Barkley L.Hendricks
Icon For My Man Superman, 1969, 151.1 x 121.9
(Superman Never Saved any Black People-Bobby Seale)
Oil Paint, Acrylic Paint and Aluminium Leaf on Canvas
When I visited the exhibition ‘Soul of a Nation-Art in the Age of Black Power’ at TATE Modern, I was drawn to pure confidence behind the above painting by artist Barkley L.Hendricks. The show of work was about tackling equal rights of Black artists over the two decades in America after 1963 and representing their freedom.
‘A nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character’
For me as soon as I saw the self-portrait I was drawn to its bright colours that hung within the three-stripe border invoking the American flag and the novelty T-shirt worn boldly by the black character. I was aware of the piece appearing in the exhibition as it was presented on the covers of the leaflets given. However there was something about witnessing such a meaningful empowering piece of artwork that made my skin crawl. As an individual artist I am always eager to present art that contains a strong in depth meaning of some sort and could intentionally change my audience’s opinions. With this piece I felt exactly that and seeing the work ‘in the flesh’ I was able to consume the artist’s emotions from a stronger source. The materials used were also perfect and complimented the whole aspect behind the composition.
‘The black artist as a superhero, painting himself into history rather than waiting for someone else to confer the honour upon him’
Bibliography:
Soul of a Nation-Art in the Age of Black Power, Edited by Mark Godfrey and Zoe Whitley
TATE Modern handout programme 12th July-22nd October 2017