The African Diaspora in the Art of Miguel Covarrubias: Driven By Color, Shaped By Cultures is an exhibition organized by the California African American Museum (CAAM) and on view through February 26, 2012.

Miguel Covarrubias, Haile Selassie and Joe Lewis, 1935, Library of Congress

The exhibition explores the representations of people of African descent in the work of Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957). Covarrubias was a prolific painter, illustrator, caricaturist, writer, curator archeologist and anthropologist. Relocating from Mexico to New York City in 1923, he quickly became a member of the cultural elite whose many friends included Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and the Rockefellers. Through a renowned mural, colorful paintings, sketches, prints, books and magazines, this extensive CAAM curated exhibit highlights Covarrubias’ multi-cultural depictions of the African Diaspora throughout the world.

Covarrubias’ work tells the story of peoples, traditions and everyday life. His drawings adorned the covers of Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Fortune. He also created set designs and costumes for theatre, including Josephine Baker’s La Revue Negre. Some of his illustrated books on display at this exhibition include The Weary Blues (1926), Blues: An Anthology (1926), Born to Be (1929), Mules and Men (1935), Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1938), Mexico South: The Isthmus of Tehuantepec (1946) Adventures of an African Slave (1928) and Batouala (1932). His illustrations in Negro Drawings (1927) gave mainstream America a new and more dignified impression of African Americans.

The exhibit took three years to complete; it includes several pieces that have not been seen in the U.S. and some of his original illustrations including work for Langston Hughes and Rene Maran. It’s a representation of many cultures encompassing people of the Pacific with an oversized mural 15 by 25 feet large, the Caribbean (Cuba and Haiti), Mexico (Tehuantepec), and West, North and East Africa. It reflects Covarrubias’ belief that “Real art can no more be a monopoly of one country than man can secure himself on an island and expect to picture humanity.”

For more information on the California African American Museum visit www.caamuseum.org or call (213) 744-7432. Admission is always free.

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