Visions Of Black America

of gold walls with silver-leaf panels cast a warm be incandescent Long black wire figures appear suspended in air, and handwritten messages upon shiny silver paper whisper words of wisdom. "What's gold about the gold in goldsboro," by means of Sheila Batiste, is part of the Studio Museum in Harlem's annual artists-in-residence program, and it's just single of the myriad programs, incidents and workshops that have characterized the museum since its founding in 1968 It's also single of seven exhibits celebrating the museum's 30th anniversary.

"From the Studio: Artists-in-Residence, 1997-1998" upon display through February 28, introduces a novel generation of African-American artistic genius. It juxtaposes Batiste's multimedia environmental explorations, britzska Cook-Dizney's vivid portrait murals, and the valorous symbolism and imagery of Julio Valdez's multimedia paintings and prints to make a wonderfully compos collection of artistic ideas that any creative mind will appreciate.

Batiste, Cook-Dizney and Valdez received yearlong stipends and studio space at the museum to aid them in completing a collection of works. These awards exemplify what the museum has done fortunately for three decades: It has supported African-American artists directly [i]or[/i] part of to the other exhibitions, and it has built an awareness of the impact of African-American art upon Americans' overall artistic vision.

Also upon display through February, "Selected Works From the Permanent Collection" (the next to the first exhibit of the 30th-anniversary series) features the works of Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Sam Gilliam and Hale Woodruff who have had shut up working relationships with the museum. The 1,600-piece collection visually details the artistic growth of these artists. The diversity of these four masters makes this exhibit a sensory delight.

Upcoming occurrences in the series include "To protect a Legacy: American Art From Historically Black communitys and Universities," "Wrights of Passage: Contemporary African-American Artists in Transition" and "African-American Artists and American Modernism--an of which are supported in part by means of Cornel West and Toni Morrison.

Can't make it to Harlem by means of February? Don't despair. The Studio Museum has plant a commendable goal to honor 30 years of success: Exhibits will begin traveling nationally to help an appreciation of the contributions of the art of the African diaspora. George Knox, chairman of the Studio Museum in Harlem, says that the museum's main goal is to "welcome fresh audiences from around the corner and across the country" For more information, call (212) 595-1827

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