Art of Jazz: Form

Jazz in all its variety had, and continues to have, an important effect on art making in the United States and Europe. Many artists have responded to the social aspects of jazz, while other artists have tried to paint like jazz, adopting its rhythm and improvisation in their works. For others, jazz has been the sound track of the modern age, of the post-World War I cities of New York and Paris. The 18 works on view include a collage and a lithograph by Romare Bearden, prints by William Henry Johnson and Jackson Pollock, drawings by Stuart Davis, and Viktor Schreckengost’s “Jazz” Punch Bowl.

This installation complements a course taught by David Bindman, visiting professor of history of art and architecture, and Suzanne Preston Blier, the Allen Whitehill Clowes Professor of Fine Arts and of African and African American Studies.

The University Teaching Gallery serves faculty and students affiliated with Harvard’s Department of History of Art and Architecture. Semester-long installations are mounted in conjunction with undergraduate and graduate courses, supporting instruction in the critical analysis of art.

The installation is made possible in part by funding from the Gurel Student Exhibition Fund and the José Soriano Fund. Modern and contemporary art programs at the Harvard Art Museums are made possible in part by generous support from the Emily Rauh Pulitzer and Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., Fund for Modern and Contemporary Art.

Art of Jazz: Form is one part of a three-part collaboration, held in conjunction with Harvard’s Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art. Art of Jazz: Performance and Art of Jazz: Notes are on view at the Cooper Gallery, Hutchins Center (102 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge), from February 3 through May 8, 2016. A free public reception for Art of Jazz will be held at the Cooper Gallery on Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at 6pm. More at coopergalleryhc.org.