African American art moves beyond black and white; collectors, curators and galleries are embracing a greater diversity of genres and styles in African American art while other artists move toward a `post-black' art which cannot be defined in terms of race

Art Business News, Jan, 2003 by Laura Meyers

Sande Webster in Philadelphia and Greg Kucera in Seattle are two other U.S. art dealers who include the work of white and black artists on their rosters of exhibits. When she opened her gallery, however, Webster said, "I was told I couldn't have black and white artists together in a gallery. I would lose both audiences. It wasn't true. And most people think that most African American artists make very Afro-Centric work. That isn't necessarily true either. They are doing abstractions and photography and landscapes. It's about being an artist first."

For his part, said Kucera, "I never set out to have a white gallery, or a black gallery. We show African American artists as we find work that interests us." Over the past few years, Kucera has exhibited Walker, Kerry Marshall, Robert Colescott and Robert Traylor, plus a group show of "Life in Black America." Kucera added, "Nobody is truly colorblind. I may not care whether an artist is black, white or purple, but I notice. Still, I think there is a sea of change. I see a trend in collectors, museums and galleries accepting African American artists' work for itself. The trend is not in the artists themselves. It's the beginning of their acceptance into mainstream that should be in the news."

The trouble is, said some observers, when African American art is celebrated it is also marginalized. "As an artist and writer, I have always felt that African Americans spend too much time recognizing, and thus legitimizing, the so-called difference we have come to expect in the art of the black and white races," David C. Driskell, author of The Other Side of Color, said.

Artist Maurice Evans of Lawrenceville, Ga., is inclined to agree. "I've been approached by a lot of art publishers who say, `We want more African American art' Well, I do abstract art, and I do photography. But they only ask me about my jazz paintings. I say, `I have these other images that you should look at, that I think are pretty strong.' But they don't have African American figurative content."

Evans added, "It depends on how you look at it. Sometimes the mainstream wants to categorize a certain kind of art almost to make it a lesser kind of art."

Make no mistake, Evans is pleased to be published by companies like Image Conscious, a Bay Area publisher of several limited editions by the artist. "Publishers can expose you to audiences you didn't have before. I don't have a problem being labeled an African American artist. But personally, when I go to buy art, the last thing on my mind is what color the artist is.

"Some African American artists don't want to be considered African American artists. They are not ashamed of being black. They just don't want to be boxed in. I've never met an African American artist who wasn't proud. He is always painting his experience. African American artists always have, and always will have, a great contribution to make to art."

AFRICAN AMERICAN ART RESOURCES

* Antiquarian Tribal Expressions, (212) 343-0311

* Art In Motion, 800-663-1308