Russell Guerrero

210-999-8406

rguerrer@trinity.edu

ART HISTORY SCHOLAR UNCOVERS ROOTS OF JAZZ, BLUES, AND OTHER FORMS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART

January 23, 2001 — Robert Farris Thompson, one of the foremost authorities on African and Afro-Atlantic culture, will speak on the origins of black expression as part of Trinity's Stieren Arts Enrichment Series. His presentation, “Kongo Carolina, Kongo New Orleans: Jazz, Blues, and Other Roots of Black History,” will be at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22, in the Chapman Center Auditorium and is free and open to the public. Dr. Thompson is the Col. John Trumbull Professor of the History of Art and Master of Timothy Dwight College at Yale University, where he received his Ph.D. and has taught since 1961. In his writings, Dr. Thompson has explored the material cultures of various African ethnic groups both in their own right and in relation to cultural traditions of the African American, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Cuban worlds.  Although he focuses on the visual arts, his writing is informed by a broader knowledge of the musical, dance, religious, and philosophical cultural traditions on both sides of the Atlantic.  In addition to his writing and teaching, Dr. Thompson  has organized several major exhibitions, including The Four Moments of the Sun (1981) and The Face of the Gods: Shrines and Altars of the Black Atlantic World (1985) at the National Gallery of Art. For more information, call the art history department at (210) 999-8104.

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Last updated on Janruary 9, 2001 by the Office of Public Relations