#americanartist

ALT

ALT

Born in San Francisco, Carlos Villa (1936 – 2013), was an Asian-American of Filipino descent. He once described himself as “a Filipino not born in the Philippines—I am an American, not fully accepted because I am a Filipino in America.” 

Villa’s work explored cultural diversity and identity. He lived in Los Angeles and New York in the 1960s, but returned to San Francisco in 1969. There he began teaching art and became involved with multicultural activism. 

Image 1: “Tatu”, 1969, ink on itec print, 22”x 18”

Image 2: Black and white photograph of Carlos Villa by Irene Poon, 1997

Leading the way : Asian American artists of the older generation
Photographic portraits and biographical sketches by Irene Poon ; [introduction by Paul Karlstrom ; foreword by Nanying Stella Wong ; historical essay by Lorraine Dong].
Poon, Irene. 
Wenham, Mass. : Gordon College, 2001.
108 p. : ill. (some col.), ports. ; 31 cm.
“The creativity and careers of the pioneering artists featured in this publication is the subject of a ground-breaking exhibition at Gordon College. Selected art works and Irene Poon’s photographic portraits of these senior Asian American artists provide an insightful introduction to the Asian American artists who led the way in the decades of the 30s through the 60s. Many of these artists continue to be productive in the 21st century.”–BOOK JACKET.
English
2001
HOLLIS number: 990087693250203941

ALT

ALT

Ruth Asawa (1926 – 2013), best known for her looped wire sculptures, worked in a wide range of media, including drawing, painting, lithograph, ceramic, and public art. In the May 2022 issue of Artforum, Kaelen Wilson-Goldie writes in an article entitled “Productive Tensions” that “Asawa worked in a crowded constellation of artmaking modes.” 

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Asawa and her family were sent to internment camps all over the country. Her father was arrested, and Asawa faced unrelenting  prejudice and racism. After nearly completing her training at Milwaukee State Teachers College, Asawa learned that she would not be able to complete the student teaching requirement for her degree, because at the time no schools would allow a Japanese-American student teacher into their classrooms.

In a letter to her daughter Lanier, Asawa wrote, “I no longer want to nurse such wounds.” Then turning to her hands to work on sculpture, “I now want to wrap fingers cut by aluminum shavings, and hands scratched by wire.” To warn her daughter about the prejudice and violence her children may face, Asawa continued, “This attitude has forced me to become a citizen of the universe, by which I grow infinity smaller, than if I belonged to a family, or province, or race.” 

Image 1: Black and white photograph of Asawa drawing at her home. Photo: Bob Turner. 1990.

Image 2: Asawa teaching art to elementary school students in San Francisco. Photo: Laurence Cuneo. 1973.

You can find Artforum and many other periodicals in our Reading Room.

ALT

“What kind of fight should we carry on in art?” This was a question raised by one of the students who were attended a two-day exploration of human empathy led by artist Kara Walker along writer Rebecca Walker in Turin, Italy in 2011, Walker responded, “Well, the struggle for quite a long time has been to make work as a woman artist, or woman artist of color, without necessarily having to explain what being a woman artist, or a woman of color, actually is, all the time, without assuming that the audience viewing the work or listening or reading is something other than you.” (p. 167)

Kara Walker : a negress of noteworthy talent
Attribution: a cura di Olga Gambari ; [testi, Richard Flood … [et al.]].
Author / Creator: Walker, Kara Elizabeth
Torino : Fondazione Merz, c2011.
207 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 22 cm.
Italian
English
Catalog of an exhibition held at the Fondazione Merz, Turin, Italy, Mar. 25-July 3, 2011.
Includes bibliographical references.
c2011
HOLLIS number: 990130664810203941

ALT

ALT

American artist Cindy Sherman (1954 - ) has long been challenging people’s perceptions of women and the construction of identity by playing various female roles in her photographic work. Sherman created her Untitled Film Stills(1977–80)series when she was just 23 years old, playing many female characters such as the jaded seductress, the unhappy housewife, and the jilted lover. Our favorite, of course, is Sherman as a student (or librarian?) in the book stacks.

Throughout her career, Sherman has continued to transform herself, displaying the diversity of human types and stereotypes in her images of older women, society portraits, and historical figures, such as the Virgin Mary.

