Black History Month

by Delaynna Trim, Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art Curator

February is black history month, so let’s discuss an Oklahoma City artist, Melvin R. Smith. He was born and raised in Oklahoma City and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Minnesota. In 1983, he started experimenting with

How Long By Melvin Smith

collage. Collage is the process of combing pieces of paper, photographs, fabric or other

materials together to create a new and unique piece. The MGMoA’s work by Smith, How Long, How Long, Have my Lonesome Train Been Gone, is a collage from 1994. The title most likely refers to the blues song, How Long, How Long Blues which was written by singer and pianist Leroy Carr in 1928. Carr reworked the lyrics in several subsequent recordings. The song has also been covered by many different artists over the years including Eric Clapton, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Ray Charles.

In How Long, How Long, Have my Lonesome Train Been Gone, Melvin uses several layers of painted paper and cardboard. This work is very abstract allowing the viewer to interpret the various colors and shapes. Pablo Picasso and George Braque are credited with creating collage as an art form. Many consider Still Life Bach by George Braque in 1912 to be the first collage artwork. Braque called it papier collé which means glued paper in French. The early collages by Picasso and Braque are also filled with fragments from popular songs, fake wood-grain paper, and snippets of figures, instruments and other objects. Picasso immediately copied the new technique that his friend had created.  One of Picasso’s earliest collage works, Guitar and Sheet Music, includes a cubist drawing of a glass, part of a newspaper headline, pieces of wallpaper and sheet music, and painted paper.

Street Talk by Rose Smith

Street Talk by Rose SmithMelvin and his wife Rose, who is also an artist, founded the Oklahoma Museum of African American Art in Oklahoma City in 2000. It is now known as the Oklahoma Black Museum and Performing Art Center. Rose was born in Kansas City, Missouri and began to paint at the age of five. She started her career by designing women’s clothing and creating display windows for retail stores. She studied visual arts at the University of Minnesota. Her artwork includes watercolor, acrylic, drawing, and collage. Street Talk, Rose’s work in the MGMoA collection, is a mixture of collage and watercolor featuring three black women who are talking together.

For videos on tissue paper art and other creative crafts, check out www.mgmoa.org/art-projects/

Tissue Paper Painting

Supplies – tissue paper, water, paint brush, thick paper (watercolor paper works well)

(make sure the dye will run on your tissue paper before starting)

1. Wet the paper

2. Apply the torn pieces of tissue paper

3. Using the brush, apply water over the tissue paper, making sure it is saturated

4. Let dry over night

5. Carefully remove the tissue paper, revealing the colors underneath