Separate Cinema: The First 100 Years of Black Poster Art
Edited by John Duke Kisch, Tony Nourmand. Foreword by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Text by John Duke Kisch, Peter Doggett. Afterword by Spike Lee.
A visual feast, these images recount the diverse and historic journey of the Black film industry from the earliest days of Hollywood to the present day
This magnificent volume is a celebration of the first 100 years of black film poster art. A visual feast, these images recount the diverse and historic journey of the black film industry from the earliest days of Hollywood to the present day, accompanied by insightful accompanying text, a foreword by black history authority and renowned academic Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and an afterword by Hollywood director Spike Lee. These posters have meaning for young and old alike, and possess the power to transcend ethnicity. They capture the spirit and energy of an earlier time, reminding people of the pioneers of the past, those courageous and daring African American filmmakers, entertainers and artists whose dreams and struggles paved the way for future generations. The wealth of imagery on these pages is taken from the Separate Cinema Archive, maintained by archive director John Kisch. The most extensive private holdings of African-American film memorabilia in the world, it contains over 35,000 authentic movie posters and photographs from over 30 countries. This stunning coffee table book represents some of the archive's greatest highlights.
Featured image is reproduced from 'Separate Cinema: The First 100 Years of Black Poster Art.'
STATUS: Out of stock
Temporarily out of stock pending additional inventory.
Featured spreads are from Separate Cinema: The First 100 Years of Black Poster Art, Reel Art Press’s classic collection of more than 300 emblematic black cinema posters of the last century, drawn from the largest private archive of African-American film memorabilia in the world, numbering more than 30,000 movie posters and photographs from more than 30 countries. “Film posters constitute an art form about an art form, and as well, in the case of the black cinema tradition, a quasi-Black History lesson,” Henry Louis Gates, Jr. writes in his Foreword. “I think I first realized this when I was about to interview Spike Lee at his 40 Acres and a Mule production company in Fort Green. As I waited for our interview to begin, I became enamored—entranced, really—by the marvelous historical posters that Spike had on the walls of his office. I was green with envy and decided to start collecting black film posters as avidly as I could afford. I thought of that feeling of exhilaration that I experienced that day in Spike’s office a few weeks ago when Nasir Jones (‘Nas’) visited the Hip Hop Archive, founded by Professor Marcyliena Morgan, in the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard. When we showed him the dozens of black film posters hanging on the walls of the Center, part of the Henry and Celia McGee Black Film Poster Collection, Nas declared that ‘I want a collection just like this one!’ The images gathered here in Separate Cinema provide a brilliant overview of the last century of film poster art that every student of film and every student of African American history and culture should experience. And perhaps you, too, will be moved, like I was in Spike’s office, to begin collecting them on your own. For they are a national treasure.” continue to blog
Culled from the largest private archive of African-American film memorabilia in the world, which was recently acquired by the soon-to-open Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, Separate Cinema presents approximately 300 of the most emblematic black cinema posters of the last century, drawn from more than 30,000 movie posters and photographs from more than 30 countries. Featured here is a 1927 Swedish poster for Josephine Baker in La Sirène des Tropiques. For more on the making of the book, read our interview with Reel Art Press publisher Tony Nourmand here. continue to blog
Rufus Jones for President indeed! This poster for the 1933 film starring jazz singer Ethel Waters—best known for introducing the song "Stormy Weather" at the Cotton Club in Harlem that same year—and eight-year-old Sammy Davis, Jr., is reproduced from Separate Cinema,Reel Art Press' 320-page celebration of the first century of black film poster art. In Rufus Jones for President, a 21-minute fantasy satire on politics, a little boy "dreams that he becomes President of the United States while his 'Mammy' is Vice President. The satire is both pointed ('Two pork chops every time you vote,' the electorate is promised) and humorous (W. C. Handy’s 'Memphis Blues' is adopted as the new national anthem)." In honor of Black History Month and in light of the current political spectacle, we are delighted to recommend this wonderful volume. continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 9.5 x 11.5 in. / 320 pgs / 270 color / 30 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $45.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $60 ISBN: 9781909526068 PUBLISHER: Reel Art Press AVAILABLE: 10/6/2014 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: Out of stock TERRITORY: NA LA ASIA AFR ME
Separate Cinema: The First 100 Years of Black Poster Art
Published by Reel Art Press. Edited by John Duke Kisch, Tony Nourmand. Foreword by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Text by John Duke Kisch, Peter Doggett. Afterword by Spike Lee.
A visual feast, these images recount the diverse and historic journey of the Black film industry from the earliest days of Hollywood to the present day
This magnificent volume is a celebration of the first 100 years of black film poster art. A visual feast, these images recount the diverse and historic journey of the black film industry from the earliest days of Hollywood to the present day, accompanied by insightful accompanying text, a foreword by black history authority and renowned academic Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and an afterword by Hollywood director Spike Lee. These posters have meaning for young and old alike, and possess the power to transcend ethnicity. They capture the spirit and energy of an earlier time, reminding people of the pioneers of the past, those courageous and daring African American filmmakers, entertainers and artists whose dreams and struggles paved the way for future generations. The wealth of imagery on these pages is taken from the Separate Cinema Archive, maintained by archive director John Kisch. The most extensive private holdings of African-American film memorabilia in the world, it contains over 35,000 authentic movie posters and photographs from over 30 countries. This stunning coffee table book represents some of the archive's greatest highlights.
