AN ART EXHIBIT OPENED AT THE
CHICAGO CULTURAL CENTER TONIGHT
COMES WITH AN ADVISORY.
ALONG WITH CONTENT AND NUDITY
SOME PAINTING USE STEREOTYPES TO
DEPICT RACISM AND SEXISM IN
AMERICAN CULTURE.
MARC VITALI HAS THE STORY.
>> THE COLORFUL CANVASS
CHALLENGE EXPECTATIONS.
A PAINTING FROM 1980 SHOWS
SHIRLEY TEMPLE AND BILBO
JIANGLES ROBINSON WITH THE RACES
REVERSED.
THE IMAGE IS REVEAL AND PROVOKE
AND RESIST EASY ANSWERS.
WE SPOKE WITH THE CURATOR AND
TOLD US ABOUT THE FIRST TIME SHE
SAW THE RIBERT COLESCOTT
PAINTING IN THE 1970s.
>> I LOOKED THE THEM AND GO OH,
MY GOD.
THE IMPACT OF THEM WAS SO
IMMEDIATE BECAUSE I THINK THE
MISCHIEFNESS OF THE PAINTINGS
AND RELATED TO IT.
TO WALK IN AND SEE THESE
PAINTINGS THAT WERE SO NAUGHTY
ANDSY TISH CAL AND HUMOROUS AND
SMACKING YOU AROUND WAS PROBABLY
ONE OF THE MOST REVELATORY
MOMENTS OF MY LIFE.
>> A PAINTING DEPICTS
COLESCOTT'S PARENTS MOVE FROM
NEW ORLEANS TO CALIFORNIA.
HE WAS A VETERAN OF WORLD WAR II
AND WELL TRAVELED.
HE FENDED IN FRANCE IN THE
1960s.
HE WAS THE FIRST
AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTIST TO
REPRESENT THE UNITED STATES.
THE CURATOR WAS A FRIEND OF THE
ARTIST.
>> BOB WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE
MOST LITERAL ARTISTS I KNEW IN
TERMS OF HISTORY BUT HAD THIS
ABILITY TO TRANSLATE THAT
KNOWLEDGE INTO IMAGES THAT WERE
IMPACTFUL.
A LOT OF TIMES THEY ARE A VISUAL
PUNS THAT YOU HAVE TO BE ATTUNED
TO.
TITLES LIKE COLORED TV ARE A
PLAY ON BOTH THE FACT THE
COLORIZATION OF IMAGINES ON TV
BUT ALSO THE LACK OF
REPRESENTATION OF BLACK PEOPLE.
>> THE LATE ARTIST MADE NEWS
THIS YEAR WHEN THE LUCAS MUSEUM
PAID $15 MILLION FOR A CANVAS
THAT FEATURES GEORGE WASHINGTON
CARVER CROSSING THE DELAWARE
THAT PAINTING ISN'T IN THE SHOW
BUT A SKETCH IS.
>> BEFORE HIS DEATH IN 2009,
COLESCOTT HAD INFLUENCED A
YOUNGER GENERATION.
HIS OWN INFLUENCES WERE
NUMEROUS.
COLESCOTT WAS VERY INTERESTED IN
POPULAR ILLUSTRATION, THE
COMICS, CARTOONS, HOLLYWOOD
MOVIES, ADVERTISING, THE
BOMBARD.
OF THE IMAGES THAT WE EXPERIENCE
IN CULTURE.
HE IS ADDRESSING YOU IN A WAY
THAT'S FILLED WITH IRONY.
>> AND YOU RECOGNIZELE THEMENTS
SO IT MIGHT MAKE YOU LAUGH AND
THEN YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT
ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?
>> THE CHICAGO CULTURAL CENTER
IS AS BUSY AS IT'S BEEN IN TWO
YEARS.
HIGH BUDDY, A SHOP THAT
SHOWCASES LOCAL ARTISTS AND
SMALL MANUFACTURERS.
JOINING IS THIS RARE WORK OF
RIBERT COLESCOTT.
WE ASKED THE CURATOR ABOUT THE
BEST WAY TO APPROACH THE
PAINTINGS.
>> I ENCOURAGE PEOPLE, LOOK
CAREFULLY AND RESIST IMMEDIATE
REACTIONS AND COME TO
COMPREHENSION WHAT YOU ARE
REACTING TO IF IT'S MORE ON THE
NEGATIVE SIDE AND SO TO SEE IF
IT'S WARRANTED.
AND SORT OF SEE IF THERE IS NOT
SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN RELATE TO
IN WHAT HE IS TRYING TO TELL YOU
IN HIS PAINTINGS.
>> FOR "CHICAGO TONIGHT" THIS IS
MARC VITALI.
>> AND THE EXHIBITION IS CALLED