Soul of a nation

by Mark Godfrey

In the period of radical change that was 1963-1983, young black artists at the beginning of their careers in the USA confronted key questions and pressures. How could they make art that would stand as innovative, original, formally and materially complex, while also making work that reflected their concerns and experience as black Americans? This significant new publication, accompanying an exhibition at Tate Modern, surveys this crucial period in American art history, bringing to light previously neglected histories of twentieth-century black artists, including Sam Gilliam, Melvin Edwards,...