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Black Painters, Designers, and Architects?

BurnsBurns 2,227 Posts
edited February 2007 in Strut Central
Being Black History Month, please school me on any painters, designers, and architects that I should be aware of please, I want to know.
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  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    http://tsegadinka.com/
  • kitchenknightkitchenknight 4,922 Posts
    Glenn Ligon. I really dig this guy- well thought out, funny, intelligent, and aesthetically interesting.




    He did a series of prints taking the text from books such as Invisible Man and gradually becoming blacker, and messing with the white/black of ink/text/paper.



    This is my favorite- he did a series of runaway slave posters using descriptions by his friends to describe him as the runaway slave.



    In this series, he gave school kids a coloring book of black leaders, and had them color them in; he then painted the images he got.
  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~rhunt/index2.html

    richard hunt
  • troublemantroubleman 1,928 Posts
    I also love Kerry James Marshall










  • troublemantroubleman 1,928 Posts
    Here's a good resourse
    http://www.artcyclopedia.com/nationalities/African-American.html
  • troublemantroubleman 1,928 Posts
    Kara Walker is dope too.




  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    There is no shortage of great and famous Black painters. Designers tend to be less well known.

    I could think of no famous Black architects, and I am a fan of architectur. googled and found this:

    http://architecture.about.com/cs/architectsmasters/tp/blackarchitects.htm
  • bozakbozak 334 Posts
    I am sad to say that having gone to school for industrial design and having spent time in three different programs on two different continents I cannot say that I have ever been made aware of the specific contributions of African-American designers to the world.

    I can say for sure there wasnt ever an emphasis on what race a person was when we were studying a design or methodology. Only half the time names were even mentioned. The form and function of a product and the dynamic of those two things was more important then any other detail.

    I know that the current global head of design for GM is African American and I believe this is a first for the industry.
  • BurnsBurns 2,227 Posts
    I cannot say that I have ever been made aware of the specific contributions of African-American designers to the world.


    Same here, never did I put a name to a face, but it was usually europeans that I heard of in school on the urban design side.

    All the architects, look as though they got no recognition or horrible projects to work with.

    Richard Hunt (sculptor/artist)
    Professorships & Artists Residences
    1960-61 School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
    1960-62 University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois
    1964 Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
    1964 Cal Arts (formerly Chouinard Art School) Los Angeles, CA
    1965 Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana
    1968 Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois
    1968-69 Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
    1969 Wisconsin State University, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
    1969 Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois
    1970 Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois
    1975 University of Indiana, Bloomington, Indiana
    1977 University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
    1977-78 Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
    1980 The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
    1982 Utah State University, Logan Utah
    1985 Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
    1988 Eastern Michigan University, Yipsilanti, Michigan
    1989-90 Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
    1990 Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan
    1990 State University of New York, Binghamton, New York
    1997 Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
  • spaceghostspaceghost 605 Posts
    most people who live in la will know this building designed by paul williams...


    he also did the interior of saks fifth avenue...


    a remodel of the beverly hills hotel...


    he also designed baller residences like these...



    he could have made a career out of designing substantial residential projects for big time clients but his social conscience was stonger than that. he designed the la's first ymca for "colored" boys" he also devoted a lot of his time to the problem of public housing which was a huge issue during the depression and post-world war 2 years. he was a member of los angeles's first housing commission. in 1936 he co-designed the nation's first federally funded public housing project, langston terrace in washing d.c.

    david adjaye although not american (english) has been doing some brilliant work.

    including the nobel peace center in oslo...

    the british bienale pavilion..

    and he won competitions for two idea stores in london..

    and some fantasic houses but images are hard to find...


    i don't know much about shawn rickenbacker. but he has been winning a few design awards lately.

  • fejmelbafejmelba 1,139 Posts
    promoting one of the headz at paradiso tom senna
    one smile a day
  • CousinLarryCousinLarry 4,618 Posts
    Horace Pippin - He lived and worked in West Chester PA which is where I grew up.













