Harlem Renaissance comes to Stockton Blvd.

2010-10-07T05:26:43Z

The Harlem Rent Party and Fish Fry will celebrate the music, art, dance and poetry of the Harlem Renaissance Saturday inside Master Barber and Beauty Shop.

Jazz bassist and orchestra conductor Harley White Jr. will team up with poet Justin Desmangles and artist Milton Bowens to showcase their talents to entertain and educate on different cultural elements that spawned from the Harlem Renaissance.

“We’re talking about the time period from the end of World War I to the beginning of World War II,” White said. “But we’re not only talking about the Harlem Renaissance. We’re talking about the forces that led to it and more importantly all the art and culture after it.”

The orchestra will play, Desmangles will intertwine his poetry and the poetry of other Harlem Renaissance figureheads – such as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston – with the music and Bowens will display and discuss his art, including pieces from his collection titled “Afro-Classical” that were used in course study at Cornell University.

“Visually, you can expect to see music and poetry woven together in a way that will spark a deeper examination of why these things are appreciated,” Bowens said. “You cannot look at one of my paintings and not ask questions, because they’re designed to do just that – they’re designed to spark conversation.”

According to Master’s Barber and Beauty Shop owner Rodney Brown, between 70 and 80 people are expected to show up as of today.

The event will include a fish fry dinner of Catfish, Tilapia or Snapper, salad, bread and beans with every paid admission, which is also a significant part of the history of the Harlem Renaissance and where the event got its name.

“Fish frys were a way of keeping your rent paid,” White said. “People would have a party, play some jazz music and fry some fish, and that’s how you would make your rent money. And where else would you want to be?”

There will be a round table preview talk of the event at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Master’s Barber and Beauty Shop at 4340 Stockton Blvd.

The Harlem Rent Party and Fish Fry will take place Saturday from 8 p.m.-midnight.

For more information, click here to visit Master Barber and Beauty Shop’s Facebook page.

The Night Harlem Came To Stockton Blvd

2009-08-30T13:33:44Z

Milton Bowens would like to believe that when you look at his art work you're not merely viewing paintings, his personal opinion or guarded pieces of his soul. You the viewer are being asked to confront history, truth, cultural stereo types and engage the possibilities of the future. Because when he paints he is not just engaging the viewer or confronting the critic over artistic merit, style and validity, he is confronting the use of art as a tool to communicate. He is asking questions, He is seeking solutions.

Born and raised in Oakland, Calif., Milton Bowens is the fifth boy of ten children. Milton’s artistic promise began at the age of five with nothing more than a few pencils and cut up brown paper bags used as sketch paper, thanks to his mother’s ingenuity of making the best of lean times.

Bowens received education under the mentorship of Fine Artist David Bradford, head of the Art Department and instructor at Laney College (Oakland). Inspired by great artists such as Jean Michel Basquiat, Robert Rauschenberg, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and Andy Warhol, Milton changed his focus from illustration to fine art. That shift proved crucial for Milton now considered a great artist in his own right and inspirational public speaker/community activist in the struggle to keep art a vital part of public education and a tool to help build self-esteem in youth.

Milton works tirelessly to create thought-provoking exhibitions that will help restore a level of hope in communities desperately in need of inspiration. Bowens just wants to paint. Bowens paintings has been showcased at Avisca Fine Art Gallery in Atlanta, GA, 40 Acres Art Gallery in Sacramento, CA, on the walls of the Sacramento Mayors office, and the African American Art & Culture Complex in San Francisco, CA just to name a few.

The Night Harlem Came To Stockton Blvd exhibit is Bay Area acclaimed artist, Milton Bowens, first time ever showing of his 9 piece collection of Afro Classical: The Subway Series on the West Coast. Afro Classical is an anthology of paintings depicting the importance of Jazz, Art and Words during the Harlem Renaissance. Bowens will speak on the importance of documenting African American art.

Join Master Barber & Beauty Shop as we step back in time to salute the Harlem Renaissance and the importance of African American Art, Music and Spoken Word in American society. Come and enjoy the viewing of Milton Bowen’s Afro Classical: The Subway Series and welcoming local NeoSoul and Jazz recording artist Miss MouthPeace. Miss MouthPeace is a dynamic vocalist, whose music is compared to Billie Holiday and Eryka Badu. She will be performing an acoustic set live.

The Opening Reception will be held Second Saturday, September 12, 2009 from 7:00pm - 10:00pm. Refreshments and Wine will be served. Addmission $5 donation, all ages welcomed. A portion of the proceeds will benifit C.T.D. Dream Builders.

Milton Bowens and Miss MouthPeace are available for interviews. For more information, please call (916) 457-8708 or email: Masterreport@hotmail.com.

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Harlem Renaissance comes to Stockton Blvd.

The Night Harlem Came To Stockton Blvd