Jacob Lawrence in Springfield!!!!!

In January and February, the Springfield Art Museum has 80 prints of the work of Jacob Lawrence. It is an impressive show.

Even though the show does not have much "critical apparatus" to explain what you are seeing, you can learn a lot about Lawrence's style and his growth. The biggest things that I realized during the show:

(1) Lawrence's canvases are related to jazz in that he really experiment with colors and poses over the course of his various series. There was a group of 7 prints about genesis were this can really be seen!

(2) Lawrence's historical imagery might have more in common with the 1980 & 1990 literary interest in historical novels and neo-slave narratives than I had ever realized. I think there is an article or book here for someone to write.

(3) In seeing the Lawrence prints, I saw a ton of visual references from William Johnson, Horace Pippen, Aaron Douglas, and Romare Bearden. I wish the exhibition would have discussed that more!

(4) Lawrence's murals for the MTA in NYC seem to engage with graffiti art. I would love to see someone examine this in more detail.

It was a great show. Highly recommended!