Analyzing the Abstract with Colescott

Robert Colescott's body of work makes it look like the Carpenter Center developed their series of lectures on "Metaphor, Allegory, Illustration and Narrative" exclusively as an excuse to invite him to speak. In his 50 years of painting, he has exploited the possibilities of all of these themes extensively. His lecture was basically a retrospective of his work, presented as it would be perceived through those thematic filters. In presenting the straightforward artistic qualities of his work, Colescott couldn't resist discussing the complex political issues his work reflects.

Colescott began his career as an abstract artist. In 1949, at a fairly young age, he left the United States for Paris to study with Fernand Leger, who was by that time working in quite a representational manner. Leger convinced Colescott that abstraction was not the most effective means of communicating to people. Colescott eagerly adopted Leger's more figurative style in an effort to attract his attention.

Colescott was also inspired by his exposure to Egyptian art. Egyptian work in its obvious efforts at storytelling led him to the idea of narrative as a basis for his work. Unlike the plot development which occurs in an Egyptian work, Colescott's pieces rely more on the suggestion of a story, the possibility of what may have or may still happen. This is apparent in a series of paintings he did of people sitting by windows. The scenes are clearer depictions of psychological states than of active ones. His use of narrative is usually a metaphorical tool rather than an indication of literal truth.

The vast majority of Colescott's work is incredibly varied and can only be linked in small groups. He is probably best known for his series of appropriations of other painters' works, including a Courbet, a Van Eyck, a Vermeer and a Van Gogh. In these he often changed the race of the figures or added captions and altered the size of the piece. He produced a few works in the Abstract Expressionist vein, which focused on the significance of color and gesture. He employed a cartoon style to address political issues. Among other politically-motivated works, Colescott discussed a painting of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy '48 (he considered it his first truly narrative work) and one of George Washington Carver crossing the Delaware. Many of his later works were large canvases full of a particular food such as Hot Dawg and Chocolate Cake.

Colescott's presentation was altogether jovial and comical, so much so that it was misleading. His discussion was so entertaining and his personality so appealing that his friendly manner often served to obscure some incredibly disturbing and offensive ideas he related. He remarked that his goal in art was to "make things which are both beautiful and have a message. Those things are often seen to be contradictory but that's what I like to do." But prior to making that statement, Colescott had defended his controversial George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware by saying, "People thought I was some kind of advocate instead of just someone who represents something." Colescott changes his ideology to suit the situation and avoids addressing the potent political statements his works make.

It is difficult to maintain that kind of distance and independence from your own work, especially when it espouses the kind of socially unacceptable and questionable perspectives his does. White Boy shows a oversized white boy, who he compared to the excessively large pharaohs in Egyptian art. In his version of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, the hunchback is black and Colescott pointedly asked the audience, "What happens when you make a freak black? Does he become more of a freak?" These works would have been easier to appreciate had Colescott simply articulated the implied irony. But he did not. Instead he proceeded with his provocative comments. Emergency Room symbolizes the United States, a place where nothing gets done until things have gone terribly wrong. What's left after Christianity and capitalism have conquered the world? All that remains is the one golden hamburger showcased in The Triumph of Christianity.

He ended with a half-finished panel concerned with the ever-pressing question, "When is a Latino an African?" I would actually love to know when a Latino is ever an African. I have no idea when that is ever the case. I would have been intrigued to hear Colescott's own perspective on the question, but, of course, he did not share it.

Robert Colescott's work expressed the themes of the lecture series--metaphor, allegory, illustration and narrative--well and was stylistically diverse and interesting to look at; but by far the most intriguing aspect of his lecture was the enigmatic unjustified political statements he made. I left both furious and curious. His attitude is like his art: ambivalent and multipurpose. Just as Colescott stimulated unsettling questions without proposing definitive answers, his artwork leaves both political ideas and the themes of the lecture series as undefined, ambiguous and potentially exciting as they were before he engaged with them. Robert Colescott's lecture left me just as frustrated as his work generally does.