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Black Power at The Broad

This 1965 painting by Norman Lewis opens the install of the Black Power show at The Broad. Its title, Processional, evokes the Selma marches but it also has an unusual affinity with Italian Futurism as if Boccioni or Balla had catapulted further into the 20th century. The galleries were filled with a processional of African American clusters of friends and parents showing their children the rich artistic history which paralleled the Civil Rights movement. It was as if the artists were speaking directly to future generations- so a futurism of a different, but very moving sort.