the land of the lotus eaters artwork by romare beardon
TRANSCRIPT
The Land of the Lotus Eaters
Artwork by Romare Beardon
About the Artist
• Romare Bearden (1914-1988)
• Famous African American author of the Harlem Renaissance
• Born in Charlotte, NC
• Moved to Harlem
• Joined the Army in 1942
• Moved to Paris to study art
Bearden’s Art
• Work focused mainly on the African American experience
• Worked in the medium of collages
Collages
• Were first used in modern times by the cubists (who inspired Bearden in Paris)
• For Bearden’s collages, he combined his artist’s eye and his love of jazz
• He took fragments of pictures and colors and arranged them to form figures and scenes that became unified storytelling creations
Bearden’s collage materials
• He used a large variety including:
• Pictures from magazines
• Photographs
• Fabrics
• paint
Reasons to make collage
• Bearden liked collage because with it he was able to combine related moments and events in his work
• To show the relation of past and present• To express the color and richness of life
that he associated with African American culture
Bearden’s Odyssey
• Bearden did an African American version of the ancient Greek classic, The Odyssey
• He wanted to reinterpret memories and stories in African American terms
Land of the Lotus Eaters
• Done in 1977
• From his collection of Odyssey stories
Introducing the Collage
• What colors predominate in the collage?
• How would you describe the tones of these colors?
• Describe the terrain in the collage.
Introducing the Collage
• What effect does the diagonal line of the river have on the viewer’s path of vision?
• What sort of texture does the collage have?
• What are the people in the collage doing? What seems to be their mood?
Land of the Lotus Eaters
• Answer the following questions on the worksheet - in complete sentences
Additional Collages
• Cyclops
• Battle of the Cicones
The Cyclops
• Painting by French Artist Odilon Redon
• Tones of pastel
• Oils
• Dream-like mythical images