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Renowned artist Benny Andrews (second from right) was one of the featured panel speakers on Saturday at the Paul discuss the development of a uniquely Afro-American consciousness that holds universal artistic significance. All of
Robeson Cultural Center concerning Black artistry and its influences. Artists from around the country gathered to the people Involved in the symposium have their art work displayed at the Museum of Art.
Symposium examines Black artistry over last 60 years
By ELIZABETH A. FRANK
Collegian Arts Writer
Historic, spiritual and enlighten
ing are just a few of the words used
to describe reactions to the Since the
Harlem Renaissance symposium
that took place this weekend at the
Paul Robeson Cultural Center.
The event was sponsored through
a grant from the Equal Opportunity
Planning Committee and co-spon
sored by the Museum of Art, the
Paul Robeson Cultural Center and
the Black Studies program.
Held in conjunction with the Since
the Harlem Renaissance: 50 Years
of Afro-American Art exhibit at the
Museum of Art, the symposium
brought scholars, artists, museum
curators, students and art lovers
from all over the United States to
participate.
"Why is it after 60 years we're
still mounting surveys of Black
American art?" asked executive
director of the Studio Museum in
Harlem Mary Schmidt Campbell at
Bearden: Black art is U.S. art
By VICTORIA JAFFE
Collegian Arts Writer
Black artist Romare Bearden
doesn't want to relegate Afro-
American art's impact to just
Black culture. Black art is Ameri
can art, Bearden told a group of
reporters last Friday at the Mu
seum of Art.
Bearden is an internationally
acclaimed American artist and
the current director of New York's
Cinque Gallery. He visited the
University as part of the weekend
symposium, Since the Harlem Re
naissance.. . . This "Renais
sance" took place in the 1920 s
when people came from the south
to Harlem for more economic op
portunities. This influx of people
brought ideas and fostered an ar
tistic community. "What hadn't
been in Harlem before then was
now blooming," Bearden said.
Bearden sees his art work and
that of the other contributing art
ists- as an important aspect of
American cultural expression. In
the United States after you have
spent about two generalions here,
"you are part New Englander,
~~.~.._
the keynote speech Friday evening.
Campbell said she saw the exhibit
when it was being mounted at the
College of Old Westbury and thought
it was both important and beautiful.
"How compelling the images are,"
she said.
But, she added, a kind of "cultural
apartheid" exists that keeps Black
American artists from being includ
ed in general surveys of American
art.
Campbell said she has very mixed
feelings about exhibits like this be
cause it perpetuates that attitude.
Referring to the recurrent images
in Afro-American art she asked:
"Where do these visions come
from? What's kept them alive?"
Campbell said if this exhibit can
bring about this kind of inquiry she's
in favor of it.
All of the artists who participated
in the symposium are represented
in the exhibit. One of the most inter
esting and exciting aspects of the
symposium was getting to hear
first-hand accounts of what it was
like to be a part of the New Negro
part Westerner, part Indian and
part Black," Bearden said.
Bearden himself grew up in Har
lem and became part of the cultu
rally rich community there. Now
71 years old (though he looks att
least ten years younger) Bearden
is a very straight-forward and
personable man. He said that he is
creating more art now than ever
before, citing the murals that he is
painting for Howard University
and a Social Security building in.
Long Island, N.Y. His advice for
young aspiring artists is to work
hard and try to find your own way.
All art work expresses the time
in which it was done and makes a
social comment, not a political
statement, he said.
His own work is on display on
the second and third floors of the
Museum of Art. One of the paint
ings, The Rites of Spring, a 1967
collage and mixed- media work is
a depiction of a gardener friend he
knew in the '6os who was "con
cerned with growing things," he
explained. His cubist rendering
shows a woman giving a leafy
bundle of plants to a man as a
peace-offering.
Movement from the Harlem Renais-
sance on
The first panel, The Harlem Re
naissance, included artist David
Driskell, Edmund B. Gaither, direc
tor and curator of the Museum of the
National Center of Afro-American
Art in Boston and David Levering
Lewis, author and professor of histo
ry at Howard University and Rutg
ers University where he was named
Martin Luther King, Jr., professor
of history. Manhattan Community
College professor of art Michael
Chisolm moderated. Gaither said
the New Negro Movement in the '2os
was bigger than the Harlem Renais
sance, although Harlem saw itself
as the center of the movement.
