Black Arts at OxyMain MenuIntroductionAmy Lyford's introduction to Art History 389 class projectWorks in the ExhibitionClose inspection of artists' works in contextBlack Arts, Culture and Community at Occidental: 1969-1972Landing page for Oxy historical context for the exhibition and the culture re: black student experience + curriculumBlack Arts, Culture and Community in Los Angeles: 1969-1972Landing page for research about the broader cultural, political, and artistic context in LA, 1969-1972BibliographyAll sources for the current iteration of Black Arts at OxyAmy Lyford7f58938a63eff8db4092d452d1f6451c2056d580Allison Wendt5f609f9e327122da9a07a273744d9e6d158702fcLeila Wang57ba150afc9b24810f035018ea1dcdcf8ac91999Christina Sabinf0fc1c7a57adf43a59c2ba72758e45fee772e3d4Vanessa Toddd44a174f5c0bf51566a0822429f8a0c533cf973bKellen Holte3d1dbad48f5400866a6acd47d4afed94700451aJennifer Keane585455368ba9baefcc126fd1c8f4bd3f64c3e50dSophia McGintye2afbd2b58ee1a169801b7d90740468951cc4d86Katherine Torrey6fe8a07abe4c528e68021a61b56ce660c8aa4882Emily Dwyer5902de6501051e6518d15bf822af5ad8e1c359d9Chloe Welmond980bbb8a8d7c8a417dc46daa91a71eecefd4118aKailee Stovalle823ac3a96f225f888ac5f74bc901add983ccdcfJocelyn Lob248c946ca9bbc33f02e61d9487c6b7452c7ed45
Black Artists 1970s
12016-12-06T15:20:13-08:00Vanessa Toddd44a174f5c0bf51566a0822429f8a0c533cf973b128343Group photograph of black artists working in Los Angelesplain2016-12-07T16:51:48-08:00Aneesah Ettressaef5effc74a7015f877dd59f557cf7172f5a72ea
12016-12-06T15:16:18-08:001970-197128a broader look at the cultural, artistic, and social context of Los Angeles during the years 1970-1971plain2016-12-19T08:09:44-08:00In 1970-1971, “black art” in Los Angeles was still quite young. Many of the young artists who were rising in their careers were only beginning to create their own works of art. Artists of this time, such as Noah Purifoy, Bettye Saar, and John Outterbridge, would later come to be recognized as pioneers and their work quintessential when discussing black art in not only Los Angeles, but the United States. One LA Times article tries to wrap its head around the concept of a black art exhibition in which the author poses the question: is it merely grouping together artists “whose sole affinity is the color of their skin?”. The reality for many of the young black artists during this time was that their work would be displayed in galleries that were established specifically for fostering artists of color (like the Brockman Gallery) or labeled as “black art” when shown in the larger settings.
Aside from being segregated in the gallery setting, there was also a discussion going on about the distinction between East and West coast when it comes to black art. The same article from above complains that “westerners” were omitted from the show, most likely because the organizers, who were primarily from the East Coast, did not know them. Black artist recognition was therefore largely regional, and at this period did not extend to both coasts.
Not only within the geography of the United States was there a struggle over recognition across state lines, but also a controversy as to whether or not the galleries would recognize black art as Western art when it is inspired from the individuals’ heritage from a different culture. In the fall of 1971, LACMA installed an exhibit known as “Black Africa,” which housed art all influenced and derived from Africa and how it had inspired so much art of the Western world. Los Angeles Times writer, William Wilson said about the exhibit: "Two small exhibition spaces are crowded with 127 top examples of the art of Africa, mainly from the central portion. That is the area mined by slave traders who brought black captives here. The artistic heritage that was stolen from them is incalculable... it is chilling to think what an insipid business modernistic art might have been without the inspiration to formal dignity and spiritual passion it derived from the art of Black Africa." Despite the aim of the exhibition, an acquaintance of the article's author recounted a scene of a white mother and child still referring to the art as savage and inferior to the art of the West and white people, unconsciously displaying racism.
Perhaps spurred after the Watts Uprising in 1965 in which racial tension in America became loudly undeniable, newspaper articles from 1970 onwards show a awareness of the socioeconomic inequality and racial bigotry against black Americans. By the early 1970s, a decrease in industrial work in California caused a dramatic increase in African-American poverty. Leimert Park, home to Brockman Gallery, and like many other Los Angeles neighborhoods was likewise affected, as a lack of jobs invited gang activity and the more wealthy residents moved to Baldwin Hills. By bringing common ideas and sentiments together about identity, heritage, and opportunity, the black art of this time started to become its own genre in addition to building community. Leimert Park and the Brockman Gallery is a prime example of art and small business helping to create neighborhood cohesiveness while pioneering black art in Los Angeles.
As poverty and crime increased in Los Angeles, so did tension between poor communities and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). In addition, there were boycotts aiming for a higher percentage of black employees in certain fields, requests for better funding and education in black schools. By March of 1971, black police officers used a program called the Oscar Joel Bryant Association, founded in 1968 in honor of the first black police officer to be killed in the line of duty, to work on closing the gap between LAPD officers and black communities. One ways they hoped to achieve this was by enlisting more black police officers. They also awarded scholarships to students in need. 1970 marked a renewal of black americans--from the art organizations to law enforcement--working to create a stronger and greater sense of united community.
It seems as though the most notable art by black Americans was not only seen as a “positive alternative to whatever else was going on in the ghetto”, but succinctly conveyed frustrations dealing with “the black man’s condition in America”. The LA Times writes on one poignant show exhibiting the artwork and with the various styles of Charles White, David Hammons, and Timothy Washington. The great contrast of styles was meant for the show to attract a mass audience while presenting the timeless subject of black anger towards prevalent white indifference and perpetuation of oppression. One individual, Jon Lockard, stated in a Los Angeles Sentinel article, “The black artist today has an obligation and a responsibility to be the clarion of black life…Artists have for long periods of time had to paint to the satisfaction of critics and galleries rather than the very community that they were from.”Black artists at the time were not solely making art for the sake of exhibitions and sales, but for their important narratives resulting in experimental and entirely fresh work.
Page created by Jocelyn Lo, Sophia McGinty, Vanessa Todd and Leila Wang in December 2016.
