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In honor of what would have been Burt Reynolds\u2019 90th birthday, FSU\u2019s Museum of Fine Arts and the Department of Art History are providing a special look at 12 Ernie Barnes prints donated by the late actor and former Seminole football star. (FSU Archives)\t\t<\/p>\n
Florida State\u00a0University\u2019s\u00a0Museum of Fine Arts<\/a>\u00a0is home to a permanent collection of more than 7,000 works of art, including\u00a012\u00a0offset lithograph prints by\u00a0renowned\u00a0American artist\u00a0Ernie Barnes.\u00a0The pieces were\u00a0donated by\u00a0the late\u00a0actor\u00a0and former\u00a0Florida State\u00a0Seminole\u00a0football\u00a0star\u00a0Burt Reynolds.<\/p>\n In honor of what would have been\u00a0Reynolds\u2019\u00a090th birthday, the museum\u00a0and the\u00a0Department of Art History<\/a>\u00a0are sharing\u00a0a special look\u00a0at\u00a0these pieces.<\/p>\n \u201cBy contributing this\u00a0portfolio\u00a0of\u00a0lithographs to\u00a0MoFA, Reynolds\u00a0made a lasting impact\u00a0on\u00a0FSU and the Tallahassee community,\u201d said Kaylee Spencer,\u00a0director of the Museum of Fine Arts. \u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0honored to have\u00a0these prints as part of our collection.\u00a0They serve\u00a0as\u00a0vital\u00a0examples\u00a0of\u00a0Barnes\u2019\u00a0work\u00a0and\u00a020th-century\u00a0American art\u00a0for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n “Ninety Nine, A\u2019Hundred” by Ernie Barnes was donated to the FSU Museum of Fine Arts by Burt Reynolds. (Ernie Barnes)“The Graduate” by Ernie Barnes was donated to the FSU Museum of Fine Arts by Burt Reynolds. (Ernie Barnes)“Street Song” by Ernie Barnes was donated to the FSU Museum of Fine Arts by Burt Reynolds. (Ernie Barnes)<\/p>\n Reynolds,\u00a0known as\u00a0\u201cBuddy\u201d<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0his teammates, is\u00a0a\u00a0legendary\u00a0figure\u00a0within the FSU community for his generosity and dedication to Seminole athletics. However,\u00a0his legacy\u00a0at the university\u00a0extends\u00a0deep\u00a0into the arts.<\/p>\n In addition to the donation of\u00a0these\u00a0prints, Reynolds\u00a0contributed\u00a0$600,000\u00a0to\u00a0establish\u00a0the first named chair position within\u00a0the\u00a0FSU School of Theatre. Throughout his career, he returned to campus as a\u00a0guest lecturer for film and theater\u00a0students\u00a0and\u00a0was a frequent\u00a0attendee\u00a0at\u00a0dance and theater\u00a0performances.<\/p>\n Mora\u00a0J.\u00a0Beauchamp-Byrd,\u00a0associate professor and director\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Museum and\u00a0Cultural\u00a0Heritage\u00a0Studies\u00a0Program<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0FSU\u00a0Department\u00a0of\u00a0Art History<\/a>, recently\u00a0visited\u00a0the Barnes prints, which are\u00a0on display\u00a0at\u00a0the College of Fine Arts Dean\u2019s Office at the Facility for Arts Research.\u00a0She\u00a0noted\u00a0that\u00a0while\u00a0the works are\u00a0emblematic\u00a0of Black\u00a0Arts\u00a0Movement\u00a0imagery\u00a0of the 1970s,\u00a0they\u00a0also\u00a0reference\u00a0other\u00a0global\u00a0art\u00a0historical\u00a0movements\u00a0spanning\u00a0centuries and continents.<\/p>\n \u201cIn\u00a0Barnes\u2019\u00a0work,\u00a0you can see influence from the Mannerists of the 16th century through\u00a019th-century\u00a0French\u00a0realism,\u00a0through\u00a0American\u00a0social realism\u00a0of\u00a0the 1930s\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0Black Arts Movement\u00a0of the\u00a0\u201860s and\u00a0\u201870s,\u201d\u00a0Beauchamp-Byrd said. \u201cAs an art historian,\u00a0I am\u00a0intrigued\u00a0by\u00a0these\u00a0art\u00a0historical\u00a0references\u00a0in his\u00a0work,\u00a0and\u00a0we\u00a0are so\u00a0excited\u00a0about\u00a0Barnes\u2019s\u00a0inclusion\u00a0in\u00a0MoFA\u2019s\u00a0collection here at FSU.