Issues in African American Art mirror issues in African American life. One can’t help but notice the ever changing questions asked by each work of art in the exhibition Titled: 30 Americans at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC. Where did we come from? African American Art is a metaphor of the African American experience. Mixed and varied influences by various cultural traditions, including those of Africa, Europe and the Americas. Where are we now? Traditional concepts of African American Art mirror the greater traditions of the United States Of America, which are rapid and ever changing due to the nature of a fast moving culture. Where are we going? It’s hard to separate the Popular Cultural influences on African American Art as it is hard to separate the influences on American life in general. This definition if personified in the photograph by Hank Willis Thomas Titled: Branded Head. Mr. Thomas speaks about how Modern American Slaves were branded as a sign of ownership and how decedents of Slaves brand themselves with Corporate Logos or Brand identity. When will we as African American people own more of our own voice on the Issues? As noted by the African American Scholar David Driskell, “We are either part of the problem or part of the solution”. The exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery takes on the overwhelming responsibility of telling a story that is long over-due. The exhibition also tries to start a conversation relative to being a part of a complex solution to issues embedded in the total African American cultural experience. Can’t we just be an American Artist? The answer to this ever plaguing question for African American Artist is found embedded in the history of the African American Civil Rights Movement. A movement that began with a defiant group of people whose ancestors were brought to this country to be the backbone of free labor during the height of the Age Of Agricultural. The answer came in this defining statement of the movement with Dr. King’s eloquent wish; “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Joseph Osborne & Bill Schoenleber Social Curators
