This week’s speaker was Lydia Gordon, a curator from PEM. She was here to discuss the exhibit of Jacob Lawrence’s work. The late Jacob Lawrence is a very important African American artist. He is the first black artist to have a show at MOMA in New York City.  MOMA purchased his ‘Migration Series’ when he was 23.

 

He was a child prodigy, growing up in Harlem and learning to paint in tempera. He worked in series, creating multiple painting on panels which would comprise the series. Over the course of his career he created 10 narrative cycles in this style.

 

The PEM has his seventh cycle on display.  It is 30 panels depicting the historic struggles of the American people. He worked on this from 1954-56. The major achievement in this exhibit was to bring all the available panels together. The last time these panels were seen together in a public space was when Lawrence himself exhibited them in his gallery in 1958. One collector owns 15 of the works, another 10 were found, and 5 of the series are missing, represented by empty frames (and reproductions that were too fragile to go on tour are not framed).

 

Be sure to leave plenty of time to see the exhibit – you’ll want to read the history around each panel as you revisit famous events in American history using a visual language that is unexpected. One example Lydia showed us was the crossing of the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War. The famous image most of us recall is Washington in boat heroically crossing. Lawrence’s work shows faceless men under tarps and freezing within their boats as they cross.

 

In addition to Lawrence, there are other artists influenced by him that add to this special exhibit which will soon go on tour for the next two years.

 

Don’t miss it!

 

 

 

3/3/2020 - Meeting at the Black Cat Cafe

3/10/2020 - Board and Committees to meet

3/17/2020 - Joan Lovely

3/24/2020 - Kristen Armstrong classification speech