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Aislyne Olsen

ART 1010

Utah Museum of Fine Arts - Experience + Black Refractions

Recently my brother and I visited the UMFA up at the University of Utah on March 4th,
2021 at 2pm. Our main focus was to visit their current exhibition on display called Black
Refractions, filled with art highlights from the studio museum in Harlem. I wanted to visit this
exhibit because I’ve always been fascinated in art by black creators, especially in pieces that
focus on collective experiences, political views, activism, and culture influence. While my
brother and I toured the entire museum, the focus of this reflection is on the exhibit Black
Refractions due to how interesting I found the exhibit. Below are my thoughts on these pieces
with photographs included (allowed for educational purposes) to share with you the same
inspiration I felt leaving the museum.

Bonfire

Titled ‘​Bonfire​’ by artist Norman Lewis (born in 1909, New York City; died 1979, New
York City), this piece was made in 1962. It is an oil on canvas, utilizing striking prominent
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complimentary colors blue and orange, along with small blotches of red and green, yellow and
minor shades of purple. It is hard to tell in the photograph, but in person the dried paint created
minor texturing that highlights the lines and line art at play here. The ring of color, emphasized
by the line art frames the color in the center of the piece which reflects the meaning the piece is
supposed to convey. According to the placard: “implies a congregation of people whose
motivation could either be sinister, as in a gathering of the Ku Klux Klan, or Celebratory.
Lewis’s use of abstraction engaged with the socio-political realities of the 1960’s.”

This leads me into my next highlights of the piece, which is the use of
abstraction/abstract elements. Lewis uses shape, line, and color to imply a vague sense of reality,
but does not make an attempt to depict it accurately. By doing this, it allows the viewer of the
piece to form their own opinion about it, but with context clues as to what may be visually going
on. This display of abstract art and it’s elements is what initially drew me to the piece. I loved
the colors going on in the piece, more specifically the duality of orange and blue. Once I noticed
the nuance of color within it, along with the lineart and the texture, it made me think about my
own art skills. While my art is nowhere near the skill level of Norman Lewis, it was kind of
reassuring to know that beautiful art can be made from colors that may seem basic at first- but
can grow more nuanced the closer you look. I hope to experiment further with color, linework,
and abstract elements because these elements were truly intriguing to me.

Now

Titled ‘​Now​’ by LeRoy Clarke (born in 1938), this piece was made in 1970. It is also an
oil on canvas, painted shortly after the artist came to New York from Trinidad and Tobago,
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Carribean. This is important because the country achieved independence in 1962, inspiring the
strong and independent themes in this painting. The painting overall has broader themes
referencing the struggle that many in the African-American community face, especially
worldwide among countries under colonial rule. While there are many parts of this painting that
seem to ‘speak’, the part that is the loudest is it’s message, which according to the accompanying
placard: “I paint with an intention for revolution... I paint for enlightenment, to bring us closer to
parting the darkness and opening up the way to our origins.”

When I first saw this piece, the shapes and line art made me think of Picasso. I’m not the
biggest fan of Picasso (or his art for that matter), yet I found myself attracted to this piece. I
wasn’t sure if it was the coloration of it, since the wide use of warm colors (yellow, orange, red,
and warm browns) with the minor use of blue or a dark, almost muted green for creating contrast
or shadow. All of these elements remind me of Picasso, yet the execution of them seemed easier
to digest. I think it may be due to the influences of Cubism present in the piece, the overall visual
unity between color and shapes, which forces your eyes to shift between subjects. It is a piece
that forces you to analyze it, but I think that’s the artistry of it.

Panthera

Titled ‘​Panthera’ ​by Mickalene Thomas (born 1971), this piece was made in 2002. A
highly textured piece consisting of rhinestones on acrylic on a birch panel, this was surely eye
catching. No matter what angle you were at, the showroom lights would reflect off the
rhinestone, creating a constant shimmer. It was truly mesmerizing. The texture up close was
bumpy due to the sheer amount of stones on the piece. They are organized by large patches on
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top of color to convey the general shapes of the painting, especially the panther herself. The
bright colors surrounding the panther help draw all visual attention to the object of the piece, and
the use of purple on the black panther as shadows is a creative way to show depth. It shifts the
balance of the piece, which is the entire point of ​Pantera. ​According to the placard: “Mickalene
Thomas has described the panther as a symbol of Black female representation. Here, Thomas
gives visual prominence to the physical prowess of the cat, demonstrating that beauty can
accompany strength.”

At first I wasn’t planning on reflecting upon this piece, but that changed after seeing how
much my brother liked this piece. He is autistic and hasn’t had the opportunity to explore art
much, and due to current world events, it’s hard to find social activities that are autism friendly.
As we were exploring the exhibit there were some pieces that caught his eye, but none like
Panthera. He insisted on reading the placard aloud for both of us (he would only do this for his
‘favorites’) and at one point he even tried to touch it, but I had to stop him. He loves beads,
rhinestones, legos, etc. I had never seen him so interactive with a piece of art before. It was
refreshing to see, and I hope that it continues to spark curiosity about art within him.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at UMFA. A lot of the artwork on display was

interesting, especially with the detail placards explaining the pieces. I also enjoyed the smaller
crowd size due to COVID reservations. It made it easier to tour the space, study the art, and
discuss it with my brother. He doesn’t do well in big crowds, so I felt like he had a positive
experience as well. Black Refractions was a beautiful exhibit, one of my favorites by far that I’ve
seen at UMFA. There’s so much in the exhibit to reflect upon, so I definitely have to go back
before it’s gone.

(Here are two pictures of placards I took at the event, but I have links below that include the
same information displayed on the cards. They didn’t have many handouts due to restrictions.)
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Works Cited

Fichner-Rathus, L., 2016. ​Understanding Art​. 11th ed. Cengage Learning.

Clarke, LeRoy. “Now.” ​The Studio Museum in Harlem,​ 11 Aug. 2020,

studiomuseum.org/collection-item/now.

Lewis, Norman. :Bonfire.” ​The Studio Museum in Harlem,​ 20 May 2019,

studiomuseum.org/collection-item/bonfire.

Tate. “Abstract Art – Art Term.” ​Tate​, www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/abstract-art.

Tate. “Cubism – Art Term.” ​Tate​, www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/c/cubism.

Thomas, Mickalene. “Panthera.” ​The Studio Museum in Harlem​, 1 Dec. 2020,

studiomuseum.org/node/60887.