II. The World of Romare Bearden

II. The World of Romare Bearden

I like to divide Bearden’s artistic career into five stages such as a cartoonist, realistic painter, religious painter, abstract ｅxpressionist, and a cubist artist in terms of his physical styles and using materials. But, for inner side of his works, I would like to stress that it is impossible for Bearden to separate his socio-realistic and sympathetic eyes on African Americans’ life through the whole of his work.

 

Bearden had treated the daily life scenes of African American as a main subject matter for his paintings and mostly his later works - collages.

 

As a cartoonist

  

 Fig 2. Shall This Continue to Be the Plight of Colored Labor?, 1937

Bearden started his artistic career as a cartoonist in his college. While Bearden was enrolled at the New York University, he drew a cartoon, Dis Razor Ain’t Been a Bit of Good….., April, 1934 (Fig. 1) for The Medley. (NYU) Three blacks are in a bar, and one in the center holds a shaving razor. He looks angry and the caption is “DIS RAZOR AIN’T BEEN A BIT OF GOOD…SINCE DAT TIME I SHAVE WID IT.” I do not understand exactly what this means but I can guess this satirized the society at the time just like his another cartoon, Shall This Continue to Be the Plight of Colored Labor?, 1937. (Fig.2)

 

Bearden started to draw cartoons from 1933 and he always bantered and satirized the society. Then, as above, his cartoons were almost related to racial issues from the beginning.    

 

As a social realist painter

  

 Fig 3. Three Folk Musicians, 1941 – 1942

  

Fig 4. Three Folk Musicians, collage

In 1937 he made one of representative social realistic painting, Soup Kitchen, 1937 . (Fig. 3) Three black figures are on the panel and they are located by distance. Boiling soup bowl is in the front and one man is getting the soup into his plate. Two others that are having soups are placed in behind. They seem so tired and background is also dark and heavy just like three blacks. They must be social workers in Harlem at the time and Bearden depicted and expressed well the life and hardship of working class under Great depression.

 

During 1941 to 1942 Bearden made many realistic paintings such as The Visitation, 1941, The Family, c. 1941, Presage, c. 1942, and Folk Musicians, 1941-1942 . (Fig. 4) Three musicians are on board with exaggerated nose, lips, and hands. They should be African American and might be jazz or blues musician.

 

Even though this Folk Musicians has been also made in socio-realistic manner this is different from Bearden’s former work – Kitchen Soup, in terms of the flatness, using color, and more simplified figure. This painting was surely influenced by Primitivism, Cubism, and Mexican artists - Rivera and Orozco. I do not want to go further to testify the complicated influenced aspects in this painting, but I would like to say that this was in the process of realizing Bearden’s ethnic identity.  

 

As a religious painter who has social realistic eyes
– Passion of Christ series

 

 

 Fig 5. Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem,1945 

 

 Fig 6. He Walks on the Water, 1945

After fulfilling his military service from 1942 to 1945, Bearden created a religious series of Passion of Christ, 1945 to 1946. This series include He is Arisen, 1945 (Fig. 5), Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem, 1945, He Walks on the Water, 1945, Golgotha, 1945 (Fig. 6), and The Annunciation, 1946, and so forth.

 

Why Bearden made this religious series? And why he used cubistic technique for these paintings? An art teacher in Chicago in her recent article, “Deep Waters: Rebirth, Transcendence and Abstraction in Romare Bearden’s Passion of Christ,” suggest that because of new historical need and chaos, World War II, people got interested in religion, including Bearden. And also she pointed out this Passion of Christ series signaled two shifts in Bearden’s art: a move away from social realist content and a move towards abstraction. However, I do not agree with her point of view at some points. (Please refer to the endnote no. 9)      
 
I like to study Bearden’s Passion of Christ series, somewhat abstract religious images, in two aspects: the physical and inner side aspect. As many art historians already pointed out, the reason Bearden and his contemporaries chose the religious images is that they realized the need of religion through out World War II. In addition I would say the white art critic’s criticism on African American’s works at the time was one of major catalysts for this subject change . In his article, “The Negro Artist’s Dilemma, 1946,” Bearden said three dilemmas. one of them is “The Negro art should be a visual and trenchant reflection of his political and social aspirations, especially as it would focus attention on the exigency of his existence.” At this point I can feel his artistic anguish and trouble.

For another physical change in this series is the abstract ｅxpression – pretty much cubistic ｅxpression. At that period ‘Abstract ｅxpressionism’ was so popular in American art society, so that Bearden made an experiment the possibilities of abstract ｅxpression.

