WCMA Looks at 'African Americans & American Scene'
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art will present "African Americans and the American Scene, 1929–1945" this spring.On view from Jan. 14 to April 22, the exhibit explores the role of African-Americans in the visual and performing arts during the Great Depression. A gallery talk will be held on Thursday, Feb. 16, at 4:30 p.m. followed by a public reception to 7:30. The event are free and open to the public.
Shaken by the economic collapse of the Great Depression, the country experienced a profound crisis of national identity. Artists began to picture the "American Scene," subjects culled from daily life such as farms, labor, picnics and landscapes. African-American culture was used as source material for depicting the American Scene. Furthermore, federal funding for the arts during the depression provided opportunities for white and black artists alike. Through visual art, dance, and film, the exhibit endeavors to sift though the complexities of racial representation in art and the social inclusion and exclusion that affected black artists and performers' access to their medium of choice.
Artists featured include Thomas Hart Benton, Walker Evans, Robert Gwathmey, Dorothea Lange, Aaron Siskind and Marion Post Wolcott. Artwork by Samuel Brown, Jacob Lawrence and William H. Johnson will highlight the ways that black artists engaged with the American Scene movement. The visual art from the 1930s and '40s will be paired with Barbara Morgan's photographs of modern dancer Pearl Primus and artistic storyboards from the film "Emperor Jones," starring Paul Robeson.
The exhibit is co-curated by Dalila Scruggs, Mellon Curator for Diversity in the Arts, and Sandra Burton, Lipp Family Director of Dance at Williams College. A variety of programs and events are planned for students and the general public for the duration of the exhibition.
This exhibition is made possible by the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation through the establishment of the Williams College Museum of Art Mellon Curatorial Fellowship for Diversity in the Arts.