    Here is his wiki entry:

    Horace Pippin (Born West Chester, Pennsylvania February 22, 1888???July 6, 1946) was an American painter. His style was called naive more commonly than primitive. The subject matter of his work varies but the injustice of slavery and American segregation figure prominently. He also painted landscapes and religious subjects. He also served in the 369th infantry in World War 1. A saying of his: "I did not care what or where I went at. I asked God to help me, and he did so. And that is the way I came through that terrible and Hellish place. For the whole entire battlefield was hell, so it was no place for any human being to be."- Horace Pippin, WWI. [1]

    I think he is really underappreciated as a painter, and I hate when he and other black painters like him are classified as naive or primitive. He was a great painter and his paintings like the jungle and the ones above express a lot of emotion.
  • Phill_MostPhill_Most 4,594 Posts
    There is no shortage of great and famous Black painters. Designers tend to be less well known.

    I could think of no famous Black architects, and I am a fan of architectur. googled and found this:

    http://architecture.about.com/cs/architectsmasters/tp/blackarchitects.htm

    Philadelphia wouldn't be the same without the great contributions of this man:
    http://libwww.library.phila.gov/75th/abele.htm
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Kara Walker is dope


    Chris Ofili



    Andres Serrano (photgrapher)

  • ZEN2ZEN2 1,540 Posts
    Gordon Parks

    This cat was born around the same area as I was raised so my high school photography teacher gave a copy of his biography to his students every year.

    Gordon Roger Alexander Buchannan Parks (November 30, 1912 ??? March 7, 2006) was a groundbreaking African-American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director. He is best remembered for his photo essays for Life magazine and as the director of the 1971 film Shaft.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Parks





  • Dj_Coma_ToastDj_Coma_Toast 874 Posts

    Beauford Delaney is one of my favorites

    cant forget the legend dondi
    george herriman
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,952 Posts
    My brother often works with Duke Mighten :



  • hungovermulattohungovermulatto 168 Posts
    david adjaye built a studio for lorna simpson (somebody elses worth googling) over here in fort greene...
    cool design, but the russian dudes who built it kept running over to watch world cup matches and get fucked up over at the alibi, so there's these huge gaps in the panels -- which i don't think are supposed to be there.
  • leisurebanditleisurebandit 1,006 Posts
    Romare Bearden

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts


    he could have made a career out of designing substantial residential projects for big time clients but his social conscience was stonger than that. he designed the la's first ymca for "colored" boys" he also devoted a lot of his time to the problem of public housing which was a huge issue during the depression and post-world war 2 years. he was a member of los angeles's first housing commission. in 1936 he co-designed the nation's first federally funded public housing project, langston terrace in washing d.c.

    david adjaye although not american (english) has been doing some brilliant work.

    i don't know much about shawn rickenbacker. but he has been winning a few design awards lately.
    Thank you, and Phill, for the

    I have to say I am not feeling the photos of Paul Williams work. I have marveled at that UFO restaurant thing at the LA airport.

    I find this residence an egregious mish mash of bad styles and materials
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Horace Pippin - He lived and worked in West Chester PA which is where I grew up.

    Here is his wiki entry:

    Horace Pippin (Born West Chester, Pennsylvania February 22, 1888???July 6, 1946) was an American painter. His style was called naive more commonly than primitive. The subject matter of his work varies but the injustice of slavery and American segregation figure prominently. He also painted landscapes and religious subjects. He also served in the 369th infantry in World War 1. A saying of his: "I did not care what or where I went at. I asked God to help me, and he did so. And that is the way I came through that terrible and Hellish place. For the whole entire battlefield was hell, so it was no place for any human being to be."- Horace Pippin, WWI. [1]

    I think he is really underappreciated as a painter, and I hate when he and other black painters like him are classified as naive or primitive. He was a great painter and his paintings like the jungle and the ones above express a lot of emotion.

    Naive and primitive are legit art terms. A) any artist who does not have formal training. B) A style that lacks perspective.

    Grandma Moses and many other White artist are called naive or primitive.

    Does not mean the artists paintings are not great or lack emotion.

    If you knew that and still hate the classification, that's cool.
  • TheeeCasualMaleTheeeCasualMale 2,564 Posts
    BRENT ROLLINS!









  • tonyphronetonyphrone 1,500 Posts
    Great call on Kerry James Marshall, Kara walker and Chris Ofilli some of my favorite artists today- hands down.

    Cant forget Basquiat...
  • spaceghostspaceghost 605 Posts



    I have to say I am not feeling the photos of Paul Williams work. I have marveled at that UFO restaurant thing at the LA airport.

