Romare Bearden--African-American Artist    As I was headed to the preview prior to the official opening of The Art of Romare Bearden exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, my husband said-Romare who? That might sum up the reaction of a lot of people. Romare Bearden was well known during his later years, and was the recipient of the President's National Medal of Arts, but it seems that he pretty much dropped out of sight when looking at the great artists of the 20th century. Due in part to the dedication of his wife Nanette; Tallal El Boushi, Bearden's nephew and Co-Chair of the Romare Bearden Foundation; and Ruth Fine of the National Gallery, the idea of bringing his works together for all to see came to fruition after eleven years of hard work. The result is truly breathtaking. The exhibit contains many works from private collections and provides a fabulous look at the various periods and styles of his work. For many who do recognize his name, the best know works are probably his collages and one of the best known among those is The Block.    During a two year period (1963-65), Romare Bearden met with other African-American artists who were Civil Rights activists. The group was know as Spiral. Among those still surviving is Richard Mayhew, Professor Emeritus, Penn State College of Arts and Architecture. When I talked to Richard Mayhew at the exhibit, I asked him how they (these struggling artists) managed to survive during those lean years. He noted that Romare really was not able to earn his living from art until he was about sixty. Prior to that he worked in New York City's Department of Social Service and served briefly in the army during WWII. Mayhew also commented that he applied for grants from foundations which gave him enough money to continue painting part time. Not only did Bearden paint, he possessed a never ending thirst for knowledge and was a man of great learning which resulted in a body of literary work that included essays, poetry, lyrics and much more. To illustrate Bearden commented on the work of Mayhew in A History of African-American Artist by noting that "Mayhew's paintings are derived from an intimacy and beauty in combinations of color that are as surprising as they are evocative."    Music, particularly jazz, was also an important part of Bearden's life. Tallal remembers the great musicians who visited his uncle's home in Harlem and that there was always blues or jazz playing in the house. Many of Bearden's painting are named with music in mind - City and Its Music features jazz as part of the New York milieu-it imitates the music with its "call and response" and collage art invites a similar approach "you put down one color and it calls for an answer." Also evident is the reuse of motifs or the "call and recall" that is essential to musical improvisation found in jazz. Other in the series that you can view in the exhibit include Of the Blues: At the Savoy, Of the Blues: Wrapping it Up at the Lafayette, and Of the Blues: Carolina Shout which is based on a song of the same name.    Branford Marsalis remembers when he first met Romare Bearden--he was 26. His wife at the time suggested that they buy one of Bearden's paintings. The art dealer arranged for them to meet the artist and as Marsalis notes --he met him and he was knocked out. Marsalis has created a CD of music based on many of Bearden's paintings and he did it in only two weeks. The recording itself was completed in three days. According to Marsalis, it really wasn't hard because the pictures truly sang to him. The final result is Romare Bearden Revealed by the Branford Marsalis Quartet. For more information go to www.marsalismusic.com. The cover reproduces one of Bearden's paintings from the 1980s and the back of the jacket has both artists faces superimposed.    To emphasize Bearden's connection with jazz, the National Gallery had some interesting programs scheduled. Among the special events for children will be a film program that includes Jazztime and Duke Ellington (November 28 and 29-10:20 and 11:30 am in the East Building Large Auditorium). Kids today might find that event and the books we have pulled together about some of the jazz greats and the music itself quite enlightening.    Aside from my own love of art, the really exciting part of this exhibit was the opportunity to see one of the original paintings that appears in Li'l Dan, the Drummer Boy, a picture book written and illustrated by Bearden but never published during his lifetime. It is a beautiful book that has garnered praise from The Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, and a starred review in Publisher's Weekly. Another book that has been published in conjunction with the exhibit is Romare Bearden: Collage of Memories by Jan Greenberg. It too has been very well received and earned a star from Booklist and Publisher's Weekly as well as positive comments from Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal. In addition to these brand new books, Me and Uncle Romie was published to some acclaim last year and several years ago, Langston Hughes poems based on the collage The Block received many accolades. All of these books are reviewed below.    