musicians
Paul Keene
Posted July 19th, 2007 by GretjenProduced by Carlton Jones for Scribe Video Center
$20 for individuals / $35 for Community Institutions ie: libraries, schools, non-profits / $50 for Universities & Businesses
"I want a confrontation," says Keene about his art. This short documentary portrait details the vision, inspiration and philosophy that grounded the work of this extraordinary Black American painter, a self-described "abstract realist" whose story reflects both the accomplishments and the difficulties of African American artists in the 20th century. As we listen to Keene and see his most commanding paintings and drawings (accompanied by a leisurely jazz and blues score), a colorful and well-rounded picture emerges of a nationally known Philadelphia-based artist at the height of his powers.
Paul Keene was a Philadelphia-born black artist who earned an prominent reputation at a time when that was exceedingly difficult for artists of his race. He earned three degrees and taught at Temple University's Tyler School of Art and the Philadelphia College of Art. In 1960 he was promoted to Associate Professor of Art at the Philadelphia College of Art. He remained there until 1969, when he left to become a full-time professor at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pennsylvania, where he helped to establish a new art department. He retired from teaching in 1985 and took up his brushes full time.
In addition to the Michener Art Museum, Keene's work is in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, Tucson Museum of Art, and the Woodmere Art Museum, among others. His subject matter reflects his personal responses to experiences of African Americans, and his work includes voodoo symbolism, ancient Haitian deities, and depictions of jazz musicians.
Carlton Jones is a working videographer and the head of Carlton Jones Video based in Willow Grove, PA.
February 13, 1998 - Scribe Video Center Retrospective: Five on the Black Hand Side at the Painted Bride Art Center (Philadelphia, PA)
African Continuance, The
Posted July 18th, 2007 by GretjenOmomola Iyabunmi & Corbitt Bank
$20 for individuals / $35 for Community Institutions ie: libraries, schools, non-profits / $50 for Universities & Businesses
Omomola Iyabunmi is a musician, educator, composer and director of the Women's Sekere Ensemble. Lovingly featured in the video, Iyabunmi's Philadelphia-based female percussion group spreads African diasporic culture in secular and sacred song, accompanying themselves on their namesake bead-covered gourds. Iyabunmi explains how a sekere (pronounced SHAY-keh-ray) is constructed, and explores the significance of traditional African music and its impact on the African woman musician in America today.
Omomola Iyabunmi is a Sekere maker who has has pursued her study of African culture and percussion for more than 30 years. In 2004, she was the winner of a 2004 Leeway Foundation Window of Opportunity Grant to study learn the Aro instrument, a part of Sekere music tradition, at the Obatala Centre for the Arts in Nigeria, with the opportunity to participate in rituals where this traditional music is played and used. She included the Aro in performances with the WomenÃs Sekere Ensemble upon her return. Iyabunmi also teaches sekere-making classes and sells the beautifully handmade instruments at modest cost.
Corbitt Banks works with Pennsylvania's Mental Health and Aging Coalition, and is a former South Street store owner and art and culture project coordinator for the City of Philadelphia Empowerment Zone's North Central zone.