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n “The Runner” by Ernie Barnes was donated to the FSU Museum of Fine Arts by Burt Reynolds. (Ernie Barnes)“The Sower” by Jean-Francois Millet. (Jean-Francois Millet)<\/p>\n In one example of this type of\u00a0art\u00a0historical\u00a0referencing,\u00a0Beauchamp-Byrd compares Barnes\u2019s\u00a0work \u201cThe Runner\u201d with\u00a0\u201cThe Sower\u201d\u00a0by 19th century French realist\u00a0Jean-Francois Millet.<\/p>\n \u201cI see\u00a0compositional\u00a0similarities\u00a0in the landscape, with the earthy colors and\u00a0a\u00a0lone, isolated,\u00a0elongated\u00a0figure,\u00a0rendered\u00a0in a really\u00a0graceful\u00a0way,\u201d she explained.\u00a0\u201cWhereas\u00a0Millet\u2019s\u00a0earlier,\u00a0Realist\u00a0painting\u00a0is\u00a0a celebration\u00a0of the laborer,\u00a0here,\u00a0in\u00a0Barnes\u2019s\u00a0Neo-Mannerist\u00a0print,\u00a0there\u00a0is a celebration of the athlete,\u00a0participating\u00a0in a different\u00a0kind of labor.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0highlighting\u00a0the work ethic that goes into this\u00a0type\u00a0of\u00a0labor\u00a0as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Like Reynolds, Barnes was no stranger to football or fame. Originally from Durham, North Carolina,\u00a0Barnes\u00a0played five seasons in the American Football League\u00a0(AFL)\u00a0for\u00a0teams including the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers.\u00a0He\u00a0was\u00a0later\u00a0named the official artist of the\u00a0AFL in 1965 and\u00a0the\u00a0\u201cSports Artist of the 1984 Olympic Games.\u201d<\/p>\n Pop culture\u00a0fans\u00a0may recognize\u00a0Barnes\u2019s\u00a0most\u00a0celebrated\u00a0painting, \u201cThe Sugar Shack\u201d\u00a0(1971),\u00a0from the\u00a0opening and closing\u00a0credits of the\u00a01970s\u00a0sitcom \u201cGood Times.\u201d\u00a0His work also\u00a0shows\u00a0up on\u00a0iconic album covers, including\u00a0Marvin Gaye\u2019s\u00a0\u201cI\u00a0Want You\u201d\u00a0(1976),\u00a0Curtis\u00a0Mayfield\u2019s\u00a0\u201cSomething to Believe In\u201d (1980)\u00a0and\u00a0B.B.\u00a0King\u2019s \u201cMaking Love is Good for You\u201d\u00a0(2000).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n “The Sugar Shack” is one of Barnes’ most well-known works. (Ernie Barnes)<\/p>\n According to\u00a0Beauchamp-Byrd,\u00a0Barnes\u2019\u00a0works\u00a0capture an important moment in American\u00a0history\u00a0after\u00a0the\u00a0civil\u00a0rights\u00a0movement,\u00a0a\u00a0celebration of\u00a0community\u00a0pride\u00a0and\u00a0everyday\u00a0life.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u00a0was so important\u00a0to artists like Barnes to depict\u00a0the kind of everyday\u00a0experiences\u00a0of\u00a0life\u00a0\u2014\u00a0rural\u00a0as well as\u00a0urban\u00a0scenes,\u00a0African\u00a0American\u00a0achievement,\u00a0including\u00a0educational success,\u00a0to those\u00a0intensely-emotive,\u00a0celebratory\u00a0moments where figures are entranced in\u00a0expressive,\u00a0rhythmic\u00a0movement,\u201d\u00a0Beauchamp-Byrd\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cAll of these\u00a0aspects\u00a0make his work\u00a0truly\u00a0distinctive;\u00a0they\u00a0speak\u00a0so\u00a0eloquently\u00a0about\u00a0this\u00a0time\u00a0and\u00a0place,\u00a0in\u00a01970s\u00a0America.\u201d<\/p>\n To learn more about Ernie Barnes, his art, life and legacy, visit\u00a0ErnieBarnes.com<\/a>.\u00a0For more information about\u00a0MoFA\u00a0and\u00a0its\u00a0schedule of exhibitions and programming, visit\u00a0mofa.fsu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In honor of what would have been Burt Reynolds\u2019 90th birthday, FSU\u2019s Museum of Fine Arts and the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[56744,73684,68989,73685,232,234,233],"class_list":["post-152682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-college-of-fine-arts","tag-department-of-art-history","tag-fsu-museum-of-fine-arts","tag-museum-and-cultural-heritage-studies-program","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}