30 Americans

30 Americans is unique in that it allows several generations of artists to intermix in interesting ways. While some artists, (such as Carrie Mae Weems, Robert Colescott, Purvis Young, Nick Cave, William Pope L., Kerry James Marshall and Barkley Hendricks) grew up admist the Civil Rights and Black Power movements of the 1960s and ’70s, others continue to live within its aftermath. David Hammons, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems and Glenn Ligon opened up new dialogues in conjunction with the multiculturalism and identity politics discourse of the ’90s.

Iona Rozeal Brown, Untitled (after Kikugawa Eizan’s “Furyu nana komachi” [The Modern Seven Komashi]), 2007, acrylic and paper on wooden panel.

Several of the artists rework and manipulate history in interesting and thought-provoking ways. Glenn Ligon’s work pushes the boundaries of Conceptualism into a socio-political realm. Ligon’s paintings incorporate phrases and text from diverse sources from famous 19th-century abolitionist Sojourner Truth to the stand-up comedian, Richard Pryor. In his photographs, 34-year old artist Rashid Johnson mines the past in search of his own self-identity, portraying himself as abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Barkley Hendricks’ powerful portrayals of African-American subjects merge the long-standing tradition of portraiture with a striking sense of urban realism. The self-assured, confident stance, as well as the dignity and beauty of his subjects are carried over into Mickalene Thomas’s glitzy and alluring paintings of contemporary women. At once seductive and empowered, Mickalene’s portraits speak to a woman’s roles in our post-feminist world. In the words of Art Historian Darby English, some of the 30 Americans artists seem to question, “what becomes of black art when black artists stop making it?”

Robert Colescott, Saturday Night Special (I Seen it on T.V.), 1988, acrylic on canvas.