"Black Art: In the Absence of Light" premiered this week on HBO (as part of Black History Month, of course), and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. UVFX is a selection of reformatted black light poster paint, featuring the latest in product innovation for fluorescent technology. Bottom line: this documentary is insightful and informative from start to finish. The documentary also looks at the rising trend in collecting "black" art (check out Swizz Beatz's collection!), as well as other key points of interest (Studio Museum in Harlem, etc.). When asked about the negative review by the NY Times of that pivotal exhibit in 1976, Driskell simply dismisses it: "Who is that reviewer?" (As it turned out, a Caucasian male who had no prior knowledge of "black" art, of course!) Let me state upfront that I myself had no knowledge of any of these artists, not even Kehinde Wiley (who painted the official President Obama portrait) or Amy Sherald (who painted the official Michelle Obama portrait). David Driskell, who passed away last year not long after participating in this film, is the movie's unofficial MC.
Here he takes stock of the blossoming yet underexposed "black" arts world. / my second book ‘there’s light: artworks & conversations examining black masculinity, identity & mental well-being’ comes out in two weeks. Couple of comments: this is the latest from producer-writer-director Sam Pollard, whose excellent documentary "MLK/FBI" is still playing in theaters. From there we get introduced to a number of past and present African-American artists in the world of painting, collages, sculpture, photography, pottery, etc., including Charles White, Kerry James Marshall, Faith Ringgold, Norman Lewis, Joshua Johnston, Radcliffe Bailey, and on and on. The fact that the exhibition is curated by and African -American is just as remarkable. UV art is used in musical performances as well. Whether it’s on canvas or a person’s body, the art created is extremely unique especially when solely utilizing black light as the light source. It is a key moment in the belated recognition and appreciation of "black" art in this country. UV painting is a fun and exciting means of producing vibrant art that cannot be achieved with standard paint.
Black light art movie#
As the movie opens, it is 1976 and Tom Brokaw is interviewing David Driskell about a new exhibition called "Two Centuries of American Black Art" in New York. "Black Art: In the Absence of Light" (2021 release 86 min.) is a documentary about the state of affairs of arts by African-Americans.
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