Movie screening reveals David C. Driskell’s legacy on Black artistry

The documentary presents a young David Driskell to the audience, retelling his legacy and honoring his upbringing as a Black artist (Caleb Winters/The Black Explosion).

The David C. Driskell Center held a movie screening featuring HBO’s original documentary that honors the late David Driskell, titled “Black Art in the Absence of Light,” on March 13.

Attendees were able to make bags of popcorn, nuts and marshmallows at The Driskill Center’s snackbar, similar to a movie theater.

The documentary highlighted Driskell’s 1976 art exhibition “Two Centuries of African American Art,” one of the earliest exhibitions to reveal Black artistry to the public. The documentary also explores other prominent African American artists who expressed gratitude for Driskell’s efforts.

Kerry James Marshall, creator of “A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self,” was featured in the documentary as he expressed his love for Black paints and explained what he wants to achieve with them in his artwork. 

“One of things I was trying to do was to embody the concept that Ralph Ellison had laid out in his novel ‘Invisible Man.’ He describes the condition of invisibility as it relates to Black people in America,” Marshall said.

Contemporary painter Amy Sherald, famous for her 2018 painting of Michelle Obama, also appeared in the documentary. 

“I consider the people in my paintings as archetypes. They represent something that’s bigger than who they are as an individual. It is important to me that they are just Black people being Black,” Sherald said.

Assistant Director Abby Eron welcomed the audience to the movie screening of  “Black Art in the Absence of Light” (Caleb Winters/The Black Explosion)

With the opening of the Driskell Center’s new exhibition and the documentary screening, Maryland finds itself once again celebrating the legacy and artwork of David C. Driskell. Driskell studied, taught and grew the University of Maryland’s art department. He also changed the artistic landscape for Black artists.

In 1955, Driskell received his art degree from Howard University and he received his master’s degree in fine arts from Catholic University in 1962. Driskell also took an interest in art history and curation, two components of art that he used to shape a different perspective of how art is viewed.

During his time as an art curator, Driskell put together “Two Centuries of Black American Art” – one of the first prominent art exhibitions to capture, express and address the neglected and overlooked art by African Americans.

Driskell taught at many prominent institutions such as Howard University and The University of Michigan before working at this university’s art department in 1976.

He worked at this university for 21 years and was honored in 2001 with the creation of the David C. Driskell Center. The center keeps hold of Driskell’s archives and hosts exhibitions showcasing African American art.

Though Driskell died on April 1, 2020, his art and legacy remains important to UMD’s history and prestige. Without him, Black art may still be obscure to most of the world. 

After the credits of the documentary, many members of the audience perused the ongoing Driskell exhibit, continuing to talk about the film.

“I thought it was great. I’m glad that it captured the voices, especially the voice of the late David Driskell,” said attendee Wonda Williams.