It's not often that I listen to Radio 4 or the World Service, but last Wednesday/Thursday (if was about 3.00am!!) I found myself doing just that. As I tried to fall to sleep, an interview with one of Jamaica's leading artists, Barrington Watson began. Personally I had never heard of him and I have a feeling that many people are equally unaware of his work.
Barrington Watson, now aged 80 is Jamaica's leading painter and can also add educator, author, philanthropist and writer to his many talents. He is celebrated for looking to accurately reproduce and capture the multi-tonal colors of the black person, communicating the pride and dignity of people in Jamaica, and recreating the female form. Watson himself describes his work as:
".. the light of Turner, the line of Ignes, the range of Rembrant, the techniques of Velasquez, the emotion of Goya and my birth right of Benin".Hailing from Lucea, Hanover, Jamaica, Watson showed great promise in Art. After attending Kingston College he chose to study Art in Europe against the advise of his parents. They prefered the idea of him becoming a Lawyer. Initially he travelled to London, attending the London School of Painting and Graphic Art and then moving on to the Royal College of Art. After completing his studies in the UK he won a series of scholorships for art institutions across europe between 1957 and 1961.
He returned to Jamaica in 1961 and taught Art Appreciation in the Department of Education. It is from this point on his list of achievements begin. He became the first Director of Studies of the Jamaica School of Art in 1962, and worked to raise the profile and the value of full-time professional artists in Jamaica. He went on to found the Contemporary Jamaican Artists Association in 1964, Gallery Barrington in 1974, The Contemporary Art Center in 1984 and Jamaica Art Foundation 1985.
His most notable works are the "Spirit of Garvey" and the "Pan Africanists". He is also known for producing portraits of notable black icons such as Marcus Garvey, Fredrick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, Kwame Nkrumah, Haile Selassie I, Malcom X, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.
"The Maroon Dance" by Barrington Watson
He has also written 3 books. His first "Shades of Grey" describes life through an artists eyes and teaches artistic techniques. Other titles published are "The Pan Africanist" and "Barrington".
He also owns the Orange Park Trust and Foundation, which provides a natural environment to stimuate the creativety of artists.
A string of awards for his contribution of Arts in Jamaica have been giving to Barrington, including the Commander of the Order of Distinction, C.D. in Jamaica.
The National Gallery of Jamaica are currently hosting a retrospective exhibition of his work from January 8th to April 2012. I wish I could see it but unfortunetly I don't have the budget!!!
To learn more abour Barrington Watson, please visit the following links:
http://www.gallerybarrington.com/
http://arcthemagazine.com/arc/2011/12/barrington-watson-lecture-at-the-national-gallery-of-jamaica/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00mmnjg/The_Strand_04_01_2012/
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