“Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983,” a comprehensive traveling exhibition celebrating African-American art and artists from the stormy, revolutionary, momentous Black Power era, has arrived at the de Young Museum.
On view through March 15, the show features more than 150 works created in a wide range of styles by about 60 artists who were active during those 20 years.
Their work reflecting the struggle for equality is proud, political and stirring. It is also, sadly, relevant, in these times when white supremacy and other forms of racism have resurfaced in ways both subtle and blatant.
Organized and first presented at Tate Modern, London, the show, in its San Francisco incarnation, contains unique Bay Area components.
The exhibit begins with a gallery highlighting the Spiral group, a 1960s African-American artist collective. Selections from its show of black-and-white works include two paintings by Norman Lewis that debunked the notion that abstraction could not effectively depict social struggles. In the disquieting “America the Beautiful” (1960), what appears to be typical gestural brushwork contains, on closer look, elements that resemble hoods and crosses, suggesting Ku Klux Klan activity. Lewis’ similarly styled “Processional” (1965) references the Selma-to-Montgomery civil-rights march.
Los Angeles assemblage art addressing the Watts rebellion, in 1965, also receives attention. Works by Noah Purifoy and Melvin Edwards contain detritus and found objects stemming from the event.
A photography gallery pictures numerous black experiences. Major fine-art photographer Roy DeCarava is frequently featured.
Another star is Betye Saar, whose provocative and political assemblages include “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima” (1972). Saar created the work, which reimagines a racist caricature, for an exhibition at Rainbow Sign, the black cultural center and place-to-be in 1970s Berkeley.
Colorful, lively works by artists from the AfriCOBRA group include portraits by Wadsworth Jarrell of Malcolm X (“Black Prince,” 1971), Black Panther Party notables (“Liberation Soldiers,” 1972), and Angela Davis (“Revolutionary,” 1972), created in a pop-pointillist style with a hint of Gustav Klimt.
Faith Ringgold’s painting “The Flag Is Bleeding” (1967), from Ringgold’s “American People” series, features an American flag — a frequent motif in the exhibition — dripping with blood. Black and white individuals appear behind the stars and stripes.