He explained that he sees the art
of that period as part of a social
movement because art objects are
best understood in their historical
context. The 20th century, black ur
ban community began in the '2os
when Blacks migrated to the cities
from rural communities. Blacks
who moved to New York met a
whole new body of Black people,
alike yet different than themselves,
Count Basie orchestra provides some shinin•
moments though songs are obscure at times
By DIANE D. DIPIERO
Collegian Arts Writer
I'm a music lover, not a music
critic. Thus, I can't tell you when a
piano is slightly off-key or when a
trumpet misses one note. I know
when music is enjoyable, though,
and I can tell you that the World
Famous Count Basie Orchestra was
entertaining: It had a good beat and•
"you could dance to it." But I
couldn't give it the highest rating,
simply because the band didn't play
enough songs that everyone could
recognize.
concert review
The Basie Orchestra's Saturday
night concert was presented by the
Artists Series, Center for the Per
forming Arts and the Harlem Re
naissance Symposium a series of
that redefined the black experience,
he said. Levering agreed with
Gaither's social emphasis.
The first panel stressed that the
Harlem Renaissance brought about
a sympathetic portrayal of Blacks
and legitimized the Black theme.
African themes as well as the daily
life of Black people became subjects
of Black artists.
Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Cat
lett and Ernest Crichlow were the
artists who participated in the.sec
ond panel Afro-American Art of the
1940 s and 19505.
Catlett is a sculptor and printmak
er who still lives in Mexico. She
described herself as 1. Black 2. a
woman and 3. a sculptor. "I didn't
write a speech. I'm a sculptor," she
said, "not a public speaker."
She described her experience of
having to get special permission to
bus in her students from Prairies
ville University in Texas to see a
Picasso Retrospective in 1940. The
exhibit took place in an art museum
in New Orleans thar was off 7 limits
to Blacks. It was the first time most
of her students had ever seen a
events highlighting Afro-American
contributions to American culture.
It's great to know that the memory
of one of America's greatest jazz
composers and musicians lives on
in musical form.
Full of verve and wit not to
mention fabulous talent the band
featured upbeat versions of Basie
greats such as "One O'clock Jump"
and "Around about Midnight."
However, guitarist Freddie Green
announced the songs before the
audience stopped applauding, mak
ing it difficult to catch all the names
and be sure they were Basie songs.
"Moonlight Becomes You" and
"The Good Time Blues" featured
the outstanding brass section. But
the songs weren't popular enough
for all audience members to stop
and say, "Ah, yes, I like that tune."
There are other boogie numbers
that v)ould have brought the whole
audience into the picture.
Still, how can you deny this group
any praise? Danny House's alto sax
museum. "Some people are still
working under the same conditions
in the south," she said.
Commitment, support and a com
mon purpose were the three things
that characterized the artists of that
period, she said. Her sculpture
Tired is a Black woman sitting down
with an exhausted look on her face.
Artist Ernest Critchlow likened
the artistic atmosphere of the '4os
and the 'sos to the '6os. He said
warmth, caring and concern were
evident during the '4os and 'sos,in an
interracial environment that includ
ed visual artists, musicians and
writers.
He said that art is like a great pie:
It's not all black or white, you put
your piece into it and don't try to be
like others. "Don't copy draw
things from your own experience."
Margaret Taylor Burroughs par
ticipated in the 1960 s panel. She said
in the '6os "Blacks held up a mirror
to America and said we're Black
and we're beautiful. Look what
you've done to me. Americans and
Africans must be free."
solo during "Franii'ie and Johnny"
was so smooth, it seemed too easy.
A tall, husky Bob Ojeda held his
trumpet as though it were a child's
toy. But he put incredible power
into his solos. Behind him, the other
band members cheered him on.
"Keep it up, Bob." "All right,
man." The piano player wiped a
handkerchief across his forehead as
Ojeda held his notes with strength.
It was nice to watch old pros
enjoying themselves on stage.
Trumpet player Sonny Cohn smiled
through the whole performance and
gave a shy grin to the audience
after his excellent solos.
The highlight of the evening,
though, was bassist Lynn Se.4ton's
wild scat singing a series of
strange noises combining the voices
of Louis Armstrong and Animal on
The Muppets. The piano player
laughed so hard he lost his place,
and the audience ate it up.
The performance's weak spot
was vocalist Carmen Bradford. She
The Daily Collegian
Monday, Oct. 7, 1985
Social themes dominated the '6os,
and Jeff Donaldson, William Walker
and other Black artists took art to
the people when they received no
academic recognition. They created
a wall of art on adjacent buildings in
Chicago with The Wall of Respect.
The last panel dealt with the con
temporary scene. Benny Andrews, a
panel member, characterized the
present as a time when Black artists
are much less visible. "They're si
lently waiting behind closed doors to
be ready when society opens up
again," he said. Black artists,
though, are becoming more a part of
the selection process in exhibits,
Andrews said. Panelist Lowery S.
