Ossie continued from page 10
productions, including the much
praised Broadway play "Purlie Vic
torious' which he wrote and starred
in. "And brown and white. Minority,
you ask? Who isn't a minority in this
country? All of us, no matter where
we come from or what color we are,
have a story to tell, and, when you get
right down to it, all our stories are
pretty much the same. Our aim is to
make clear the connections shared by
all people. That's what 'With Ossie &
Ruby' is all about."
"With 'Ossie & Ruby" was conceived
written by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.
Executive producer is Bob Ray Sanders,
producer-director is David Dowe,
associate producers are Erica Rogalla
and Nora Davis and associate director
is Curtis Baker.
ASHEOFSTASHE,
AN ACE AT PACE
A PAINTER LOOKS BACK
Tennis great Arthur Ashe took a
special two-day "refresher seminar"
on financial management at Pace Uni
versity's Lubin Graduate School of
Business. Mr. Ashe, who holds a busi
ness degree from UCLA, has moved
from the net to the gross and net of the
business world. He's in the import
export business, as a shareholder of
International Commercial Resources,
and also in partnership with Dr. Doug
Stein in Stashe, Inc., both N.Y. firms.
Mr. Ashe says he was drawn to Pace
by Dr. Tony Bonaparte, 'the West
Indian-born dean of the Lubin Schools
of Business, and the Schools' excep
tional training programs for the work
ing professional. At the conclusion
of the seminar Mr. Ashe and Dr. Stein
received special certificates of parti
cipation. (L. to R.) Dr. Bonaparte; Dr. Stein;
Dr. Edward J. Mortola, president, Pace
University; Mr. Ashe.
The Lubin Graduate School of Busi
ness is the largest in the nation and
offers a variety of innovative educa
tional programs for the traditional
student, executives and managers.
The Lubin Schools of Business are
components of Pace University, celeb
rating its 75th anniversary.
Because of the overwhelming re
sponse from our first article on Vincent
D. Smith, which appeared in the
November, 1980 issue of National
Scene, we are pleased to print Part II of
the interview.
Int: What is your definition of black
art?
Vine: Black art for me is a kind of so
ciological term. There is such a thing as
a black art movement. Painting itself is
defined by styles and techniques, and a
painter during his career can go
through many styles. Romare Bearden
is a good example of this.
Even the National Endowment on the
arts and Humanities has continued to
be elitist.
Znt: Some critics have suggested that
there is a distinction between Afro
Americans working "within the main
stream" and those dealing primarily
with themes from the black experi
ence. What do you think?
Vine: I know from talking to very well
known black artists who are working
in the so-called "main stream", that in
their work there are certain things, emo
tional or esthetic, or plastic, that find ex
pression in their work. These things
come from the black experience.
There is a lack of serious art criti
cism and documentation. I know this
from a review New York Times art cri
tic, John Canady, wrote about an ex
hibition of mine in 1973. He wrote,
"Maybe at last there is such a thing as
a black idiom, a vocabulary, that ties
these artists together."
In I: The more I talk to artists, the more
I get a strong conviction that maybe
the truest things I could say about
black artists is that they paint, draw
ing on their own experience as blacks.
Vine: That's true. For ten years I did a
series of paintings, watercolors. draw
ings and collages all relating to the
strife during the 60's. I also did an im
portant group of etchings at that time.
Int: What led you to go to Africa?
Vine: I was always interested in
African art and history. I went to
Africa three times, east and west. I
wanted to cross rivers where hippos
and alligators slumber. I wanted to
feel the mystery of walking in ancient
civilizations. I wanted to get a feeling
of the whole panorama and splendor of
Africa. I criss-crossed Ethiopia trying to
get deeper into the Biblical presence and
past. I wanted to go down into the cata
combs of the slave castles. I wanted to
walk in the market places, to see the
trees, the forest .. to experience the
scents and smells of flowers and
foods. What a tremendous feeling, like
going back in time and space. It was
fascinating to watch small children
doing carvings in the various villages.
While I was there in 1973 I had an
exhibition of etchings which opened
in Nairboi, Kenya, and then traveled
to galleries in Arusha and then to
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
In: Do you see any esthetic elements
common to art in Africa and art as
practiced primarily by Afro-Americans
in this country?
Vine: Oh, yeah. What you have in
modern art is a marriage between
Africa and the West. Geometric art
and cubism and surrealism and ex
pressionalism and naturalism and a
kind of constructivism are found all
over Africa and in African art. In
Africa, its art has utilitarian functions.
However, because of its geometric com
plexity, its influence is universal.
Afro-American artists having racial
and cultural identification bring a
marriage of "soul" and esthetics into
their work. Romare Bearden reached
a milestone with his fusion of cubistic,
Byzantine. European and African im
ages with photo documentary. Yet he
stayed true to the black experience.
His was a ritual orchestrated in color,
form and technique.
Jacob Lawrence had a great exhibi
tion on the African theme when he
came back from Nigeria in the early
sixties. I also dealt with the African
motif when I illustrated the childrens'
book, "Stories from Africa". I follow
ed that with two separate exhibitions.
The first was with drawings, pastels,
gouache and collage, and the second
one was with oil and sand and collage
on canvas. Both utilized my African
experience as does my recent mural.
"Ode to Zimbabwe" at the Crotona
Center.
Int: Are there any exchange programs
going on with Africa and America?
Vine: Yes, there have been some ex
changes over the years. Some, for ex
ample, have been the first festival in
Senegal in 1965, the second festival in
Nigeria in 1977, and the African
American Institute has continuous ex
hibitions coming from Africa as well
as study tours to Africa. Presently, Peg
Alston, the art dealer, is organizing an
exhibition in the Ivory Coast in Oc
tober of 1980.
Int: Is there any place where we can
see your work?
Vine: Yes, I'm having an exhibition at
the Cooper Square Gallery at 36 Third
Avenue for the next three weeks.
And some work is also at the Randall
Gallery at Madison Ave. and 68th
Street.
Int: What would you say to young
painters right now?
Vine: If you have the motivation and
compulsion to paint, and are willing
to make the sacrifices, and hang in
there, I think you'll be all right. But it's"
rough!
15