Mural Celebrates Work of Black Panther

Emory Douglas Mural Celebrates Work of Legendary Black Panther
"What We Want, What We Believe"

http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=33087

September 7, 2009

HARLEM, NY.- Fifteen youth from Harlem worked with Groundswell
artists Chris Beck and Clare Herron to create a monumental mural
inspired by the work of legendary artist and former Black Panther
Emory Douglas. The mural project "What We Want, What We Believe" is
in conjunction with the major retrospective "Emory Douglas: Black
Panther" currently on view at the New Museum on the Bowery through
October 18, 2009.

Emory Douglas was the Revolutionary Artist of the Black Panther Party
and later became its Minister of Culture. From the 1960's until the
party disbanded in 1980 he created the design and layout, and oversaw
production for the party's newspaper, the "Black Panther." Douglas
created a vocabulary of images that exemplify how art can encourage
political consciousness and function within an activist context. In
partnership with New Museum and The Studio Museum in Harlem,
Groundswell youth and artists brought to life an original design
based on Douglas's work and utilizing his distinctive graphic style.
The mural, entitled "What We Want, What We Believe", is the first
large scale public artwork celebrating the work of Emory Douglas in
New York City.

In preparation for the mural project, students attended workshops at
the New Museum and Studio Museum to learn about the social and
political history that gave rise to the Black Panther Party for
Self-Defense and the larger Black Power Movement. As part of the
design research process, the students canvassed the neighborhood and
interviewed locals to discuss the issues that the communities felt
were most relevant, the most common topics being education, health
care, and unity. Working with researched ideas and concerns, the
students, Emory Douglas, and mural artists Chris Beck and Clare
Herron choose to "remix" images from three of Douglas's earlier
images from the "Black Panther" newspaper, with two of his more
recent images, and also integrating newly created designs meant to
illustrate the community's core concerns. The resulting mural "What
We Want, What We Believe" is a reflection of past, present, and future.

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