Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/4253
Black Meetings & Tourism October/November 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 19 H ello readers. Now that summer is gone, what tales of art, beauty and history do you have to share? I was able to visit some local museums, including viewing a fabulous sculpture collection by Richmond Barthe at the Museum of African American Art, Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, Macy's 3rd Floor. My local museum jaunts also includ- ed The Skirball, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and The Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art (LACMA). The Columbia Museum of Art, in celebrating its 60th anniversary year, will host "The Chemistry of Color: Contemporary African-American Artists" begin- ning Friday, February 5 through May 9, 2010. This exhibition will chronicle the accom- plishments and struggles of African- American artists in the latter half of the 20th century. Approximately 72 works by a number of preeminent modern artists such as Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Faith Ringgold and Betye Saar are fea- tured. Forty-One artists are represented including Moe Brooker, James Brantley, Charles Searles, Sam Gilliam and others who have made major contributions to the develop- ment of American art. Variety is the spice of this exhibition from the lively art forms and exuberant color of the works, paintings, sculpture, on paper and textiles all showcasing diverse styles. The works go from portraying scenes of African-American culture to abstraction and abstracted realism in which artists were breaking boundaries in terms of style. "The Chemistry of Color" represents turning points in the development of African-American art and presents the emerging visibility, tremendous sense of self-determination and experimentation of African-American artists after decades of lack of full recognition in the art world. This exhibition hails from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in Philadelphia, known internationally for its collections of 19th- and 20th-century American paint- ings, sculptures, and works. February 5th and every Sunday are free admission days courtesy of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. For more information: Columbia Museum of Art, www.columbiamuse- um.org or (803) 343-2159. Happening at the de Young Museum in San Francisco is "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" through March 28, 2010. For the first time in 30 years, the arti- facts from the tomb of Tutankhamun returned to the de Young Museum on June 27, 2009. Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs presents over 130 important objects including 50 from the tomb of King Tut. The exhibition places Tutankhamun in a larger con- text through an additional 80 objects from the tombs of his ancestors, which provide insight into the daily life and royal burial practices of the 18th Dynasty, Egypt's Golden Age. Four additional objects from Tut's tomb add luster and intrigue to the de Young's presentation. Also at the de Young February 19 through May 30, 2011 — Olmec, America's oldest civilization and Mesoamerica's "mother culture" (B.C. 1200- 400) is famous for their colossal heads carved from giant boulders that have fascinated the public and archaeologists alike since the early 20th century. Colossal Masterworks consists of approximately 150 objects, primarily drawn from Mexican national collec- tions, including large-scale sculptures — colossal heads, thrones, and stelae. The exhibition brings together new finds and monuments that have not traveled before. The bilingual exhibition is a collaboration between three insti- tutions: Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. These Colossal Masterworks are accompanied by a fully illustrated cata- logue. More going on at the de Young including "Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay." For information: de Young Museum, http://www.famsf.org/ or (415) 750-3600. BY PATRICIA ANN JORDAN COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA WELCOMES DISTINGUISHED COLLECTION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART de Young Museum has Olmec and More