Works in Conversation

A Deeper Dive

To See Music: The Sugar Shack (1971, 1976) Ernest Barnes

The Sugar Shack

You might recognize this painting from the closing credits of fourth season of Good Times and and Marvin Gayes album's I Want You. Prehaps the style of the painting looks familiar, the elongated limbs, the movement, the closed eyes. The artist Ernie Barnes (link to page) ...... This painting was inspired by Barnes experience at the age of thirteen in 1952 sneaking into the Durham Armory, an iconic dance hall in segregated North Carolina.....

Questions

1. James Evans Jr., a main character on the show Good Times (1974-1979), was an aspiring artist. Ernie Barnes, who painted more of his work, was frequently featured in the show. What does tha type of represenation of Black Artist on a sitcom during the seventies at the end of the Black Art Movement mean?

2. What do you feel when you look at this painting? How does the color palatte influence the mood created by this painting?

With Other Works

Click on Index to view the four items.

Questions

What might these works tell about Black experiences in the mid-century?

Collectively? Individully? Do they send different messages?

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