With grids, abstract figures, texts, and found objects, the artists of “Viewpoints” expand the parameters of expressive practice. Titles provide hints about the topics and themes that interest, if not preoccupy these makers. Yet above all, the creative imperative is to communicate ideas that can be taken in when looking at and experiencing painting, drawing, collages, sculpture, assemblage, and installation art. These projects demonstrate artistic commitment to materials, which are acted upon: strategic cuts, emotive drips, built up surfaces, and provocative juxtapositions are the outcomes of measurable activities and signs of “doing." As the work of historical artists in “Viewpoints” demonstrates, the engagement with theoretical concepts and aesthetic problems is not a recently developed trajectory among artists of African descent. What is new is broader awareness and curiosity about it.
