|
|
VENTURE INTO THE SOUL-FULFILLING It has taken Daniel Texidor Parker over 30 years to acquire the 450 masterpieces in his collection. Using his home as an example, Parker wrote African Art: the Diaspora and Beyond to induce the reader to experience at least an iota of the joy, passion and celebration that he experiences when in the presence of extraordinary works of art.
While this book unapologetically focuses on African Art and Art of the Diaspora, including paintings, sculptures, reliefs, ceramics, photographs, prints and drawings, it is meant to be an enlightening experience for all people. In Algenoy on the Rooftop, we see a masterfully layered work with a variety of meanings, from the seemingly straightforward title to the symbolic components of the overall composition. The pensive young man seems to be musing as he stares out over the rooftop and into open space. He may be pondering a decision or mourning the destruction of a dream as symbolized by the crushed, emerald-green glass scattered on the table.
The works on paper and canvas in the collection are a study of the art of our time, from 1947 to the present. The intense, vibrant colors and harmony of patterns and textures found in the African Art forms provide a source of inspiration and pleasure for everyone. Veteran Chicago artist Gregg Spears has immersed himself in the life and culture of African Americans. We see incredible details in his art and his understanding of the complexity of the African American experience. His skillful use of light and dark hues produces haunting shading and shadows in Ladies Club. Here we are presented with a series of questions: Will the brother succumb to temptation and back step? Will he take the ladies' challenge? Or will he keep stepping forward? Spears is more than a painter - he is a storyteller and we the fortunate recipients of his tales.
Some of African Art and Art of the Diaspora is referred to as fine art. This is important because the European power structure has erroneously misrepresented that the only fine art produced has come from the European community. This fallacy that all African Art equates with primitive art must cease. African Art is the first art created by humankind and therefore the first fine art. Black people must become critics of the art created by and about Black people because such art achieves its authenticity and its validation from and through the Black experience. This art should not be housed exclusively in museums; it is imperative that the cultural legacy created by our ancestors be reflected in our homes.
African art and the art of the Diaspora represents a way of life, acultural ethos of a people. A Black Arts Movement is on the horizon and steadily building and, like the symbolic Sankofa Bird of Ghana, artists of African descent are moving forward while reaching back to reclaim this Art's Greatness
|
|
African
Art: the Diaspora and Beyond, is a handsomely clothbound treasure
in stunning red with over 300 beautifully photographed works focusing
on African Art and contemporary Art. This book illustrates the powerful
interplay that takes place between art, furniture and space and provides
knowledge of cultural aesthetics in the adornment of one's home. 
