John T. Biggers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | John Thomas Biggers (1924-04-13)April 13, 1924 Gastonia, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | January 25, 2001(2001-01-25) (aged 76) |
| Education | Lincoln Academy (Kings Mountain, North Carolina) Hampton Institute |
| Alma mater | Pennsylvania State University |
| Movement | Young Negro Art |
| Awards |
|
John Thomas Biggers (April 13, 1924 – January 25, 2001)[2] was anAfrican-Americanmuralist who came to prominence after theHarlem Renaissance and toward the end ofWorld War II. Biggers created works critical of racial and economic injustice. He also served as the founding chairman of the art department atHouston's Texas State University for Negroes (nowTexas Southern University), ahistorically black college.
Biggers was born in ashotgun house built by his father inGastonia, North Carolina. His father Paul was aBaptist preacher, farmer,shoemaker,schoolteacher, and principal of a three-room school. His mother Cora was ahousekeeper for white families. As the youngest of seven, Biggers was reared in a close family that valued creativity and education.
When Bigger's father died in 1937, his mother took a job in anorphanage for Black children. His mother also sent John and his brother Joe toLincoln Academy, anAmerican Missionary Association school for African-American children inKings Mountain, North Carolina.[3]
After graduating from Lincoln, Biggers attendedHampton Institute (now Hampton University), ahistorically black college. Biggers planned to become aplumber (his Hampton application included boiler room drawings). His life took a dramatic change of course when he took an art class withViktor Lowenfeld, aJewishrefugee who in 1939 had fled fromNazipersecution inAustria beforeWorld War II. Lowenfield introduced his students to works byAfrican Americans and helped them understand the religious andsocial context of African art, of which the Hampton Museum had a significant collection.[3]
Afterward, Biggers began to study art. At Hampton, Biggers also studied under African-American painterCharles White and sculptorElizabeth Catlett.[3][4] He also began to learn the work ofMexicanmuralistsJose Clemente Orozco,David Alfaro Siqueiros, andDiego Rivera; andAmerican regionalistsGrant Wood,Reginald Marsh,Thomas Hart Benton, andHarry Sternberg. He was exposed to and influenced byHarlem Renaissance artistsWilliam Artis andHale Woodruf, and writersW. E. B. Du Bois andAlain Locke.[3]
In 1943, Biggers was drafted and joined theU.S. Navy, which wassegregated, like the other armed services. He remained stationed at theHampton Institute and made models of military equipment for training purposes. In that same year, his talents were recognized when his work was included in a landmark exhibitYoung Negro Art at theMuseum of Modern Art inNew York.[2] Biggers was discharged in 1945.[3]
In 1946, Biggers enrolled atPennsylvania State University when Lowenfeld persuaded him to follow. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in art education in 1948. In that same year, he married Hazel Hales.[3] He earned a doctorate fromPennsylvania State in 1954.[4] He was awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree from Hampton University in 1990.[5]
His works can be found atHampton University inHampton, Virginia, primarily in the campus library. The University Museum at Houston'sTexas Southern University houses a collection of Biggers's works.
Biggers was hired to be founding chairman of the art department in 1949 atHouston's Texas State University for Negroes (nowTexas Southern University).[6] "Over the next thirty-four years Biggers trained the next generation ofAfrican American artists and teachers that form a vital part of Biggers's legacy."[7]
In 1950, Biggers won first prize for his paintingThe Cradle at the annual exhibition at theMuseum of Fine Arts in Houston. "Segregationist policies, however, allowed black visitors into the museum only on Thursdays, so he could not attend the show's opening."[5]
From 1950 to 1956 Biggers painted four murals in African-American communities in Texas, the beginning of his work in murals.[4] He painted many public murals in Houston and elsewhere, including two in 1991 forWinston-Salem State University in North Carolina. Most are still in place.[8]
Biggers received a mural commission by theYoung Women's Christian Association of Houston in 1952, for the Blue Triangle branch. Thinking of the YWCA as a place for African-American girls and women to be empowered, Biggers was inspired to draw from his mural for his doctoral thesis. His mural was titledThe Contribution of the Negro Woman to American Life and Education.[9] Biggers wanted the mural to represent the world of the girls and women who would see it.
