ROMARE BEARDEN APPRECIATION

on my block, where everything is everything fah sheezy (The Block II, 1972)

Last night, Sharon took me to see the brand new Romare Bearden exhibit at the SFMOMA. I confess - I am a total stranger to the world of visual art but the upside is that every new exposure, even to artists who are anything but obscure, is like a revelation. Bearden's work in particular, left me in awe, especially his collage work. I like the way in which his jumbled "found" images from magazines, photographs and newspapers form into larger, cohesive thoughts and ideas, especially around race, culture and cities - three themes dear to my own heart. Here are a few others that I was particularly struck by which are at the exhibit:

(The Street, 1964) - I wish I could have found a bigger image online - this collage is amazing.


(Profile/Part II, The Thirties - Midtown Sunset, 1981)

The exhibit, after finishing up in S.F. in May, moves on to Dallas, New York and Atlanta. Also, this morning on KQED's Forum show, they devoted a whole hour to talking about the Bearden exhibit (you'll have to scroll down to "Thu, February 5 -- 10 a.m." to find it).