Alonzo Davis is an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

artist and academic known for co-founding the Brockman Gallery in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

with his brother

Dale Brockman Davis Dale Brockman Davis (born 1945) is a Los Angeles–based African-American artist, gallerist and educator best known for his assemblage sculpture and ceramic work that addresses themes of African American history and music, especially jazz. Alon ...

. In reaction to a perceived lack of coverage of black art, Davis became an advocate for black art and artists. His best-known work is the ''Eye on '84'' mural he painted to commemorate the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

Davis grew up near

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was ...

where his father was a professor of psychology. Davis's family moved from Tuskegee, Alabama to Los Angeles, California in 1955 where he was exposed to Asian art. Davis became a practitioner of Zen meditation although he did not convert to

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

. Davis, then an art student at Pepperdine, disagreed with the overwhelmingly white focus of his coursework and sought to understand the black art scene in America. He and his brother Dale, also an artist, traveled across the country to meet other black artists including the "Spiral Group" in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

led by Romare Bearden and Hale Woodruff.

Brockman Gallery

The Davis brothers got the idea for opening the Brockman Gallery during the drive back to Southern California from the 1966 Meredith March in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

. They opened the Brockman Gallery in 1967 on Degnan Avenue in

Leimert Park Leimert Park (; ) is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. Developed in the 1920s as a mainly residential community, it features Spanish Colonial Revival homes and tree-lined streets. The Life Magazine/Lei ...

. The name "Brockman" refers to Alonzo and Dale's maternal grandmother's maiden name. Brockman Gallery has featured the works of Romare Bearden, John Biggers,

Elizabeth Catlett Elizabeth Catlett, born as Alice Elizabeth Catlett, also known as Elizabeth Catlett Mora (April 15, 1915 – April 2, 2012) was an African American sculptor and graphic artist best known for her depictions of the Black-American experience in th ...

, Dan Concholar, Melvin Edwards, David Hammons, John Outterbridge, and

Charles White Charles or Charlie White (or occasionally Whyte) may refer to: Artists and authors * Charles White (artist) (1918–1979), African-American painter, printmaker, muralist * Charles White (writer) (1845–1922), Australian journalist and author * C ...

. In 1973 the brothers also founded a non-profit organization called Brockman Productions to support art in the African-American community.

Teaching career

Alonzo taught at Crenshaw High School until 1970 when he left to teach at series of schools including

Manual Arts High School Manual Arts High School is a secondary public school in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Manual Arts High School was founded in 1910 in the middle of bean fields, one-half mile from the nearest bus stop. It was the third high sch ...

, Mount Saint Antonio College, Pasadena City College, and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

. Davis participated in Ruth G. Waddy's "Art West Associated" movement to agitate for the inclusion of black art in the mainstream museums of Los Angeles. In 1976 Davis started working at Brockman Gallery full-time. From 1991 to 1992, Davis taught at the San Antonio Art Institute. He then served as dean of the Memphis College of Art from 1993 to 2002. Davis, an alum of the

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) is a residential artist community in Amherst, Virginia, USA. Since 1971, VCCA has offered residencies of varying lengths with flexible scheduling for international artists, writers, and composers at ...

, has a fellowship offered there in his name for writers, composers, and artists of African or Latino ethnicity.

Art

Davis painted a mural, ''Eye on '84'', one of the ten murals commissioned under Los Angeles' 1984 Olympic Murals project. Davis's mural was located on the southbound I-110 at the Third Street on-ramp across from Judy Baca's ''Hitting the Wall''. His mural, acrylic on concrete, depicted a series of internationally recognizable symbols including the Olympic Rings. The mural suffered weathering and was considered unrecoverable. The mural was painted over in 2001 by

CalTrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacra ...

. Davis moved to

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

in 1987 and to a residency in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

in 1988.

Citations

References

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External links

Now Dig This exhibit
at the Hammer Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Alonzo African-American artists Artists from Los Angeles Pepperdine University alumni People from Tuskegee, Alabama 1942 births Living people African-American art dealers American art dealers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people