Essay by Mikeda Cannon, Class of 2007

Romare Bearden is notable as one of the most successful modern African-American artists of all time. Although he is best known for his bold collages, Bearden spent his artistic career in constant progress, attempting to create distinctive and purposeful art along the way. Bearden believed that artists should visually order the chaos of the world (Schwartzman 197). His main concern for his art was that its space, aesthetics and color all worked together. Sorcerer's Village is a prime example of Bearden's signature style. In the fashion of collage, he created this serigraph by means of bold color and forms reminiscent of Piet Mondrian's works with their "interlocking rectangular relationships" (Greene 4). Color was an important theme within his work, with gray employed in order to "move from one thing to another, to hold the bright colors in a certain balance" (Schwartzman 196).

Although most of the bold colors within the piece are primary, Bearden also employed secondary colors for effect, making them appear more important. For example, the face of the figure that may be the sorcerer has yellow tinges but is predominantly purple. Faces lacking purple are no less important, yet effectively contrast with those that do. At the same time, the figure in the lower left corner has no face at all, perhaps causing some discomfort for the viewer. Another in the upper right corner has a red face, suggestive of aggression (the color red is usually a dominant color), yet this figure appears non-threatening. Heavily cropped, it appears fearful or wanting, seemingly reaching for another. Finally, the person in the window looks completely self-involved. And perhaps this is a good element, since like the sorcerer, if he did look directly at the audience, the result could be frightening. Every figure in this piece is individually intriguing as well as challenging in its relation to the others. Sorcerer's Village is a wonderful example of the careful and intelligent work of Romare Bearden, and while he left it up to each observer to decide what his work depicted, he also furnished clues as to how to relate to each piece.