Citation Type: Art

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Composition 28

Charles Elmer Harris developed his own distinctive form of abstraction during the second half of the twentieth century. This drawing dates for the artist spent working at Karamu House, an African American cultural center located in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood. The work features a hybrid of rhythmic, angular forms, suggesting the influence of jazz music and African art on Harris. The…

Confrontation

With its half-demolished wall, odd configuration of poles, hula-hoop-like ring, and distant vista of calm water and low mountains, Confrontation presents an incongruous and unsettling image. But something is familiar about the scene; a quality of Deja vu that summons memories of difficult personal encounters. We assume a connection between two young women, yet it is impossible to know the…

Desert Forms

Hughie Lee-Smith here conjured an unsettling scene: the stormy blues of the sky, the rocky terrain, and the unknowable relationship between the walking woman and the distant man. The artist often situated enigmatic people in bleak landscapes, and he aligned these morose visualizations with his experiences as an African American man: “Unconsciously it has a lot to do with a…

Desolation

Hughie Lee-Smith was born in Eustis, Florida, lived in Atlanta until 1925, when he moved to Cleveland. He began attending art classes at the Cleveland Museum of Art and later graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1938. While in Cleveland, he became active at Karamu House as an actor, dancer, set designer, and teacher. He worked in the…

Ermetta

Charles L. Sallee, painter and graphic artist was born in Oberlin, Ohio in 1911. He studied at Karamu House, the Institute of Art and earned a B.S. from Western Reserve University in 1939. After teaching in Cleveland Schools he worked on WPA projects as a printmaker and mural painter. During World War II he worked as a cartographer and camouflage…

Futility

Hughie Lee-Smith was born in Eustis, Florida, lived in Atlanta until 1925, when he moved to Cleveland. He began attending art classes at the Cleveland Museum of Art and later graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1938. While in Cleveland, he became active at Karamu House as an actor, dancer, set designer, and teacher. He worked in the…

Malcolm X stands with Captain Joseph of the Fruit of Islam and Louis X (out of frame), now Louis Farrakhan, in Harlem at the site of his weekly lectures

Muslim minister and civil rights activist Malcolm X (1925-1965) is seen here at a time of growing disillusionment with the Nation of Islam, which he left the following year. Haggins made Malcolm X stand out from Nation of Islam followers through depth of field and focus. The somewhat low viewing angle, contrast in scale with the crowd, and sunlight on…

My Home Town

Lovelace dedicated most of his career to depicting Cleveland’s urban landscape; many of the city’s iconic destinations are visible in the background of My Home Town. His paintings can be read as vibrant and candid commentaries on the city’s sociopolitical and cultural heritage. This work’s panoramic scene combines different local neighborhoods, represented as storefronts. Lovelace said “I painted the way…