The exhibit will run from September 14, 2003 until January 4, 2004 at the National Gallery in Washington. If you can't make it to the Capital City, the exhibit will travel and may be in city near you-San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (February 7-May16, 2004); Dallas Museum of Art (June 20-September12, 2004); The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (October 14, 2004-January 9, 2005) and the High Museum of Art, Atlanta (January 29-April 24, 2005). If by chance you can't make it to any of these exhibits, then consider downloading the pdf version of the 16-page, full-color brochure on the artists life and work with interactive text and activities www.nga.gov.    In addition, there is a video available that runs for 30 minutes, and it is something art teachers might want to add to their collection. It is narrated by Morgan Freeman with readings by Danny Glover. Entitled The Art of Romare Bearden, it lists for $19.95 (ISBN 0-7800-2653-5) and gives an excellent overview of his life and work. If you can afford to splurge then you might want your very own copy of "The authoritative, lavishly illustrated book that accompanies the exhibition [it] features 224 color and 86 black and white illustrations and also includes a comprehensive overview by Ruth Fine, curator of the exhibition…" (published by the National Gallery in collaboration with Harry N. Abrams, it is available in both hardcover ($50.00 and softcover ($35.00)). Check it out at www.nga.gov and your local or online bookseller.    For more information about Romare Bearden visit www.beardenfoundation.org. Also don't miss our Themed Reviews section for more books about Africa and African-Americans! Reviews The Block: Poems Langston Hughes Collage by Romare Bearden Selected by Lowery S. Sims and Daisy Murray Voigt Introduction by Bill Cosby    Sections of Rearden's six-panel collage, "The Block," form the backdrop for twelve Langston Hughes poems celebrating the vitality of the culture that spawned the Harlem Renaissance. This is definitely a book that adults will need (and want!) to read with their children; the longer poems, in particular, contain difficult language, some mature themes, and images that may have to be teased slowly out of the text. But there probably are few more rewarding uses of your time than working your way through this magnificent book together with your child. Hughes is one of the finest poets of this century; these selections give a clear sense of his ability to capture the joys and trials of urban life. Rearden's Harlem collages are beautiful, complex, and provocative. 1995, Viking, $15.99. Ages 12 up. Reviewer: Andrea Brott (Children's Literature) The Block: Poems Langston Hughes Collage by Romare Bearden Selected by Lowery S. Sims and Daisy Murray Voigt Introduction by Bill Cosby     Although Romare Bearden had apparently been working in collage fewer than ten years when he created the six panels from which come The Block's illustrations, his artististic maturity is elegantly clear. From a barber shop to a storefront church to a liquor store, Bearden's images are powerful and delicate, vibrant and precise. Bearden's art is so rich and subtle, a child can see more as she learns more, rather like rereading a classic novel. Selected by Lowery S. Sims and Daisy Murray Voigt, Langston Hughes's poems are some of his best, though perhaps not best-known, work. These poems, like much of Hughes's work, are finely layered, like a timed-release drug that oozes its effects slowly. The Block makes it plain why Hughes, who traveled the world, settled and lived most of his life in Harlem--he loved it. Together, Bearden's and Hughes's art provide a beautiful evocation of Harlem and black city life in the early years of this century. I especially liked the overall feel of the poetry culled from the masses of Hughes's work. His subjects peace, heartbreak, death, dancing, Christianity, the theater, childhood, dreams, and more--are classic Hughes, but he wasn't always warm and fuzzy, and different poems could have led to a more brooding interpretation of Harlem life. But these poems are celebrations and valuable additions to any library, and like the illustrations, will yield as much as they can to each reader. Hughes's rhythms, for instance, are constant sources of discovery. In addition to the expressions of two towering figures, The Block offers the exquisite touch of Raymond P. Hooper, the designer. Hooper has done a masterly job of presenting the art of both men, favoring neither overall, but adjusting the balance for each spread. He judiciously crops fragments from Bearden's dense collages to let us see another layer of the art, but Hooper is most impressive with typography. His titles and heads are delightful, and he uses a body type that's readable. A few of the references are not well known today soap boxes and Hazel Scott, for instance. But children will appreciate the poetry anyway. Bill Cosby's introduction is useful and clear, and Hughes's plain language makes him accessible to nearly anyone, while Hooper's design is compelling and attractive to even very young children. 