Image 1: Black and white photograph of Cindy Sherman

Image 2: Untitled Film Still #13, 1978, Gelatin silver print, 24 x 19.1cm

Cindy Sherman
Author / Creator: Moorhouse, Paul
London ; New York : Phaidon, 2014.
145 pages : illustrations, portraits (some color) ; 26 cm.
English
HOLLIS number: 990140207530203941

ALT

ALT

ALT

“I was 21 in 1960, an African American male with an acute need to know myself. The politics of race accelerated my search for identity. Growing up in the South where I experienced racism in its most blatant forms, political boundaries were clearly drawn and based solely upon race. Diverse elements, opposing forces, dichotomy of means, polarities, [and] portraits of psychological space are conceptualizations used in my paintings. All are derived from the nature of politics in America with its distinct separation of black and white.”

“I have always accepted memory as being one of the most powerful elements of human consciousness. Through memory we reconstruct our past. We honor the dead through memory.” – Jack Whitten (from Walker Center magazine article, “Stories of the Soul: A Farewell to Jack Whitten”)

Jack Whitten (1939 – 2018) is known for his innovative process of applying paint on canvases and experimenting with materials in his painting. His style was abstract, but he liked to refer to his art as “mapping the soul.”

Born in Bessemer, Alabama, Whitten moved to New York in 1960. He was inspired by his experiences during the Civil Rights Movement, and he created many works dedicated to influential Black figures in the United States, including Ralph Ellison, Muhammad Ali, Barbara Jordan, and President Barack Obama. Whitten’s work reflected his beliefs in restoring the culture and legacy of his people through art.

Image 1: Jack Whitten in the studio (page spread)

Image 2: Jack Whitten in the studio (page spread)

Image 3: “Black Monolith IV For Jacob Lawrence”2001, Acrylic on Canvas, 96 x 96 in. Courtesy the artist, Alexander Gray Associates, New York; Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp.

Jack Whitten : five decades of painting
with contributions by Kathryn Kanjo, Robert Storr, Quincy Troupe.
Whitten, Jack, 1939-2018 [artist]
San Diego : Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego ; New York : Available through D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, [2015]
203 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), portraits ; 31 cm
English
HOLLIS number: 990145227350203941

Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960 – 1988) first came to prominence when he collaborated with Al Diaz to spray-paint enigmatic statements under the pseudonym SAMO© in the Lower East Side of Manhattan during the late 70s. He went on to work on collages, Xerox art, postcards, performances, and music before establishing his reputation as one of the most important painters of his generation. Basquiat was one of the youngest artists to exhibit at the Whitney Biennial in New York at the age of 22, before passing away at the age of 27. His art was spontaneous in the same spirit of street art and graffiti, combining text and image, while mixing social commentary on power structures, systems of racism, colonialism, class struggles, and his experiences in the Black community.

Basquiat’s legacy remains powerful and more relevant than ever today.

Image 1: Front cover
Description: Photograph of Basquiat working on a painting on the floor.

Image 2: Page spread showing Basquiat in front of his work that is consisted of texts.

Image 3: Self-portrait, 1983, Oil on paper and wood. 91.4 x 61cm
Description: On the paper with some light cream color and drips of light brown, a black silhouette of a man’s head is placed in the center. His braided hair is standing upward. His eyes are hollowed out as white.

Basquiat : boom for real
Edited by Dieter Buchhart and Eleanor Nairne, with Lotte Johnson.
Munich ; London : Prestel, 2017.
295 pages : illustrations (some color), facsimiles, portraits ; 29 cm
English
Catalog of an exhibition held at Barbican Art Gallery, September 21, 2017-January 28, 2018, and Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, February 16-May 27, 2018.
ISBN : 9783791356365
ISBN : 3791356364
2017
HOLLIS number: 990152277830203941

The American impressionist painter William Merritt Chase is thrilled to share his art on Tumblr. Show him some love.

A Sunny Day at Shinnecock Bay, c. 1892

This weekend I created a Tumblr blog for the American impressionist painter, Julian Onderdonk. Onderdonk loved painting Texas landscapes and bluebonnets! So many bluebonnets! Fun fact, President George W. Bush decorated the Oval Office with three of Onderdonk’s paintings. With that, head over to Julian Onderdonk’s blog and give it a follow. 

Blue Bonnet Field, Early Morning, San Antonio Texas, 1914