Maestro Beauford Delaney - A Tribute by Joel Crooms

Joel M. Crooms commented on a recent Entrée to Black Paris Facebook post about the works auctioned during Christie's "Istanbul Calling" sale as follows:

Beauford was my inspiration as a young artist studying in NYC and New Jersey during the seventies and today! The brilliance of his colors is so powerful. At that time, minimalist and color field artists were big in the NYC area, but Mr Delaney’s colors far outshine those works ... in the process greatly affecting me, exciting me! The yellows!

Beauford Delaney portraits auctioned by Christie's London

This led to an email exchange, which culminated in the interview below.

Les Amis: How and when did you first learn about Beauford's work?

JC: I first learned of Beauford's work at the Studio Museum in Harlem. It was a retrospective of his work in nineteen seventy-eight (1978).

Beauford Delaney: A Retrospective catalog cover

Les Amis: What makes his colors "far outshine" the works by the minimalist and color field artists of the 70s?

JC: Minimalism was the rave during my time as a young artist in Manhattan of the seventies. The professed cold intellectualist nonspiritual objective approach yielded work I could appreciate on that basis. So, I dove right in. But I felt a need to find a model akin to me and my creative life. I would haunt the streets of Harlem, devouring all black culture there - visual art, theater, dance, politics, history, bookstores, and religious institutions.

I walked through the Studio Museum’s doors, and I saw art by Black Artists! The Delaney retrospective was down but there were still pieces hanging. I walked upstairs and on this floor I saw Beauford’s work. Portraits first, street scenes next, and then, the abstractions. Those Yellows, there were greens and some reds. 

For me though, it was and still is those yellows. Bright, brighter than bright! Emotive spiritual heat. So much light. Executed with skill, technique and passion. Not just some mechanical exercise, Beauford lit the way!

Les Amis: How prevalent was knowledge of Beauford's work among your fellow students during the time you were studying art?

JC: Beauford was a non-entity to the students at the institutions I attended.

Les Amis: How prevalent was knowledge of his work among your professors and mentors during the time you were studying art?

JC: If professors knew of Mr. Delaney they did not share that knowledge or were too culturally chauvinistic to acknowledge the work. I did have an art associate who introduced me to Alice Neel, a woman portrait artist who referred me to Beauford s work and encouraged me to continue my artwork.

Les Amis: How prevalent is knowledge of his work amongst your artist peers today?

JC: Many of my current peers know of Beauford Delaney's work thanks to efforts of the Studio Museum, the Smithsonian, and organizations like Les Amis Beauford Delaney.

Les Amis: (How) does Beauford's artistic style influence yours?

JC: It’s the light, along with Rembrandt’s chiaroscuro. The glazing techniques of illustrators like Maxfield Parish. Beauford's striking results heavily influence my analog, digital, and projection work.

Les Amis: Do you have a preference for his figurative versus his abstract works or for works he created during a specific period of his career (New York versus Paris)?

JC: Initially I preferred Beauford’s abstractions. However, as I look, I see the abstract aspects in his figurative and landscape work (Street Scenes).

Les Amis: You mentioned Beauford's yellows in your original comments. Please tell us why you find them so exciting.

JC: Beauford's yellows burn, illuminate, vibrate the space they occupy. In my current digital work experiments I attempt to master that.

Les Amis: Your biography states that all your work is political. Do you "see politics" in Beauford's work? If so, in what way(s)?

JC: Beauford’s very existence at the time he practiced his art and ventured to explore the practice of art, let alone abstraction, as the world around him denied his very humanity - let alone his and others' creative capabilities - is a powerful political statement. 

Even though Beauford's expat situation did not end well, he took a popular path to find a better life free of constraints.

Les Amis: Your biography states that your work speaks to cosmopolitan / universal issues. Do you believe Beauford's work does this as well? If so, in what way(s)?

JC: Of course, Beauford created works of art that speak to the human condition ... the figure, the landscape and the psyche.

Les Amis: What do you know about Beauford's life story? Do you find any similarities between his story and yours?

JC: At first, I knew little if anything at all about Beauford’s life. As I learned about it, my first thoughts were that it was tragic. But as I've lived and seen the lives of many of my peers come to similar conclusions - I realize that there are triumphant aspects to his and their journey. I appreciate the lessons learned from them that helped me find positive alternatives.

Les Amis: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?

JC: If it weren’t for Beauford Delaney, the world would be a poorer place. He brought his own light. I for one am indebted and thankful for the lessons and possibilities he gave ... and most of all, the JOY.

Thank you, Maestro Beauford Delaney!

Joel M. Crooms
Image courtesy of Joel M. Crooms