Sam Gilliam Research Paper

Outlandishly Famous, Sam Gilliam The well-known color artist, Sam Gilliam, has made quite a name for himself over the course of his career. When choosing an artist, Sam Gilliam stood out with his rich art and elaborate background. Gilliam has been acclaimed as one of the most imperative and ingenious colorist in the past thirty years. Gilliam is a renowned artist that is known for his endless creativity and experimenter with putting color on media. It is said that Gilliam was applauded for his work that, “transcendent, universal, humanist" and that tries to bring back "the pleasure of texture and the optical qualities of painting.” I have chosen Gilliam because he has made a great impact on importance of African American artist in the twentieth …show more content…
Shortly after Gilliam was born his family moved to Louisville, Kentucky and that is where he began his love for art in elementary school. His elementary school teachers encouraged Gilliam to continue to pursue his love for art. Five years after Gilliam graduated from high school he joined the United States Army from 1956 to 1958; however, while he was in the army he was working on getting his Masters Degree in Fine Arts at the University of Louisville. In 1955, Gilliam finally began his career and had his first solo exhibit at the University of Louisville. Before he began his solo artist career he taught at Louisville public school. Gilliam is known as, “one of the few successful, self-supporting African American artists who views the teaching of art as a mission.” His love for teaching began through his first year at Louisville public school. He continued teaching at Washington public school, Maryland Institute, College of Art, and University of Maryland. Also in addition to his teaching he dedicated his time to conducting workshops, participating in panel, and giving lectures aboard. Later, Gilliam married his wife, Dorothy Butler, a journalist. All in the same year of Gilliam’s marriage he also moved to Washington, D.C., and hasn’t moved since. Gilliam became a color field artist connected with Washington Color School with Abstract Expression and Lyrical Abstraction. He works with wrapped, …show more content…
The painting is a work that is intended to represent sea currents and cloud patterns seen from earth orbit. Gilliam used acrylic colors including: denim and cobalt blue, tomato red, and all shades of yellow. He shapes his lines in vertical construction that he has segmented into planes. The swirls of soaked color overlaid arduous planes, Gilliam’s works contrasted some of his average work. He has used techniques such as Einsteinian warp and Euclidean geometry. This piece of artwork is filled with many vibrate colors, life and