Now Dig This!: Art and Black Los Angeles, 1960-1980

by Kellie Jones, Hazel V. Carby, Karin Higa

The pioneering work of a group of black artists is documented in this companion volume to a groundbreaking exhibition. This comprehensive, lavishly illustrated catalogue offers the first in-depth survey of the incredibly vital but often overlooked legacy of Los Angeles’s African American artists, featuring many never-before-seen works, some of which were previously considered lost. Now Dig This! will feature artists including Melvin Edwards, Fred Eversley, David Hammons, Maren Hassinger, Senga Nengudi, John Outterbridge, Alonzo Davis, Dale Brockman Davis, Noah Purifoy, Betye Saar, and Charles White, connecting their work to larger movements, trends, and ideas that fueled the arts during this important era of creative, cultural, and political ferment. The publication also explores the significant network of friendships and collaborations made across racial lines, while underscoring the influence that African American artists had on the era’s larger movements and trends. Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles, 1960–1980 is part of Pacific Standard Time, an initiative of the Getty.

Genres: Art

352 pages, Hardcover

First published August 26, 2011

About the author

Kellie Jones is a recipient of a 2016 MacArthur "genius" Grant and Associate Professor in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University. She is the author of several books and exhibition catalogues, including South of Pico: African American Artists in Los Angeles in the 1960s, Eyeminded: Living and Writing Contemporary Art and 1970sEnergy/Experimentation: Black Artists and Abstraction, 1964–1980; Basquiat; and (with Thelma Golden and Chrissie Iles) Lorna Simpson.

Reviews

[Mia Caven · Rating 4 out of 5]

So intriguing and the artists work was so beautiful.

[Jon Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.