Faced with racist caricatures, African-American painters decided to present a different image of their community than the one imposed by the degrading stereotypes of a brutally racist society. Ignored and marginalised, they had to wait a century before they finally won recognition.
This film tells the story of how African-American artists took back their image, from the abolition of slavery to the present day.
BLACK IS THE COLOR
un film de Jacques Goldstein - Arts et CulturesFaced with racist caricatures, African-American painters decided to present a different image of their community than the one imposed by the degrading stereotypes of a brutally racist society. Ignored and marginalised, they had to wait a century before they finally won recognition.
This film tells the story of how African-American artists took back their image, from the abolition of slavery to the present day.
Just as the first African-American U.S. president is coming to the end of his second term, America has finally woken up to “Black” painting.
Works by African-American artists are now on show in the most prestigious museums, and their paintings are selling for fortunes at auction. Yet for over a century these artists were ignored by galleries, looked down on by the critics and as a result remained largely anonymous to the general public.
“The Colour of Art” tells the story of these men and women’s long struggle to forge an image of Blacks that broke with the typical racist caricatures and exploded the deep-rooted prejudice in the American collective unconscious. From the 19th century onwards the goal of African-American painters was to reclaim ownership of their image, and this remains the goal of today’s artists too.
The film juxtaposes works of art with the historical documents and footage of the major moments in this battle, and features interviews with the young artists, curators and collectors who have played their part in this hard-earned recognition.
But although this was an undeniable achievement, has America really laid its demons to rest? Racist stereotypes are as powerful as ever: a young African-American man today is just as likely to catch a bullet from the police in 2016 as he was to be lynched in 1916. Will African-American art be able to disconnect itself from the issues that gave rise to it? Nothing is less certain.
P50
Data sheet
- Buy the DVD
- http://boutique.arte.tv/f11300-noire_est_couleur
- Directed by
- Jacques Goldstein
- Year
- 2016
- Genre
- Arts et Cultures
- Editing
- Jacques Goldstein
- Author
- Daniel Soutif & Jacques Goldstein
- Photography
- Julien Bossé
- Sound
- Kip Sturm
- Mixage
- Studio de Belleville
- Producer
- Les Films d'Ici
- Co-producers
- Bachibouzouk / Laurent Duret
- Original soundtrack
- Patrick Goraguer & Zarma Sodi
- Broadcaster
- Arte
- Partners
- PROCIREP/ANGOA, ICI ARTV, Shy Arts New Zealand, Panos Kouanis, HELLENIC PARLIAMENT TELEVISION CHANNEL & RSI (Radiotelevisione svizzera Silvana Bezzola Rigolini)
- Format
- HDCAM
- Manager of production
- Anne Le Grevès
- Langue
- Français & Anglais
- Available version
- Anglais
- Length
- 52'
- ISAN
- 0000-0004-2717-0000-2-0000-0000-V
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