1995, Metropolitan Museum of Art/Viking, 32 pages, 8-3/4 x 12, $15.99. Ages 11 up. Reviewer: Anthony Porter (The Five Owls, January/February 1996 (Vol. 10, No. 3)) Best Books: Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K--Grade 6, 1997 ; National Council of Teachers of English; United States Best Books for Young Adults, 1996 ; American Library Association-YALSA; United States Kaleidoscope, A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8, Second Edition, 1997 ; National Council of Teachers of English; United States Los Angeles' 100 Best Books, 1995 ; IRA Children's Literature and Reading SIG and the Los Angeles Unified School District; United States Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, November 1995 ; Cahners; United States Middle And Junior High School Library Catalog, Eighth Edition, 2000 ; H.W. Wilson; United States ISBN: 0-670-86501-X Li'l Dan the Drummer Boy Romare Bearden    The slaves worked long and hard picking cotton on the Hollis plantation. Li'l Dan who had no parents to care for him looked to Mr. Ned when work was over. Mr. Ned had a drum that he played; a drum that had come from Africa. Li'l Dan made a drum of his own and spent his extra time learning how to copy the sounds of nature. In 1864 a strange thing happened. Soldiers in blue uniforms came and told the slaves that they were free, but what did freedom mean. Dan followed the soldiers and was adopted by one named Scipio who had a boy of about the dame age. Li'l Dan became the mascot for the company and in the evenings he would play his drum for the soldiers. Dan becomes a hero when he uses his drum to save the company from an attack by the "gray horsemen." His reward is to become an official drummer and the amazing comment attributed to General Sherman is one of the real messages in the book "Dan, I want you to be a drummer in our Army's Drum Corps. And listen, Dan, you play your drum in your own way." The illustrations are deceptively simple looking-broad strokes and splashes of color that have a childlike quality that fits the story. They also are filled with energy and pathos as well as the fury of battle and the caring relationship between Dan and his friends Mr. Ned and Scipio. The book has a wonderful foreword by Henry Louis Gates Jr. who knew Romare Bearden and had seen the painted panels and heard the story long before it was ever published. The book also comes with a CD with Maya Angelou reading the story. It is a terrific package. 2003, Simon & Schuster, Ages 6 up, $19.95. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot ISBN: 0-689-86237-7 Me and Uncle Romie: A Story Inspired by the Life and Art of Romare Bearden Claire Hartfield Paintings by Jerome Lagarrigue    The African-American artist Romare Bearden and the world in which he lived are fascinatingly recreated in this fictional story of a young nephew from North Carolina who visits him one summer. James is apprehensive about staying with these unknown relatives, but they welcome him. Aunt Nanette shows him the sights of the city. When she must leave for a while, Uncle Romie takes time from his preparation for a big art show to share memories of his youth in North Carolina and his love of trains, while giving James a birthday to remember. James has a chance to see his uncle's art show before he returns home, and inspired by a gift painting, to try his own. Although Lagarrigue's acrylic and collage paintings provide effective portraits of the characters with enough contextual details to create a sense of place, they are more significant in their ability to provide atmosphere for the psychological environment of James's adventure. Expressionistic, and exploring the darker tones of pigments, they incorporate bits of newsprint collage which subtly add structure while hinting at Bearden's medium. Teachers, parents, and readers might find the final two-page "Making Collage" lesson useful and interesting but it detracts a bit from the story's humanistic strength. Hartfield has added facts on Bearden's life. 2002, Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Putnam, $16.99. Ages 5 to 9. Reviewers: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature) Best Books: Choices, 2003 ; Cooperative Children's Book Center; United States Smithsonian Magazine's Notable Books for Children, 2002 ; Smithsonian; United States ISBN: 0-8037-2520-5 Romare Bearden: Celebrating the Victory Myron Schwartzman    Romare Bearden is considered by many to have been the Dean of African American artists. His unique collages can be seen in public buildings and museums across the United States. This biography follows Bearden from his early days in Charlotte, North Carolina to his later years in Pittsburgh and New York City. His mixed-media collages, for which he became famous, drew on his memories and experience as a child and young man. He was influenced by Pablo Picasso, particularly by Picasso's Cubist principles. The author also shows how listening to jazz music helped Bearden to understand the use of space in music, and he incorporated this understanding onto the canvas. There are family photographs included, as well as two sections of color reproductions of Bearden's works. Unfortunately, it is impossible to identify paper, wood, and other materials that the artist utilized in his collages, so the prints do little justice to the actual pieces. A chronology highlights the major events in the artist's life (Romare Bearden died in 1988). 