SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This chapter argues that skewed conceptions of American art have generated piecemeal and an often distorted image of African American art in the international arena. The profile Venice afforded abstractionist Sam Gilliam and figurative painter Robert Colescott was in many respects at odds with wider appreciation of their work in the international arena. Gilliam’s inclusion coincided with what has been regarded as his “breakthrough” period. The Museum of Modern Art in New York’s pathological negation of African American art coupled with its ownership of the United States’ Pavilion from the early 1950s to the late 1980s are key factors influencing the paradoxical nature of African American presence at the Venice Biennale. David Hammons represents one of the few African American artists of the subsequent generation, from the postwar period whose profile has in the international arena extended beyond the thematic exhibition. For certain, contemporary African American art has a greater status and presence within the international arts arena.