Vibrant colors aglow with hope and joy

The Rev. France Davis of Calvary Baptist Church remembers growing up in Georgia during segregation. He recalls putting on his nice clothes and his "Sunday go-to-meeting shoes" once a week to go to church, as "a statement of faith."

"Without church, there is no African American community," he said.

The vibrant colors portrayed in the "African American Masters" exhibit from the Smithsonian bring back such memories from his youth. "I suggest to you there is much more than readily meets the eye, if you look close," Davis said of the works on display.

The vibrant art in the exhibit portrays the toil, the joy, the determination and the hope of the African American community. "What we're trying to communicate with bright color schemes is we still have hope," he said.

He gave an audience at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts last Wednesday a glimpse into the history behind some of the art. Colorful quilts, such as Faith Ringgold's "The Bitter Nest II: Harlem Renaissance Party," started out not as art but as a necessity. Davis remembered sleeping under quilts, "sometimes four to five, to stay warm."

During the early days, starting when slaves lived off rations from their masters, quilts were made from leftover material, such as old flower sacks or worn-out pants, he said. "Certainly during the Harlem Renaissance, design pieces people naturally cut, they started to recognize as something beautiful."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com