 

And then why did he use cubistic way? He might feel cubistic method was the best way to express the duality under the major white culture. For inner side, Bearden’s duality in this series is so complicated. According to his writing , in this period Bearden had somewhat pessimistic ideas of the religion. “… ministers gave long-winded sermons to prove that the Negro was a creature driven by animal spirits, possessing only limited capacities, and best suited to a servile existence. … It is the ironical that white men, like those in the Christy and Virginia minstrels, made up in black-face, with woolly wigs and thickly painted lips, did so much in establishing the Negro stereotype in America. … ”

The Christ’s dual faces in He is Arisen, Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem, He Walks on the Water, 1945, and many other series paintings, represent diverse meanings such as divine and human aspect, good and bad like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and white and black – Jesus could be a black, not only white. Not only Jesus’ but also other characters’ faces – putting mask like figures – also suggest these diverse meanings. If we look at Golgotha, 1945 (Fig. 6), we can realize this is pretty much influenced by Jesus and the Three Marys (Fig. 7) made by William H. Johnson in composition, faces and shape of the figures. There are many African American painters who treated religious images as a subject matter in the history of art. Amongst others Henry Ossawa Tanner and William H. Johnson are representatives, but there is big difference between them. Tanner treated many religious Christ images in his paintings such as The Raising of Lazarus, 1896 (Fig. 8), Nicodemus Visiting Jesus, 1899. (Fig. 9) But all of them were white Christ, while Johnson portrayed Christ as a black figure in this painting, Jesus and the Three Marys . (Fig. 7) This can support my idea.

 

I would like to say that even though some physical changes were made in Bearden’s religious paintings the basic socio-realistic and racial thoughts still existed there.

  

 Fig 7. The Annunciation, 1946 

 

As an abstract ｅxpressionist and a cubist artist    
In 1950 Bearden went to Paris, France on a G.I. Bill stipend, and studied philosophy at Sorbonne. While staying Paris Bearden was interested in contemporary French art and artists such as Jean Dubuffet and Nicholas de Stael. And he was influenced by abstract ｅxpression artists – William de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and so forth. And most importantly Bearden bore the meeting with Gorge Braque in mind.

  

 Fig 8. Blue Lady,1955

  

Fig 9. Old Poem, 1960 

 

 Fig 10. Harlequin, 1956 

 

After his return to New York he had a pause time for several years. During this period Bearden composed several songs instead of painting. Since 1955, after his marriage with Ms. Nanette Rohan, Bearden could recover his artistic spirit . From 1955 to 1960 he made almost paintings in a very abstract ｅxpressionistic manner such as Blue Lady, 1955 (Fig. 10), A Walk in Paradise Garden, 1955 (Fig. 11), Mountains of the Moon, 1956 (Fig. 12), and Old Poem, 1960. I do not find any clue related to social realism or racism, but I can find some influences by Chinese art  – empty spaces – in his paintings. And the other important point is that during this period Bearden created one collage work, Harlequin, 1956 (Fig. 13). What does this represent? Bearden explored the possibilities for his future method of art in this period. After wrestling over the possibilities Bearden finally made a choice a collage as his main artistic way and continued to make arts in a much more universal (realistic)  and modest socio-realistic way.     

  

Fig 11. Memory, No. 2

  

Fig 12. The Train, 1974

 

Bearden made Memories, No. 2(Fig. 14) by using collage technique in 1964. There are several versions of same title and same and similar works such as Mysteries, 1964, (Fig. 15) and The Train, 1974 (Fig. 16) Diverse African American real photo faces are located on the board. It seems to be made without any discipline, irrationally. Several faces are composed of different people’s parts. All figures look depressed and blues and background and settings are so dark and heavy. But there is an important icon, train, in this collage. And this icon – train – is frequently appeared in Bearden’s works. According to Bearden the train is the hope to reach the upper and better world, possibly to the heaven.

  

 Fig 13. The Pepper Jelly, 1981

 

Unlike other modern works Bearden’s collages include so many important icons such as train, sun and moon, cock, dove, music, and so forth. If we look at Morning of the Rooster, 1980, (Fig. 17) The Pepper Jelly, 1981, (Fig. 18) there is a human standing figure (African American) with a cock, sun, and sometimes doves. Sun and Moon traditionally represent the hope and brightness, and dove means also spirit or hope. Then what does a cock mean? This cock is related to the figure of early Christianity – catacomb . In catacomb murals a cock suggests the eternity and heaven. Except these icons there is a flower and a window, and many others. A flower and a window also represent a hope, usually the worlds outside or through the widow are painted with brighter colors such as red, yellow, etc.

  

 Fig 14. Morning of the Rooster, 1980 

 

Romare Bearden made a variety series of street, jazz, family, and many other collages with some water color paintings. I can not go through deeply Bearden’s collages, but my intention is that the socio-realistic and race related motifs based on his ethnic identity are always in his works.  
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