The Nasher Museum of Art has conjured up a dynamic group of speakers to paint a fuller picture of artist Romare Bearden, whose attention-grabbing works are presently casting their spell on Nasher's walls.
The two-day colloquium, "Conjuring Women," will bring 20 scholars from across the nation to Duke on March 24 and 25 to analyze the artist's fascination with the intersection of powerful women and the supernatural. A poet, a choreographer and professors from fields as varied as photography, jazz studies and women's studies will engage in discussion about the artist's opus.
"The colloquium is intended to be in conversation with the exhibition and to expand upon a number of themes that surface through the exploration of Bearden's dealings with women and the theme of conjure in his work," explained senior Alicia Garcia.
Garcia is co-curator of "Conjuring Bearden," the current Bearden exhibition she facilitated with three other Duke students and Richard Powell, professor of art and art history and African and African American studies.
The "conjure woman"-a magical figure with transformative powers-plays a central role in his boldly colored, energetic works. Bearden's artwork depicts the black communities of places as far apart and culturally diverse as rural North Carolina, urban Harlem and the Caribbean, all locations he at one point called home.
The exhibition introduces to the public two collections of Bearden's art, one a series of dazzling and compact collages that comprise a storyboard for an unrealized ballet.
Likewise, the colloquium will foster innovative dialogue about an artist whose works have much depth yet to be discovered in the scholarly world.
Garcia is particularly interested to hear Sally Price, Dittman Professor of anthropology at the College of William and Mary, who will speak about Bearden's time on St. Martin, a topic that has yet to be fully addressed by the academic community. "Very little has been recorded in that respect, and I encountered a number of gaps while researching Bearden," said Garcia. "I'm excited to hear what Ms. Price has uncovered."
With Price and 19other experts on hand, Nasher will likely present color and excitement beyond that of the spell-binding works adorning the walls.
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