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Romare Bearden was one of the most original visual artists of the twentieth century. He experimented with different styles and mediums but is best known for his collages and photomontages. Bearden had spent nearly two decades using abstract subjects when, in the 1960s, he departed from this focus and moved to collages. He joined with twelve other African American artists who called themselves “Spiral.” Inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, they sought to explore the identity and images of African Americans through the use of art. Bearden suggested the group participate in a collage project. After little interest from the other members, however, Bearden moved ahead and began to make collages by himself. In 1964, he actively made collages consisting of images of African Americans taken from periodicals such as Ebony, Look, and Life magazine. He went on to reinterpret other forms and methods using African American cultural rituals, events, and history.

Bearden’s work consisted of a grid system that resulted in arrangements that overlapped in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional space. He first presented his work at an exhibition entitled Projections; later, in October 1964, he had an exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Through his exhibits Bearden gained enormous popularity during the 1960s and continued to present collages as a key part of his art. His images explored themes regarding the everyday lives of African Americans in the North as well as the South. Bearden’s lifelong achievements covered the range of human experiences intermingled with his own personal experiences. He received legendary status for his collages, though he was never fully acknowledged in the records of American Art. Bearden died on March 12, 1988.

Lean’tin L. Bracks