Sims, historian and associate cura
tor of 20th century art at the Metro
politan Museum said that Black
women are making personal
statements through performance
art. For example, artist Lorraine
O'Grady crashed a New York open
ing to which she was not invited in a
dress made entirely out of white
gloves and a Miss America-style
banner that said "Mademoiselle
Bourgeoisie Noire."
sweetly performed "Am I Blue?"
and "My Funny Valentine." But
her 'voice was too weak to project
through the entire auditorium, and
often her words were garbled be
hind the microphone. "Were you
expecting Lena Home?" a man in
leaving Eisenhower Auditorium
asked his disappointed wife. Not
really, but it seems that such a
highly acclaimed band would fea
ture a more powerful singer. It
would have been to the ensemble's
advantage to feature Bradford at
the beginning of the second set, and
then gone back to swinging instru
mentals.
Despite the setbacks, the Basie
Orchestra was a hit with the audi
ence, and received two standing
ovations. Talent abounds in this
group, and the members exemplify
the fun that the Count himself must
have experienced on stage. But
they say there's nothing like the
real thing, and the Basie Orchestra,
just lacks something that certainly
its founder must have possessed.
'King Lear':
Play one of several presentations given by British actors
By JENNIFER EDWARDS
Collegian Arts Writer
A little bit of England will come to
the University this week when five
actors from the London stage arrive
for a week long series of perfor
mances. Sponsored by the Artists
Series, Center for the Performing
Arts, Penn State's Institute for the
Arts and Humanistic Studies and the
departments of English, theater and
film, the group will be doing two
shows of King Lear as well as one
performance of Pinter This Evening,
which focuses on the work and life of
modern British playwright Harold
Pinter.
play prestory
The five actors Sheila Allen,
John Burgess, Julian Glover, Pippa
Guard and David Rintoul have
worked with the Royal Shakespeare
Company and the National Theatre in
London, and are now associated with
ACTER, the Association for Creative
Theatre, Education and Research.
Through ACTER, several prominent
actors from the London stage go to
different university campuses and do
several performances as part of a
program called Al,tors in Residence.
These shows 9 ,1 .% designed to give
students and fr ,ulty a deeper under
standing of the nature of works in
tended for the theater as presented by
experts. •
This group of actors will be present
ing their own version of one of Shake
speare's greatest tragedies, King
Lear. They have reworked the play so
that it can be performed by five
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dtat,i,;Collegian
actors instead of a larger group. "The
opportunity to see a five actor version
of King Lear is most unusual," said
Richard Martin, manager of pro
gramming for the Artists Series. The
performance stars Glover as King
Lear; Rintoul as both Edgar and
Edmund; Guard as Regan, Fool and
Oswald; Allen as Goneril and Corde
lia and Burgess as the Earl of Kent
and the Earl of Gloucester.
Minimal scenery and costumes are
another feature of this performance.
Teresa Tillson, audience devel
opment specialist for the Artists Se
ries, commented that sometimes it is
the spareness of the sets and cos
tumes that lets the acting be really
beautiful. "I think that the people
that go will enjoy it very much,"
Tillson added.
The first performance of King Lear
will be at 8 p.m. on Wednesday in
Penn State Sub Shops
Meatball Monday
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Schwab Auditorium and is part of the
Schwab Theatre Series. A second
performance will be offered by the
Series as a special event for non
subscribers at 8 p.m. on Saturday in
Schwab Auditorium. Tickets are $6
and $4 for students, and $8 and $6 for
nonstudents.
Pinter This Evening is also being
presented by the actors as part of the
Schwab Theatre Series. In this per
formance the actors will dramatize
the letters to and from Pinter, and
they will also do a reading of his short
play Old Times. Pinter will be pre
sented at 8 p.m. on Friday in Schwab
Auditorium. Tickets are $6 and $4 for
students, and $8 and $6 for nonstu
dents.
Three additional events that will be
free and open to the public are also
scheduled for this week.
Glover will be performing A Piece
on Robert Graves at 8 p.m. on Tues
day in 101 Kern. The actor wrote this
program for the Royal Court Theatre
in London in honor of Graves' 80th
birthday in July 1975. Consisting of
Graves' poetry and prose linked by
narration from Glover, the play is, in
the actor's words, "a gentle, incom
plete guide to Robert Graves himself
through his own writings."
Glover will also be doing a solo
reading of the heroic epic Beowulf at
8 p.m. on Thursday in the Playhouse
Theater.
A Discussion with Actors from the
British Theatres is a public forum
and will be held at 4:30 p.m. on
Thursday in 119 Arts Building.
"In addition to the performance for
the Series, the actors are assisting in
teaching," Martin said, explaining
that they will be going to several
classes during the week for seminars
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The Daily Collegian Monday. Oct. 7, 1981—I
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POETRY READING
MAY SARTON
"A Celebration of
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MONDAY, OCT. 7
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