First LS Art Club!

Romare Bearden was an African-American artist whose powerful works represented his life experiences. He grew up in Harlem, but spent most of his early childhood in North Carolina were he was born in 1912. Bearden did the majority of his works with pen and ink and paints on scraps of paper and old photographs. He used these scrap materials to create collages which delivered powerful messages about African-American life. For a short time in the 1950s, he was a songwriter and, although he returned to art as a profession, music was always an important subject matter in his work, primarily the colorful representations of jazz and the blues (like the one pictured here).

The Lower School Art Club met for the first time yesterday and learned about Romare Bearden and his work. Inspired by Bearden, and while listening to a jazz CD, clubbers are creating musical collages of their own using various materials. Here are a few snapshots of them working- stay tuned for the final products in the weeks ahead!