At Connie's Inn, from the "Of the Blues" series
Romare Bearden
Contemporary Art
On View:
Music played an important role in Romare Bearden's art. He especially loved jazz, and his method as a visual artist was based in part on what he had learned from jazz musicians about improvisation. As in jazz, the unpredictable repetitions and juxtapositions of shapes, textures, and colors in his art create startling, unexpected visual rhythms. As Bearden once said about being an artist: "You must become a blues singer—only you sing on the canvas. You improvise—you find the rhythm and catch it good, and structure as you go along—then the song is you. Music has always been important for me the way it has been important for many Blacks. Blacks have made their own sound, their own musical language like jazz. It is theirs and they identify with it. In a world of constantly changing identities, certain forms of music represent a solid identity for Blacks."
MEDIUM
Collage (with acrylic and lacquer) on masonite panel
DATES
1974
DIMENSIONS
49 7/8 × 39 15/16 in. (126.7 × 101.4 cm)
frame: 52 × 42 × 3 in. (132.1 × 106.7 × 7.6 cm)
(show scale)
SIGNATURE
Signed lower left (blue): "romare bearden"
ACCESSION NUMBER
75.74
CREDIT LINE
John B. Woodward Memorial Fund
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Romare Bearden (American, 1911–1988). At Connie's Inn, from the "Of the Blues" series, 1974. Collage (with acrylic and lacquer) on masonite panel, 49 7/8 × 39 15/16 in. (126.7 × 101.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, John B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 75.74. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 75.74_PS2.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 75.74_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
© artist or artist's estate
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