Brooklyn On My Mind: Black Visual Artists from the WPA to the Present by Myrah Brown Green

Brooklyn On My Mind: Black Visual Artists From the WPA to the Present by Myrah Brown Green brings together 139 inspirational artists with connections to Brooklyn. The book is beautifully presented, each artist given a two-page spread to showcase their work, and accompanied with a brief artist's statement or biography sketch. It is a book full of powerful images depicting the black experience. 

Ellsworth Ausby (1942-2011) Space Odyssey and an untitled work

Turning pages is like a visit to a gallery, each work an exciting encounter.

Kehinde Wiley portraits

There are well known names such as Kehinde Wiley who was commissioned for the portraits of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. 

Chapter Title Page, Games, 1979, by Jacob Lawrence 

Jacob Lawrence is one of the WPA artists included. I was lucky to have seen an exhibit of his Legend of John Brown paintings at the Flint Institute of Arts in 2016.

Dread Scott writes that he creates "revolutionary art to propel history forward."

I was drawn to the beautiful portraits of children.

Ernest Crichlow (1914-2005) Her Stand, 1987

Ernest Crichlow was part of the Harlem Renaissance and a mural painter and art teacher for the WPA.  Her Stand is a beautiful portrait, but he said that his early controversial work, such as a painting of a Klansman raping a  black woman, "best represented him."

Violet Hewitt Chandler, Boy in Cap and Sweater (2015)

Violet Hewitt Chandler used her children in many of her portraits. 

Fishing, 2012, by Carlton Murrell

Carlton Murrell wrote that his art captures his nostalgia of childhood in the Caribbean which he hopes will spur peace, calm and optimism. 

James Brown's Sorrows, 1992, strikes the viewer with its emotional impact, the strong lighting and shadows. The woman hiding her face is especially haunting.

Sorrows, 1992, by James Brown

I loved the use of fabrics  and found objects in Study War No More, 2015, by Deborah Singletary.

detail Study War No More, 2015, by Deborah Singletary

The gold shimmer in Myra Kooy's Light Streams, 2017, is just extraordinary. She writes that she desires to "offer the viewer, through my art, an equally peaceful place upon which they can relax their eyes."

detail Light Streams, 2017, by Myra Kooy

The book is divided into seven thematic chapters:

• The WPA Experience, President Franklin Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration which gave jobs to artists and writers during the Depression
• Passing it Forward, the standard-making artists
• Songs of Our Mothers and Fathers, artists representing the African American heritage
• In the Spirit, artists whose work channels the spiritual
• Global Inspirations, art that represents places beyond Brooklyn
• Contemporaneous Connections features art that incorporates 21st c issues and technology and ideas
• New Thought, the artists who "keep the create arts flame burning in Brooklyn."

I hope this glimpse into the book intrigues you! Every page is enthralling.

I received a free book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Brooklyn On My Mind: Black Visual Artists from the WPA to the Present
Myrah Brown Green , Foreword by Chirlane McCray
Schiffer Publications
hard cover $60.00
Size: 9″ x 12″ | 395 color images | 288 pp
ISBN 13: 9780764356520 

about the author

Dr. Myrah Brown Green is an art historian, author, arts consultant, lecturer, and independent curator. Raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, her love for arts began in childhood while spending countless hours creating at the Community Art Center in the housing complex where she lived and included frequent excursions to culturally rich art institutions. She moved to Brooklyn to attend Pratt Institute. Dr. Myrah is also a professional quilt maker who has been quilting and teaching textile arts for more than thirty years. Her quilts are in a number of prestigious collections including the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Museum in Washington, DC, and Michigan State University. For the past decade Dr. Myrah has devoted her time to assisting the Black New York artist community to document and archive their art.

from the publisher 

This new resource assembles 129 Black artists and their magnificent works, highlighting their important contributions to art worldwide. Beginning with the Brooklyn-based artists active during the Works Progress Administration years and continuing with artists approaching their prime today, the collection spans 80 years of art. From highly publicized artists to rising talent, each is tied to Brooklyn in their own way. Artists include Jacob Lawrence, Otto Neals, Onnie Millar, Kehinde Wiley, Dindga McCannon, Melvin Edwards, Dread Scott, Xenobia Bailey, Vivian Schuyler Key, Kay Brown, Russell Frederick, and many more. Seven chapters highlight overarching themes that connect the artists, besides their Brooklyn connections. A foreword by New York City’s “first lady,” Chirlane McCray, marks the importance of Brooklyn’s Black creators within the city’s art community.