collect with a goal in mind and determine the subject matter.
3. Talk to collectors, artists, scholars, curators, and read.
4. Build a library of books and exhibit catalogues.
5. Identify major artists, themes, context, and develop a national and world perspective.
He suggests a good way to train your eyes is by reviewing exhibit catalogues to determine three pieces in show that appeal to you and identify why they do and then find three pieces that don’t appeal to you and identify why they don’t.
Click here for more information on The David C. Driskell Center.
Honoring Dr. David C. Driskell’s 80th Birthday
Artistic Reflections
An Exhibition in Honor of David C. Driskell’s 80th Birthday
Featuring David C. Driskell and three of his former students
Jeremy Austin, Starmanda Bullock, and Sylvia Snowden
Artistic Reflections is presented with the generous support and cooperation of
The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora.
June 27 to August 13, 2011
Opening Reception – Saturday, July 16 from 4 to 7 p.m.
Brentwood Arts Exchange – exchanging ideas through art
@ Gateway Arts Center
(A facility of The Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission,
Department of Parks & Recreation, Prince George’s County, Arts and Cultural Heritage Division)
3901 Rhode Island Avenue
Brentwood, MD 20722
301-277-2863/ tty 301-446-6802
arts.pgparks.com
Gallery Hours:
10am – 7pm Monday through Friday
10am – 4pm Saturday
Closed Sunday
Jazz Lovers Alert!
Click here for info on Lake Arbor Jazz Festival Events.
