Romare Bearden: Collage of Memories [Hardcover]

Jan Greenberg (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: 1 and up

This volume recounts the life of the 20th-century African-American collage artist who used his Southern childhood, New York City, jazz and Paris to influence his bold and meaningful art. Romare Bearden described his way of making art as "putting something over something else". Experimenting with fabric, photographs, coloured papers and other materials, Bearden developed his own style in collage, which is firmly rooted in African-American culture.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Greenberg's exploration of Bearden's art is filled with large, full-color reproductions, primarily of his mature works. The illustrations occasionally fill an entire page, and give readers an excellent overview of Bearden's style and subject matter. Some photographs of the artist are included as well. Using the collages and lithographs to reveal biographical snippets and memories results in disjointed and choppy text, both in sentence structure and in subject matter. The author hops around from one point to another with little warning or set up. Her admiration for her subject comes across clearly: "When we look at his paintings, we feel we could be right there with him running through a cotton field in North Carolina or sitting on the front stoop of a tenement in Harlem." The time line includes some new research, most notably that Bearden graduated from New York University with a degree in education, when previous accounts cited his degree as in mathematics. However, the date of his marriage to Nanette Rohan is given as 1951, when it was actually 1954. The pagination is also problematic, citing the wrong pages for quotes within the book. Also, there is nothing within the text of the book to indicate that a further explanation of a quote or definition of a term is located in the notes or glossary. Still, for its illustrations alone, schools or libraries with a high interest in art may wish to purchase this book.
Heather E. Miller, Homewood Public Library, AL
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-9. Romare Bearden filled his collages with images of everyday life as he lived it, and this beautiful, large-size volume with exquisite reproductions of his art is both a biography and an exciting accessible introduction to his amazing work. Greenberg, who coauthored Runaway Girl [BKL Ap 15 03] for older readers, and the Printz Honor Book Heart to Heart (2001), shows how Bearden drew on his childhood memories of growing up in North Carolina as well as on his exciting adult years in Harlem to compose pictures that celebrate African American life and his feelings about his people. She talks about technique with clear poetry that takes the viewer up close to the pictures on the page ("Painted paper scissored into shapes. Scraps of fabric. Hands cut from a photograph. Bits and pieces pasted on a board"), and she relates Bearden's life story by making his images emotional representations of his feelings. Without being obtrusive, the documentation is exemplary, with notes at the back for direct quotes as well as a detailed chronology, a bibliography, a glossary, and a list of places to view his work. With each picture, there are details about technique, date, size, and location. This is the very best kind of artistic biography. Adults will want to see it, too. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 52 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; First Edition edition (September 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810945894
• ISBN-13: 978-0810945890
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,287,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome teaching shelf addition, November 29, 2007

By 

S. Sims (Stockton California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Romare Bearden: Collage of Memories (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful collection of some of Romare Bearden's works. The reproductions are beautiful. I have been using it to teach my 7th and 8th grade art classes but I will be trying it with my 5th and 6th graders soon. The explanations are to the point and short enough to keep the children's attention. It is a welcome addition to my teaching shelf!

5.0 out of 5 stars Romare Bearden, Collage of Memories, October 21, 2009

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J. Wilkinson (Paso Robles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Romare Bearden: Collage of Memories (Hardcover)

I had no idea how hard it was for black artists and I learned about this artist in school. I love the book and in my opinion everyone would enjoy this book. I have always enjoyed black art.

4.0 out of 5 stars 2009 Calendar, September 10, 2009

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Patricia Preston - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Romare Bearden 2009 Wall Calendar (Calendar)

I received excellent service and prompt delivery on the 2009 Romare Bearden calendar. So pleased to receive such a beautiful item so late in the year. Thanks!