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collage paper (fiber product) watercolor
Not currently on view
Gift of Bank of America
Although he was an accomplished painter and printmaker, Romare Bearden is best known for his masterful use of collage. To create the scene of a jazz concert depicted in Guitar Magic, he has brought together a variety of elements and techniques to create the people, instruments, and setting. Some of the musicians and their instruments are formed of fragments of representational imagery. On the left hand side of the scene, for example, these include a guitar fretboard and the musician’s head and jacket. For the most part, however, the other musicians and instruments are made up of cut and painted pieces of colored paper, to which Bearden has added drawn and painted details. He has layered all of these parts atop an abstract background swirling with color and punctuated by circular forms. This pulsating setting evokes the magical environment created by live music; the guitar player’s almost trancelike state heightens the feeling even further.
Accession Number: 2002.68.6
Measurements:
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