by In honor of Black History Month, Ms. Goodrich puts the spotlight on Black artists.
Gordon Parks was a documentary photojournalist who was active from the 1940’s through the 1970’s. He is one of the first Black filmmakers to be financed by a major Hollywood studio.
Kehinde Wiley is a painter based out of New York who recently was commissioned to paint President Barack Obama’s portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Kerry James Marshall is an influential Black artist and professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is best known for using symbolism and allegory in his paintings depicting the black experience.
Jean-Michel
Basquiat is a Black artist who rose to success in the 1980’s as part of the Neo-Expressionist Movement. His work would often deal with dichotomies such as wealth versus poverty or inner versus outer experience. His work was a rebuke of colonialism and support for class struggle. He was one of the youngest artists to be exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