1999, Franklin Watts Inc, $26.00 and $12.95. Ages 12 up. Reviewer: Christopher Moning (Children's Literature) Best Books: The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2000 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States Senior High School Library Catalog, Sixteenth Edition, 2002 ; H.W. Wilson; United States ISBN: 0-531-11387-6 ISBN: 0-531-16414-4 Romare Bearden Collage of Memories Jan Greenberg    In this handsome, oversized books, kids and adults too can learn about the life and work of one of the great African-American artists of the twentieth century. Romare Bearden created scenes from his childhood often using painted paper, scraps of fabric and other materials to create large collages. There is a fabulous photograph of Romare and his family and unlike the hero of his book Li'l Dan, Romare grew up in a life of privilege and was able to satisfy his natural curiosity through books and the people around him. Many of these memories he turned into art and the reproductions fill the pages of Greenberg's book. Life in the South was not a free as his family liked so they like many African-Americans migrated north and ended up in Harlem. But Romare moved back and forth from the big city to the county as he visited relatives in Charlotte and Lutherville. The kindness of Romare and his family comes out in their rescue of a frail young lad named Eugene who lived in a seedy boarding house. Farwell Eugene is a collage commemorating their friendship and Eugene's death. Kids will learn that Romare was talented and good at most everything he tried, sports, school and art, and his career as a social worker, song writer, but it was art that he loved. When he married Nanette Rohan she convinced him to return to art. He developed his own unique style of photomontages and created a new series entitled Projections. N0ow he had found his style. Greenberg also points out how important jazz was to Romare and how it influenced his art (and interestingly with the Marsalis Quintet CD how it has come full circle with his art now serving as the basis for jazz numbers). It is heartening learn how he was finally recognized as a great artists and also how he spent much of his time encouraging younger African American artist. "He helped fund the Cinque gallery in New York City to showcase their work." The book concludes with a look at the works created while he lived in St. Martin, again a whole new look to his work. The closing pages provide reader with a look at Romare at work in his studio, and Author's Note, a timeline, bibliography, text note and a glossary and a list of places where one can view his artwork. For the casual reader the story of Romare Bearden will be a delight and for African-American kids, it offers another wonderful and perhaps unknown role model. For any serious art student this book is a must. 2003, Abrams, Ages 8 up, $17.95. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot ISBN: 0-8109-4589-4 Twist with a Burger, Jitter with a Bug Linda Lowery Pictures by Pat Dypold    Twist, rap, jitterbug--Lowery capitalizes on nouns that are also verbs to capture the exuberance of music and dance in this picture-book poem. Each page carries one line of poetry that add up to four-line rhyming stanzas. "Dance to a mambo/Snap to a rap/ Put on your cleats and tap, tap, tap" (this last phrase refers to a football team, clacking their cleats to a marching band). Dancing in this book includes everything from a formal waltz to a roll-up-the-rug party with the neighbors. Dypold's collages use sunny colors, bright washes, and snippets of tie-dye to further animate the verse, playfully interpreting words like "hop to the rhythm" by showing both hares and the hare-suited doing the bunny hop. The book reflects the many moods of music; smoky nights are here, but so are moonlit ones and even the giggly silliness of a "dance in your underpants." This is aimed at a younger audience than Shange's I Live in Music (Stewart, Tabori, Chang, 1994), which uses Romare Bearden's paintings to illustrate Shange's poem to jazz, and Libby Moore Gray's My Momma Had a Dancing Heart (Orchard, 1995), which also uses poetry and art as a memoir to ballet. All three books meld the visual arts and the written word with music and movement. But Twist with a Burger especially addresses preschoolers, telling them what they probably already know--it's fun to let music move you. 1995, Houghton Mifflin, 10-5/8 x 9-1/2, 32 pages, $14.95. Ages 3 to 7. Reviewer: Cathryn A. Camper (The Five Owls, September/October 1995 (Vol. 10, No. 1)) ISBN: 0-395-67022-5 Best Books: Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson; United States To stay up to date on new books on this topic, consider subscribing to The Children's Literature Comprehensive Database. For your free trial, click here. Added 10/5/03