The work of Bernard Williams clearly shows that he is an artist fascinated by history, especially less well-known histories, such as the often forgotten role of African-Americans and other minorities in creating the modern American West.
I went to see Mr. Williams’s work in the exhibit A Complex Frontier, currently on display at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Ga., as part of my exploration of museums related Africa Atlanta 2014, a year-long movement to celebrate and strengthen the wide variety of ties linking Africa, America, and Europe.
Africa Atlanta 2014 is staging a series of events and exhibits to highlight African influence on artistic and cultural, business, educational and political ties binding the continents together with partners across the city and elsewhere presenting nearly 50 art and cultural exhibitions, cinema and performances, workshops, conferences and symposia through December.
A Complex Frontier is composed of art that ties together aesthetics and symbols of Africa with American Indian symbols and the history of the United States. These connections make a powerful statement about the roles played by minorities in American history.
As the name would imply, the Booth Western Art Museum focuses on displaying Western American art. It is an enormous and beautiful building, filled with large windows to allow the sunlight to fill up the huge, airy rooms.
The Booth is an affiliate of the Smithsonian having met high enough standards that it has access to the enormous resources of the world’s largest museum and research complex.
Upon entering the Booth and on my way to A Complex Frontier, I walked through rooms filled with a dizzying array of landscapes, portraits, sculptures and more that traced the development of the American West and its inhabitants, from the American Indian tribes to early American settlers to those living there today.
When I entered the exhibit, the first thing I noticed was the bright colors and bold patterns that Mr Williams uses.
Earlier in my explorations of Africa Atlanta 2014 related exhibits, I visited Kongo Across the Waters, an exhibit about Central and Western Africa at the Jimmy Carter Presidential and Museum.
I was pleasantly surprised to see many of the Kongolese symbols I saw at Kongo Across the Waters integrated into Mr. Williams’s modern pieces. Even the most rudimentary scan of the art made it clear to me that he puts a great deal of research and thought into all of his creations.
His designs range from frenzied complexity to simple but striking silhouettes. Most of the pieces incorporated symbols from African, American Indian, or Mexican culture along with American pop art influences to make the viewer think about the relationships between cultures.
Many of the pieces are amalgams of words written in the art such as the names of American cities, or American Indian tribes, as well as words to convey the tone of the art, like “defeated,” “Yankee,” or “pioneer” along with symbols and figures.
The words and symbols work together to raise questions about the relationships among the different cultures. Mr. Williams’s use of a modern and urban style with colors reminiscent of the murals he is known for brings new relevance to the questions he raises with his art.
A Complex Frontier also includes more traditional pieces, such as portraits. Many of the portraits are embellished with the same symbols and words found in Mr. Williams’s other art.
I really liked the painting of Ida B. Wells, a major civil rights leader. She is shown on a pink background and is surrounded by words that describe the places she lived and her accomplishments.
I think that by depicting a more modern and well-known figure along with pieces representing American movement West, Mr. Williams shows the connection between people that worked to further western movement and people that worked to ensure equal rights for all Americans.
My favorite piece in the exhibit is called S-DELTA. It is one of Mr. Williams’s chart style works of art, made of black cut outs arranged in a grid like pattern, with figures representing Native American, pioneer, and African symbols and elements.
I learned from a flier about the exhibit created by the Booth that this was actually a much smaller version of the typical chart-like pieces Mr. Williams makes that can be as large as a gallery wall.
I liked it because even in its reduced scale, it told a story and forged connections in my mind between aspects of African and American culture that I had simply never thought about before.
I think that is the true power in A Complex Frontier as a whole: it makes visitors think about familiar ideas in new ways by presenting different cultures and ideas in the same space.
I very much enjoyed my time in A Complex Frontier and in the Booth Western Art Museum. It was a unique and fun learning experience that I would recommend to anyone seeking to understand more about the West and all of the people who helped make it.
Anna Democko was born in Atlanta and has lived here her entire life. She attended several schools in the Atlanta area, including St. Pius X Catholic High School, and is currently a sophomore at Georgia College and State University pursuing a degree in history with a concentration in public history and a minor in museum studies.
She enjoys museum studies because they incorporate the study of history, art, and how to share the highlights of human accomplishment with others. She hopes to graduate in the spring of 2016 and work in the museum field.
Anna is currently interning at the Atlanta History Center as the public programs intern. She enjoys learning about how history museums operate and being involved in planning and executing the museums different events. She is also working with Global Atlanta by visiting Southeast United States museums and writing commentaries of the different exhibits.
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