Black Art: In the Absence of Light (2021)

Black Art: In the Absence of Light: Directed by Sam Pollard. With Kerry James Marshall, Kehinde Wiley, Carrie Mae Weems, Amy Sherald. An in-depth look at the works of up-and-coming Black visual artists.

“u0026quot;Black Art: In the Absence of Lightu0026quot; (2021 release; 86 min.) is a documentary about the state of affairs of arts by African-Americans. As the movie opens, it is 1976 and Tom Brokaw is interviewing David Driskell about a new exhibition called u0026quot;Two Centuries of American Black Artu0026quot; in New York. It is a key moment in the belated recognition and appreciation of u0026quot;blacku0026quot; art in this country. The fact that the exhibition is curated by and African -American is just as remarkable. From there we get introduced to a number of past and present African-American artists in the world of painting, collages, sculpture, photography, pottery, etc., including Charles White, Kerry James Marshall, Faith Ringgold, Norman Lewis, Joshua Johnston, Radcliffe Bailey, and on and on.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCouple of comments: this is the latest from producer-writer-director Sam Pollard, whose excellent documentary u0026quot;MLK/FBIu0026quot; is still playing in theaters. Here he takes stock of the blossoming yet underexposed u0026quot;blacku0026quot; arts world. David Driskell, who passed away last year not long after participating in this film, is the movieu0026#39;s unofficial MC. When asked about the negative review by the NY Times of that pivotal exhibit in 1976, Driskell simply dismisses it: u0026quot;Who is that reviewer?u0026quot; (As it turned out, a Caucasian male who had no prior knowledge of u0026quot;blacku0026quot; art, of course!) Let me state upfront that I myself had no knowledge of any of these artists, not even Kehinde Wiley (who painted the official President Obama portrait) or Amy Sherald (who painted the official Michelle Obama portrait). The documentary also looks at the rising trend in collecting u0026quot;blacku0026quot; art (check out Swizz Beatzu0026#39;s collection!), as well as other key points of interest (Studio Museum in Harlem, etc.). Bottom line: this documentary is insightful and informative from start to finish.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Black Art: In the Absence of Lightu0026quot; premiered this week on HBO (as part of Black History Month, of course), and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. If you have any interest in the arts, and would like a primer on u0026quot;blacku0026quot; art, Iu0026#39;d readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.”