Eddie Chambers, Spring 2015.

Visual Arts of the English-speaking Caribbean (class ARH 345M, LAS 327, AFR 374F

M-W-F 3:00 to 4:00 2.204

Office hours, Mondays, 1:00 – 3:00 pm

Consistently framed, in some quarters, as little more than a holiday destination, the Caribbean is in actuality one of the world’s most fascinating and complex regions. The countries of the Caribbean, at once united and divided by the great expanse of the Caribbean Sea, are home to a wide range of religions, cultures, nationalities, ‘races’, and peoples. Whilst Spanish- speaking Cuba and French-speaking Haiti are in some ways the artistic giants of the region, equal stature can be attached to the biggest English- speaking island of the Caribbean, . Together with its neighbors such as , Barbados, and , the English-speaking Caribbean has produced much of the most dynamic art to come out of the region during the course of the 20th century. This class will look at the work of a fascinating group of modern and contemporary Caribbean artists. The history of the region is a compelling and fascinating one, embracing as it does a variety of factors including the trans-Atlantic slave trade, 20th century patterns of migration and travel, and ‘New World’ sensibilities. This class will examine the work of a range of Caribbean artists whose practice came to the fore over the course of the 20th century, from the 1920s right up to the present time. Artists to be studied include practitioners such as Edna Manley, Barrington Watson, Albert Chong, and artists with substantial links to the Caribbean such as Jean-Michel Basquiat. In addition, the class will critically explore the visual culture of the region, through the mediums of film, documentaries, record sleeves, and tourist imagery. Visual Arts of the English-speaking Caribbean will be invaluable to those students looking to broaden their understanding and familiarity with Caribbean artists, those living within the region and those who have moved away and are now practicing in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States.

(Week of) Wednesday January 21 Introduction: What’s Caribbean, Who’s Caribbean. Text: Veerle Poupeye, Introduction, Caribbean Art, Thames and Hudson World of Art, , 1998, pp. 9 – 24

(Week of) Monday January 26 Slavery, Racial Identity and visual art in the Caribbean and its Diaspora Text: James Walvin, The African Diaspora, Chapter 4 of Slavery and the Slave Trade: A Short Illustrated History, University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, 1983, pp.40-63

(Week of) Monday February 2 Edna Manley and the Creation of ‘Jamaican Art’ Text: David Boxer, Edna Manley – sculptor, Jamaica Journal 18/1 nd pp. 25- 40

(Week of) Monday February 9 (no class on Wednesday and Friday of this week) : a Jamaican Abroad Text: Guy Brett, A Reputation restored: The Rediscovery of sculptor Ronald Moody, Tate Magazine, March-April 2003: 78-80

(Week of) Monday February 16 , World Painter Text: Guy Brett Introduction, catalog essay in Aubrey Williams, exhibition at Shibuya Tokyu Plaza, Japan, 1988, unpaginated

(Week of) Monday February 23 Tam Joseph, Urban Griot Text: Nancy Hynes in conversation with Tam Joseph, in catalog for exhibition This is History, Gallery II, University of Bradford, 1998, unpaginated.

(Week of) Monday March 2 Intuitive art, Folk art, Outsider art: a problem with labels Text: David Boxer, Introducing Fifteen Intuitives. The transcript of a lecture delivered at the National Gallery [of Jamaica] on July 10th, 1987, pp. 2-12 of the exhibition catalog ‘Fifteen Intuitives’, National Gallery of Jamaica, July 12 – October 31, 1987

(Week of) Monday March 9 Eugene Palmer: From Jamaica to London Text: Richard Hylton, catalog essay for Index, Wolsey Art Gallery, Ipswich, 2004, unpaginated.

SPRING BREAK

(Week of) Monday March 23 : From to London Text: John Lyons, Denzil Forrester’s Art in Context, catalog essay for Dub Transition, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, 1990, pp.16 - 21

(Week of) Monday March 30 Albert Chong: from Jamaica to Colorado Text: Jeff Hoone, catalog introduction to Across the Void, Menschell Photography Gallery, Syracuse University, 2000, pp. 4 – 5

(Week of) Monday April 6 Barrington Watson: Jamaica’s Popular Artist Text: Petrine Archer –Straw The Dynamic Sixties, in Jamaican Art: An Overview, Kingston Publishers, 1990, pp.57 – 61.

(Week of) Monday April 13 12 inch square messages: the art of the reggae record Text: tbc

(Week of) Monday April 20 What Place for Jean-Michel Basquiat? Voodoo’s Gleeful, Ambassador Text: Leonard Emmerling, Basquiat and The 1980s Art Scene, in Basquiat, Taschen, 2003, pp. 7 – 9

(Week of) Monday April 27 Not Quite Sun, Sea and Sand: Films, Life and Debt and Jamaica for Sale Text: tbc

(Week of) Monday May 4 The Caribbean Exhibited: A History Texts: New World Imagery: Jamaican Art (1995) and Infinite Island: Contemporary Caribbean Art (2007) catalog essays

Friday May 8 Submission of 3500 word paper

Particulars Students are required to produce response papers, relating to the previous week’s classes. The first response paper is due Monday January 26. The reaction papers should be no longer than a word length of 500 words. A 3500 word paper, relating to some aspect of the class, must be submitted no later than 10.00am on Friday May 8.