    I find this residence an egregious mish mash of bad styles and materials

    since i can remember sitting on the hot vinyl seats in the back of my parents station wagon while we drove around the lax loop my eyes have never stopped studying the restaurant building. it is a very graceful building which resonates very well with its context. two spaces which i forgot to mention the first time are the fountain coffee shop and polo lounge in the beverly hills hotel, both of which capture a classic la style.

    as for the residences, there are some that i think are quite good, some that i don't care for and many that i don't know. i have been to neither of the houses pictured above. in paul william's defense, residential architecture is much different than public architecture. even clients who are used to working with an architect in the public realm are much more hands-on with their houses. as an architect you can give your clients recommendations but you can not give them a sense of style or taste. when designing a house a lot of decision come down to the client wanting a reflection of themselves. extravagance and luxury sometime come at the cost of taste. it is the architect's job to make the best of what he/she is given, but architecture is also a business, and time is money. each iteration of a design takes a lot of time to design and document. as you go through projects you learn with which clients you might be able to do something extraordinary, and those that you are better off giving what they want and moving on to the next. very few architects make it to a place where they only take extraordinary clients.
  • 33thirdcom33thirdcom 2,049 Posts
    One of my favorite artists: Jacob Lawrence





  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts



    I have to say I am not feeling the photos of Paul Williams work. I have marveled at that UFO restaurant thing at the LA airport.

    I find this residence an egregious mish mash of bad styles and materials

    since i can remember sitting on the hot vinyl seats in the back of my parents station wagon while we drove around the lax loop my eyes have never stopped studying the restaurant building. it is a very graceful building which resonates very well with its context. two spaces which i forgot to mention the first time are the fountain coffee shop and polo lounge in the beverly hills hotel, both of which capture a classic la style.

    as for the residences, there are some that i think are quite good, some that i don't care for and many that i don't know. i have been to neither of the houses pictured above. in paul william's defense, residential architecture is much different than public architecture. even clients who are used to working with an architect in the public realm are much more hands-on with their houses. as an architect you can give your clients recommendations but you can not give them a sense of style or taste. when designing a house a lot of decision come down to the client wanting a reflection of themselves. extravagance and luxury sometime come at the cost of taste. it is the architect's job to make the best of what he/she is given, but architecture is also a business, and time is money. each iteration of a design takes a lot of time to design and document. as you go through projects you learn with which clients you might be able to do something extraordinary, and those that you are better off giving what they want and moving on to the next. very few architects make it to a place where they only take extraordinary clients.

    True that. Thats why I limited my critisim to the work as shown in the photos.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts

    very few architects make it to a place where they only take extraordinary clients.

    have you heard of studio3025?

    No. What's the story?
  • soulmakossasoulmakossa 24 Posts
    Kadir Nelson - did the Swizz Beatz "Ghetto Stories" album cover, but is very well known for basketball-related paintings with figures that have elongated limbs, might have seen one in your local barbershop. Has done multiple children's books including ones for Will Smith & Spike Lee.




    Jerry Pinkney - Caldecott award winning illustrator of childrens books




    Me - an emerging African American illustrator, I'm tryin ta reach their^^ level of achievements.

    if you'd like a giclee print of this painting signed by me, go to http://jrprints.tripod.com.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Ernie Barnes was also a professional football player:













    If there are any more lp covers please let me know.

    Images are not showing in preview. I think I did everything right. If not cut and paste.
  • CousinLarryCousinLarry 4,618 Posts
    Horace Pippin - He lived and worked in West Chester PA which is where I grew up.

    Here is his wiki entry:

    Horace Pippin (Born West Chester, Pennsylvania February 22, 1888???July 6, 1946) was an American painter. His style was called naive more commonly than primitive. The subject matter of his work varies but the injustice of slavery and American segregation figure prominently. He also painted landscapes and religious subjects. He also served in the 369th infantry in World War 1. A saying of his: "I did not care what or where I went at. I asked God to help me, and he did so. And that is the way I came through that terrible and Hellish place. For the whole entire battlefield was hell, so it was no place for any human being to be."- Horace Pippin, WWI. [1]

    I think he is really underappreciated as a painter, and I hate when he and other black painters like him are classified as naive or primitive. He was a great painter and his paintings like the jungle and the ones above express a lot of emotion.

    Naive and primitive are legit art terms. A) any artist who does not have formal training. B) A style that lacks perspective.

    Grandma Moses and many other White artist are called naive or primitive.

    Does not mean the artists paintings are not great or lack emotion.

    If you knew that and still hate the classification, that's cool.

    No, I get it and I just don't like it.
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