Artists of the Sixties
By Hale Woodruff
WHAT CRITERIA are appropriate to the
valid assessment of the art of a people'? For
the answer, one must look first to the interact
ing forces which shape the artist as well as
his art and, in the process, guard against over
simplification, for these forces are far more
complex than they seem. There is, of course,
the obvious factor of those broad cultural
conditions which form the artist's immediate
environmental experience. But there is also
the factor of the artist's own interpretation
of, and reaction to, his cultural experience.
Thus, while culture and environment may
provide ideas and themes, they are always,
as art, filtered through the artist's own mode
of formulation-his personal language. This
combination of forces effects a primary par
ticularization of the art in question. In con
cert, interacting among a group of artists,
these forces become virtually a dialect.
But we must strive even beyond subject
content and esthetic language to get at our
roots, for perhaps the most valid measure of
any art lies in the impact of qualities outside
the obvious. Certainly, in the domain of the
spirit and the senses, intangible but real, are
forces which grip the very nature of art.
For the Negro American artist these forces
may be especially significant. While he is
naturally responsive to the general environ
mental culture of which he is a part-a cul
ture which, incidentally, has fostered many Of
the broad and varied concepts of contempo
rary art, he seems sometimes to have pursued
a tangential and independent search for an
appropriate esthetic dialect. There is specula
tion, if not certainty, that this search stems
from present-day social motivations. On the
other hand, his quest may simply come from
overriding concern with the broader prob
lems of art itself. Whatever the reasons, it
seems clear that the Negro artist has ap
proached his art with a peculiar dedication,
singularly avoiding the traps of mere jour
nalistic narrative and literal banality to which
so many other groups have fallen prey.
Thus, there are notable instances in which
true and impressive achievements of artistic
dialect have been realized by Negro artists.
Some of them have undoubtedly been characterized
by a kind of "racial quality"-at least
they show indications of reaction and in
terpretation involving the experience of being
part of a culture in which Negroes are a
minority. For the greater part, however, the
foundations upon which the Negro American has
constructed his artistic language have
been those which are rooted in the larger body
of art itself, perhaps because they see in this
larger body the opportunity for a totally free
"universality" of artistic expression. The
situation has given rise to claims that the
Negro artist in America is an eclectic and
that his eclecticism has obscured, if not ob
literated, his more valid racial qualities.
Granted that the claim contains a certain
measures of truth, the allegations are super
ficial since they are generally based upon a
superficial viewing of the outer crust of
stylistic mannerisms rather than upon a clos
er, and more revealing, examination of the
qualities which lie beneath. There, if one
takes the trouble to look, will be found an
intensity of spirit, a profundity of the senses,
and a vitality of statement.
Moreover, while no attempt to justify
eclecticism is intended here, it ought to be
pointed out that eclecticism has character
ized the development of art throughout
history. The formal qualities of art have
constantly been drawn upon by artists of
varying cultures; the test is whether these
qualities have been given new meanings
and fresh significance.
It is equally risky to weigh the relative
efficacy of art derived from broad environ
mental culture against that which emanates
from more narrowly oriented racial sources.
Not that these relative considerations must
necessarily be overlooked, but the work
of art must, finally, be judged upon its
own merit.
Let us examine Lawrence. Here is a painter
who, with a forcefully compelling sense of
design rising from experience, brings us into
immediate contact with a world which we
know only too well. He has, in a sense.
triumphed in the quest for an esthetic lan
guage which formulates reaction to environ
mental experience. Achieving a compatibility
of subject, form and content, he has estab
lished an artistically harmonious fusion of
three qualities which are often regarded
as irreconcilable.
Robert Reid tends toward poetic imagery.
projecting forms and symbols that have little
to do with nature in the everyday sense of the
term. Reid also resorts to playful brushwork.
vitalizing abstract concepts and static space
with a lively animation they might not
otherwise possess.
Sam Gilliam, on the other hand, has de
clared allegiance to the current trend called
"1-lard Edge" painting--a style that is gaining
popularity not only in America but in other
parts of the world. The precision and purity
of Gilliam's geometric forms are commensur
ate with the clean propriety of his bold colors,
used in a way suggesting that he intends them
chiefly for the purpose of evoking a response
of pure sensation.
As Gilliam is dedicated to the "New Painting,"
so does Todd Williams subscribe to the "New
Sculpture." The mechanical-like forms of his
works combine functioning organic
unity of movement with spatial dynamics.
Despite this, however, Williams rescues
his compositions from the cold rigidity of a
machine through his amazingly imaginative
creativity. In effect, his work challenges
the claim that this form of art rests solely
on a soulless world of technology and its
mechanistic instruments.
Another of the younger group. Richard
Hunt, showed promise of becoming one of
the leading sculptors of the day at the very
outset of his career. He now seems to be
reaching fulfillment. Although Hunt's work
may be categorically referred to as abstract.
it seems to be based on a figurative motif. At
least this is suggested by the nature of his
forms. The true impact of Hunt's sculpture
derives, however, from the warm humanness
with which he tempers and qualifies it.
Barbara Chase, likewise, has her own dis
tinct form and style. "Big little sculptures" is
perhaps the most consummate and direct way
to define her work. In this context it is
obvious that "bigness" is not synonymous
with size or scale; it refers instead to the
magnitude of ideas and interpretations em
bodied in sculpture that speaks strongly,
eloquently, and with conviction.
Both Hunt and Chase are keenly aware of
the role played by the material used in their
works. For them, the medium of metal
contributes a vital factor to the visual totality
of their ideas. There seems little doubt that
had these works been executed in stone or
wood the forms, as well as sensory response to
them, would have been quite different.
Indeed, the restrictions imposed on the
artist by his medium are often exploited by
him to significant esthetic advantage. The
graphic works of William Majors and Norma
Morgan are cases in point. Etched in metal
plates, Majors' delicate lines become enchant
ingly visual poetry. Morgan, too, engages a
wide range of linear and textured variations.
and the works of both artists, through the
light-to-heavy weights of line and surface
treatment, rise crescendo-like, then descend.
to lead us over an elegant deployment of
surface patterns and shapes.
The works of Charles White, now active
primarily as a draughtsman. can be broadly
characterized as "graphics." Apparently quite
remote from the purposes of Majors or Mor
gan, his aim seems to be to bring us immed
iately face to face with his subject and the
characters involved in it. Although his characters
are often obliquely symbolic in their
treatment, the unequivocal reality of each of them,
not as a person but all persons, is a
reminder to us of the travails, perhaps
agonies, that mankind have always known.
Emilio Cruz surrounds his figures with
voluminous shapes of color. Indeed, in Cruz's
hands, color dominates imagery. His figures
appear to come under the pervasive spell of
harmonious and contrasting colors, moving
chameleon-like as they take their places within
the total spectrum.
It seems obvious, then, from the diversity
of even so compact a collection as this, that the
works of contemporary Negro American
artists run the full gamut of expression. Is
there a single thread which serves either as a
racial or esthetic bond to link these works in
a unified purpose? The answer must come
as answers almost always do-from exam
ination of the works themselves. They are
faits accomplis. They speak for themselves.
And they augur well for the future.