Transforming heritage

By MARY ANN MARGER

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 26, 2000

The "Transatlantic Dialogues'' exhibit builds on the logic that, through trips across the Atlantic Ocean, African and African-American artists have had an impact on each other's work.

TAMPA -- There's a subtle difference between "Transatlantic Dialogues," now at the Tampa Museum of Art, and other shows by artists of African heritage -- so subtle that many viewers will miss it.

It reflects a major undercurrent of the new century, that our nation is moving toward a population mix in which those of European descent will be in the minority. If we are to keep up with the culture of our time, we must shed Eurocentric notions of what art should be.

Other shows that have come to the bay area have used that perspective, as if to educate white people about what black people do.

But the premise of "Transatlantic Dialogues" is that, as Africans and African-Americans have traveled back and forth across the Atlantic, they have influenced each other's art. It assumes that we have enough familiarity with the varied spectrum of art today that we can move beyond basics and consider the show's theme.

And if we're not at that point yet, then the show, curated by Michael Harris, an African-American who teaches art at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, is general enough to help us get there.

Where once the route for Africans between the continents was usually a one-way trip to slavery, today Americans of African descent travel to the land of their ancestors to learn of their heritage. And Africans, eager to understand the American attitude, come to this country.

Jean-Michel Basquiat (American), Melting Point of Ice, 1982, acrylic and mixed media

So it is hardly unusual that, if the travelers are artists, they would communicate with and influence one another. For artists have always drawn from the creative wells of other cultures. But seldom has it been with the goal of affirming their own.

Harris has selected 14 artists, seven from each continent, that convey the interchange subtly. They work in the contemporary mainstream.

The best-known artist in the group is Jean-Michel Basquiat, who raised graffiti to high art.

Basquiat and exhibiting artist Ouattara, of the Ivory Coast, met at a show in Paris in 1986. Earlier, Basquiat had gone by coincidence to Ouattara's village to study African spiritualism. In each other's work, they found a strong connection, as though Basquiat had "some kind of cultural memory," reports Ouattara.

Basquiat died of a drug overdose at age 27 in 1988, but not before he scrawled out his rage in offerings such as Melting Point of Ice. The black face in the upper right expresses pain, but it could also be interpreted as angry and intimidating. His empty eyes contrast sharply with the Egyptian eye of Horus, symbolic of healing. If the composition seems too crowded and unsettling, think of his own environment, of what he knew every day.

Basquiat's style is not naturalistic representation as the eye interprets, but is realistic in terms of street life. In traditional African art, naturalism is unimportant because artists seek to reveal an unseen inner reality.

Al Smith (American), Dream Catcher, 1997, wood, acrylic, rope, beads and feathers

These artists are in the Special Exhibitions Gallery, which has the most open arrangement in years, good for viewing large works. The more compact Focus Gallery contains smaller works by older pioneers of the period. There is the work of John Biggers, the first black artist ever to have a solo show at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. While much of his art is geometric, Drummers of Ede, a drawing from his visit to the Yoruba town of that name, is meant to recall a meaningful experience with precision.

Al Smith uses materials and shapes appropriate to his concepts. Riff for John Coltrane, painted canvas over metal armature, casts a shadow on the wall that seems a counterpoint of the work. Dream Catcher uses African fabric artistry to create a loose weaving based on the Native American lore that it will screen out the nightmares.

Sudanese artist Amir Nour's Grazing at Shendi, of steel half-circles, appears minimalist but for the intended suggestion of goats and sheep in a vast pasture of sand.

Amir Nour (Sudanese), Grazing at Shendi, 1969, steel (102 pieces)

Also exhibiting are African artists Skunder Boghossian, Moyo Okediji, Moyo Ogundipe, Sokari Douglas Camp and Rashid Diab, and African-American artists Jeff Donaldson, Yvonne Edwards-Tucker, Winnie Owens-Hart and Charles Searles.

Not to be overlooked are a reading area with a map of the world (centered around Africa), hand-carved furniture on loan from the African Art Gallery Museum and the museum store's supply of related books for those who wish to extend their knowledge of particular facets of the show.

As both the creators and the audience for mainstream art become increasingly multicultural, we can expect to see more shows similar to this: developed not so much to familiarize us with the traditions of others but, as we grow and change, to introduce us to ourselves.

At a glance

'"Transatlantic Dialogue: Contemporary Art In and Out of Africa," Tampa Museum of Art, 600 N Ashley Drive, Tampa, through Jan. 28. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs., 1- 5 p.m. Sun. Adults $5, seniors $4, students and children 6-18 $3. Admission by donation only: 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. Call (813) 274-8130

Also on temporary display:

"The Urban Landscape: Selections from the Permanent Collection," through Oct. 8.

"Boldly Stated! Contemporary Paintings from the Permanent Collection," through Jan. 21

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