DATE: Saturday, September 20, 1997          TAG: 9709190094

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   96 lines

JOHN BIGGERS DREW INSPIRATION FROM THE SCENES HE SAW IN AFRICA

FORTY YEARS AGO, the renowned artist John Biggers - whose art goes on view Sunday in Hampton - made his first trip to Africa, where the sight of a harvest festival marked him forever.

In Ghana, he watched as women floated elegantly around a field, umbrellas aloft, to signify the seasonal shift of the constellations. Then there was dancing, the earth shaking from the human frenzy.

``It was so beautiful,'' the Texan recalled during a lecture last year in Hampton. ``It was an expression of the new year coming and the old year passing away. I've never gotten over it.''

Such experiences carried Biggers, 73, into a deeper understanding of African culture - from its matriarchal center to its meaningful use of abstract designs. Such first-hand knowledge fed his art and made him famous.

Biggers' retrospective, which has been touring the nation's top museums since 1995, opens its final stop Sunday at Hampton University Museum.

A free public reception will take place from noon to 5 p.m. at the museum. Two videos on Biggers' life and work will be shown from noon to 3 p.m., followed by the appearance of the artist, a Gastonia, N.C., native who studied at Hampton University in the 1940s.

Meanwhile, across the water at Norfolk State University, art by Biggers' nephew - James Biggers of Gastonia, N.C. - went on view Friday night in the Wise Art Gallery in the fine arts building on campus. The show can be viewed from noon to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday through Dec. 12.

In the early 1990s, James Biggers collaborated with his uncle on several major murals, including two 20-by-10-foot murals installed in Hampton University's library - ``House of the Turtle'' and ``Tree House.''

Today, participants in a daylong art education forum on the Hampton campus will hear lectures on John Biggers' art and attend a preview reception for the exhibit.

Admission is $30, or $25 for museum members, for the symposium, ``A Model for Reforming Education Through the Arts.'' Registration starts at 9 a.m. in the lobby of Ogden Hall, adjacent to the campus museum.

Some highlights:

At 10:15 a.m., Dr. Barry Gaither, director of the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, will speak on Hampton University as a cultural preserver.

At 11 a.m., Dr. Alvia J. Wardlaw, curator of Houston's Museum of Fine Arts and organizer of the Biggers exhibit, will speak on ``John Biggers and the Hampton Experience.''

At 11:45 a.m., Dr. Harlan Hoffa, professor emeritus at Pennsylvania State University, will speak on ``Viktor Lowenfeld: Teaching Philosophy and Styles.'' Lowenfeld, a legendary art educator at Hampton, influenced Biggers to look both to his immediate surroundings and to his cultural roots - i.e., Africa - as a source.

At 12:30 p.m., Biggers and Hoffa will discuss Lowenfeld's impact.

At 2 p.m., Dr. Robert Farris Thompson, professor of art history at Yale, will examine African themes in Biggers' art.

At 2:45 p.m., Dr. Jeff Donaldson, dean of Howard University's School of Fine Arts, will discuss Biggers' murals and paintings.

At 6 p.m., Dr. Wardlaw will lecture on the exhibit, followed by the 7 p.m. reception.

A series of 2 p.m. Sunday lectures is scheduled during the exhibit. The free talks will be held in the museum's education center:

Dr. Beverly M. John, chairman of HU's sociology department, will speak on ``The Black Woman as Metaphor: Gender, Spirituality and the Sacred in the Vision of John T. Biggers'' on Oct. 12.

Betty Kaplan Gubert, former librarian with the Schomberg Library, will discuss ``The Lowenfeld Years (1939-1946): Lives Rescued, Lives Enriched'' on Oct. 19.

C. Daniel Dawson, lecturer on African-American art, will speak on ``Right Here Is Over There: The Overlooked African Motifs in the Art of John Biggers'' on Oct. 26.

Dr. David Driskell, chairman of the University of Maryland's art department, will discuss ``The African-American Male in the Work of John Biggers'' on Nov. 2.

James Biggers, artist and educator, will speak about ``John Biggers: Father Figure, Mentor, Confidant'' on Nov. 16.

In addition, a free storytelling festival keyed to the exhibit is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. Nov. 23, closing day for the exhibit.

The exhibit was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and Hampton University Museum, and it received major financial support from Philip Morris.

The museum, free and open to the public, is located in the Huntington Building at Ogden Circle on campus. It is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from noon to 4 p.m. Call 727-5308 for more information. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

John Biggers

Color Drawing

"Crossing the Bridge"...

Graphic

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