It honors the sacrifices and endeavors of African American women on behalf of their families and communities, and human rights for women of all races. The mural was revolutionary, symbolizing the sociological, historical, and educational influences of heroic women.[10]
Biggers received a fellowship in 1957 fromUNESCO, theUnited Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. With it, he was one of the first African-American artists to visitAfrica. Under the auspices of UNESCO, he and his wife Hazel traveled toGhana,Benin,Nigeria andTogo to studyWest African cultural traditions first-hand. Biggers described his trip toGhana andNigeria as a "positive shock" and as "the most significant of my life's experiences."[11]
He adopted African design motifs and scenes of life from his travels as important elements of his subsequent work. Biggers returned to Africa again in 1969, 1984 and 1987.[5] In a 1975 Houston Oral History Project interview, Biggers spoke of his experiences. "We spent most of our time in the country. People call it "bush," you know, that's a name sort of like the hunter. I don't care for that name for the country people because country people have a great traditional culture. And these cultures are all over the country. They are beautiful. They have endured."[12][13]
Biggers credits Lowenfeld with influencing his artistic development, giving him a larger perspective on the anguish that people have suffered because of race or religious beliefs. He died at age 76 inHouston.[5]
When Biggers studied Africanmyths and legends, he was particularly drawn to thecreation stories of amatriarchaldeistic system, contrasting with thepatriarchal images of the European world. As his ideas and images of Africa melded with memories of his ruralSouthern life, his work became more geometric, stylized and symbolic.[14] He used quilt-like geometric patterning as a unifying element of his work and made his colors richer and lighter. In later years, Biggers shifted from creating works that were overtly critical of racial and economic injustice (Victim of the City Streets #2, 1946) to more allegorical works (Birth from the Sea, 1964 andShotguns: Third Ward, 1987).[11]
Robert Farris Thompson notes how Biggers gives iconic treatment to household items associated with everyday domestic life. For instance, he portrays theshotgun house as a symbol of collective dignity andcultural identity.[15] The recurring symbol of the simple shotgun with a woman standing on the porch can be interpreted not only as the simplest type of housing but also as a reference to women, through whom all creation comes. He uses a repeated triangular roof shape similar to pieces of a quilt, a reference to making a beautiful whole cloth from many irregular pieces, as another symbol of the creative force.
In 1994, Biggers illustratedMaya Angelou's poem "Our Grandmothers".[16]
In 1995, theMuseum of Fine Arts, Houston hosted a retrospective exhibition of Biggers's work titledThe Art of John Biggers: View from the Upper Room. The show also traveled toBoston,Hartford, Connecticut, andRaleigh, North Carolina. "He is someone who has retained, over 50 years, an emphasis onAfrican-American culture," said Alvia J. Wardlaw, curator of the exhibition, a recognized author onAfrican American Art, and professor andcurator ofTexas Southern University's Museum.[17] The catalogue Wardlaw created for the retrospective,The Art of John Biggers: View from the Upper Room (published byHarry N. Abrams in 1995), includes a broad selection of Biggers's paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures.[18]
In 1996 Biggers was invited to create the original design for theCelebration of Life mural in NorthMinneapolis, a predominantly African-American community. The mural was completed by a number of local Minnesota artists, including a few of considerable reputation such asSeitu Jones andTa-coumba Aiken. Due to the creation of a new housing development, the mural was taken down in 2001.[19][20]
In 2016, The Mint Museum inCharlotte, N.C., opened a multi-year exhibitJohn Biggers: Wheels in Wheels, which includes 12 important paintings, drawings and prints, as well as a rare example of the artist's sculpture. "Through the use of a rich symbolic language and beautiful craftsmanship, Biggers found connections between personal, familial, and regional histories, traditions, symbols, which he wove together to articulate broader cultural and historical concerns," the exhibit promotion stated.[21] Themes that repeat throughout his career - the importance of women, family and triumph over adversity - are evident in the works on display.
On October 8, 2009,Swann Galleries set an auction record for any work by Biggers when they sold the paintingShotguns (1987), acrylic and oil on canvas, for $216,000 in a sale of African-American fine art. A stellar representation of the shotgun-style houses found inSouthern black communities, the painting had been widely exhibited and was considered a culmination of Biggers's work. It had remained in a private collection since being acquired directly from the artist in 1987.
Biggers's papers, including correspondence, photographs, printed materials, professional materials, subject files, writings, and audiovisual materials documenting his work as an artist and educator are located atEmory University's Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library inAtlanta,Georgia. His works are in such collections as noted below.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
