ARTS-USA: Painting as Theatre

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Beverly Andrews

DETROIT, Jan 21 1997 (IPS) - Moody, sensual and lush, the work of black American painter Robert Freeman has received acclaim throughout the world.

His new exhibition at Detroit’s Sherry Washington Gallery looks set to enhance his reputation. The exhibit takes the visitor on a journey through the many countries Freeman has travelled to, including Morocco, Egypt, Spain and Italy.

His work brings together a strong technique with a firm grasp of his African American heritage to create powerful luminous work. Freeman says of his work: “I try to create an energy of life. A time when music, love and partying start to merge. Painting is like a performance, a surprising manipulation of the human experience.”

Freeman has often turned to theatre for inspiration like in his painting ‘The Passion Within’ inspired by the Shakespearean quote “All the world’s a stage”.

“To me painting is spontaneous theatre,” he says.

Turning to the smoky world of jazz for his impressionistic work ‘Showtime’, he portraysa stylish ladies and super cool musicians to wonderful effect.

But the strongest pieces in the exhibition are those which explain the darker side of human sexuality as shown in ‘Backstage’ and ‘Rites of Passage’. Both these paintings have a haunting quality which captures a life lived at nights filled with women dressed in red and parties which never end.

Robert Freeman is part of a long line of illustrious African American painters whose work date back to the early 19th century. Painters like Edward Mitchell Bannister and William Edmondson, despite restrictive and brutal racial climate of America at the time, established successful careers. Both now have work exhibited in the National Museum of American Art.

More recently, graffiti artist Jean Michel Basquiat became one of the most acclaimed and sought after artists in the 1980s, collaborating succesfully with pop icon Andy Warhol.

Freeman’s success on the international art scene at the moment is very much part of this trend as interest in contemporary African American and African art is gaining momentum. New York’s Guggenheim Museum recently hosted one of the largest exhibits ever of African art in the world.

Detroit has recently completed building work on a new African American museum. Due to open in February, it will be one of the largest museums for African American art in the United States.

The biographical film ‘Basquiat’, based on the life of Jean Michel Basquiat, has recently opened in New York to rave reviews. The cast list reads like a who’s who in the film world and includes David Bowie as Andy Warhol and Dennis Hopper.

This renewed interest in African American art is perhaps part of a much bigger picture. Rosalind Worthy, consultant to the Kellogs Foundation, one of the largest funding bodies in the world, states: “I think that this trend is very much a reflection of a new self confidence within the African American community.

“I think that it is very important to note that much of this work is bought by African Americans themselves. Even in the city we now have families who will exhibit the work of artists who cannot find a gallery to take them. And these private shows do very well. This is very much about a community which is comfortable with itself and is taking charge of its own destiny.”

Robert Freeman began painting in the early 1970s. His major breakthrough came in 1988 with his ‘Garden of Eden’ series which helped to give him a completely new audience. His reputation has grown since with demand for his work currently outstripping supply.

He has plans for exhibits in Los Angeles and New York but views his present exhibit in Detroit as very important since the people of Detroit currently buy more African American art than those of any other city in the United States.