NO. 12: DR FARI NZINGA - CURATOR OF AFRICAN AND NATIVE AMERICAN COLLECTIONS AT THE SPEED MUSEUM
release date September 5, 2023
release date September 5, 2023
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Episode No. 12 of the Art Throb Podcast features Dr. fari nzinga who is the Curator of African and Native American Collections at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY. In addition to caring for and stewarding these collections, she coordinates special exhibitions as well. nzinga is also co-founder of the Color BLOC, an information and resource sharing network for artists and arts professionals of color, and sits on the steering committee for the Professional Organization of Women in the Arts (POWArts). She has previously held positions at the Bell Hooks Center at Berea College, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, and Kalamazoo College.
She received her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University.
Our conversation focuses on the current exhibtion at The Speed Museum that Dr. nzinga curated - Louisville's Black Avant-Garde: Robert L Douglas.
Douglas, who died this past February at the age of 88, had been involved in the planning stages of his exhibition. He was Professor Emeritus at the University of Louisville, a visual artist, commuity organizer, teacher and mentor to generations of artists and thinkers. This exhibition of his work features more than 30 of his paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures and presents rarely seen work from across the span of his career demonstatrating the breadth of his artistic practice and the depth of his impact both locally and regionally.
Douglas was drawn to the work of the German Expressionists of the early twentieth century and their use of color to convey atmosphere and emotion. He directly references these painting techniques in several of his works in this show with his use of bright and intense color, simple shapes, textured brushwork and the generous application of paint. Douglas’ work is at once rife with visual references drawn from art history and uniquely his own. He explores many themes in his work, including (but not limited to): Defining Black art and aesthetics; connections between Africa and African America; standards of beauty and femininity; art and everyday life; and improvisation and abstraction in the creative and artistic process.
Louisville's Black Avant-Garde is intended as a four-part annual series spotlighting leading artists of the Louisville Art Workshop. The first in this series with the work of Professor Robert L Douglas opened June 30 in the Chellgren Gallery on the second floor of the Speed Art Museum and will run until October 1, 2023.
Images below are of some of the works discussed.
She received her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University.
Our conversation focuses on the current exhibtion at The Speed Museum that Dr. nzinga curated - Louisville's Black Avant-Garde: Robert L Douglas.
Douglas, who died this past February at the age of 88, had been involved in the planning stages of his exhibition. He was Professor Emeritus at the University of Louisville, a visual artist, commuity organizer, teacher and mentor to generations of artists and thinkers. This exhibition of his work features more than 30 of his paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures and presents rarely seen work from across the span of his career demonstatrating the breadth of his artistic practice and the depth of his impact both locally and regionally.
Douglas was drawn to the work of the German Expressionists of the early twentieth century and their use of color to convey atmosphere and emotion. He directly references these painting techniques in several of his works in this show with his use of bright and intense color, simple shapes, textured brushwork and the generous application of paint. Douglas’ work is at once rife with visual references drawn from art history and uniquely his own. He explores many themes in his work, including (but not limited to): Defining Black art and aesthetics; connections between Africa and African America; standards of beauty and femininity; art and everyday life; and improvisation and abstraction in the creative and artistic process.
Louisville's Black Avant-Garde is intended as a four-part annual series spotlighting leading artists of the Louisville Art Workshop. The first in this series with the work of Professor Robert L Douglas opened June 30 in the Chellgren Gallery on the second floor of the Speed Art Museum and will run until October 1, 2023.
Images below are of some of the works discussed.
Universal Me
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Ursula (Earth Mother Series - 3 iterations)
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Doris (Earth Mother Series - 3 iterations)
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After the Morning Bath
My God... What's the Use?
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Then What Did She Say?
So What
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