Release Date: October 11, 1995
Contact: Paula Allen
Head of Museum Services/Curator of Art
Amistad Research Center
Tilton Hall, Tulane University
6823 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, Louisiana 70118
(504) 865-5535 phone
(504) 865-5580 fax
e-mail [log in to unmask]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TERMS OF ENDURANCE: LIVING LEGENDS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN ART
Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, and New Orleans-based artist John T.
Scott, who are among the most celebrated living African American artists
in the country will participate in a joint-exhibition at the Amistad Research
Center.
The exhibition, Terms of Endurance: Living Legends in African American
Art will open on December 3, 1995 and close on March 31, 1996. Terms of
Endurance will feature sculpture, prints, and paintings by the artists
from: the
Center's permanent holdings; the artists' personal collections; and the
holdings
of several regional private/museum collectors of the artists' works.
Jacob Lawrence, is affectionately referred to as the "Dean of African
American Painters." His popularity is unwavering. Lawrence's work is
prominently included in virtually every university Art History textbook segment
on American Modernism. He is the recipient of a plethora of honors and
commissions for his work including nine honorary doctorates from various
educationalinstitutions around the country. Lawrence's numerous public
commissions include: New York in Transit ( for the New York City Public
Development Corporation); Community (for the Federal Art in Architecture
Program); Portrait of Jesse Jackson (for Time magazine); and The Builders (for
the Whitney Museum of American Art and Terry Dintenfass Gallery).
The Amistad Research Center will feature his Toussaint L' Ouverture
Series from its permanent museum holdings in the Terms of Endurance
exhibition.
The originalforty-one piece narrative series depicts the rise of revolutionary
slave leader Toussaint L' Ouverture. Toussaint's successful military campaigns
against the formidable armies of Great Britain, Spain and Napoleon's infamous
war machine led to the establishment of Haiti as the first independent Black
Republic. The Toussaint Series was followed by several other historical
narrative series on African American historical events, Harriet Tubman,
Frederick Douglas and the Migration Series which is currently on a national
tour.
Elizabeth Catlett who is presently the country's most sought after
African American female artist is an internationally recognized sculptor and
printmaker who resides in Mexico with her husband Francisco Mora, an
artist in his own right. She is a retired educator and has received numerous
honors for her work including two Julius Rosenwald Fellowships, the James van
der Zee Award, and the "Artist of the Year Award" from the New York City's
Teacher's Association. Catlett and John T. Scott were recent participants in
an invitational exhibition at the White House. She is a master of technique
and form who creates powerful images that speak to her economic, social and
political concerns. Her work also reflects a dual cultural perspective
that has
been informed by her experiences in Mexico and the United States.
John T. Scott, 1992 recipient of a John D. MacArthur Genius Award
Fellowship for $315,000, is a New Orleans-based artist. He is a multi-talented
aesthetician--printmaker, painter, sculptor and draftsman who is equally
proficient in a variety of media. Scott is in demand wherever he travels. He
enjoys international patronage. Scott has exhibited at the Smithsonian's
National Museum of Art, the Samuel P. Harn Museum, the New Orleans Museum
of Art, the Detroit Institute of Art, and Galerie Resche in Paris France.
In addition to the Terms of Endurance exhibition, in February of 1996,
the artists will also participate in other activities that coincide with the
Center's 1996-97 Visiting Artists/Scholars and Exhibitions Program. Catlett,
Lawrence and Scott will give lectures at Southern University of New Orleans and
will host individual and joint workshops at Xavier University of Louisiana and
Southern University of New Orleans. The Amistad Research Center will host a
reception for the artists (in-house) on February 9, 1996 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00
p.m.
The Amistad Research Center's 1996-97 Visiting Artists/Scholars and
Exhibitions Program is sponsored by the Louisiana Division of the Arts, the
Edward Wisner Foundation and the Crescent City Chapter of Links Inc.
The exhibition will be open during the Center's regular hours: Monday
through Friday, 8:30 to 5:00 pm and Saturdays, 1:00 to 5:00 pm. There is no
admission charge, although donations are appreciated.
A complete itinerary is available upon request. Please forward a SASE to
Paula Allen for this information.
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