{"id":9518,"date":"2021-05-04T12:14:29","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T12:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/media-archive.blackartinamerica.com\/?p=9518"},"modified":"2021-05-13T08:15:15","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T08:15:15","slug":"baia-bits-ali-akbar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earthexhibitions.org\/media-archive\/?p=9518","title":{"rendered":"BAIA BITS: Ali Akbar"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAIA BITS: Ali Akbar<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Little Moments Where Knowledge Meets Art<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n

\u201cMy uncle dressed well,\u201d said enigmatic artist, Ali Akbar<\/a><\/span>, to author and friend, Bill McGowan. \u201cI saw the effect this had on everyone, particularly the ladies. So I went to this men\u2019s clothing shop in the \u2018hood and I bought a nice suit. Fitted! Red! That night I hit the clubs in my suit and a nice hat too. Wow! I felt like the MAN! I could feel the effect immediately. It gave me confidence, and I played it for all it was worth!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Play it, he did. For those like McGowan who knew him, Akbar was a one-of-a-kind, live-life-to-the-fullest painter who wowed at least as many people as he rubbed the wrong way.<\/span> McGowan\u2019s 2015 book,\u00a0<\/span>The Ali Files<\/span><\/i>,\u00a0captures\u00a0his friendship with the late Akbar while detailing the latter\u2019s unique existence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Born Horace Pittman in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1945, Pittman did a stint in Vietnam and sustained injuries before returning to his hometown, becoming restless and, years later, resurfacing in Knoxville, Tennessee. By the 1980s, he became a regular on the Knoxville music scene, popping up at local jazz and punk rock venues as the oldest and often the only Black attendee. Well known for his smoking, drinking, and womanizing, the outgoing Pittman, between parties, worked alone on his art, adorning canvases with signature vibrant colors similar to the ones he wore in his clothing and scarves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone knew \u201cHorace.\u201d That\u2019s why it was so stunning when, in the early \u201990s, the uninhibited artist suddenly converted to Islam and became Ali Akbar. Upon promoting that Islam prohibited the depiction of human figures, Akbar embraced abstractionism, expressing himself through designs and patterns. His conversion was generally regarded as a means of balancing his extreme personality. But over time, his friends noted that a number of his old traits reemerged.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, his art continued. In 1995, Akbar\u2019s painting \u201cBlues Man\u201d became popular as it was reproduced for prints and T-shirts while gracing the cover of jazz album \u201cWurd on the Skreet\u201d by pianist Donald Brown. Even after his death in 2009, Akbar\u2019s artistic legacy has since been carried forward by McGowan\u2019s book,\u00a0<\/span>The Ali Files<\/span><\/i>; by the praise of such prominent African American collectors as Dr. Harmon and Harriet Kelley; by the 2015 public exhibit entitled <\/span>Who Is This Man?<\/span><\/i>; and by friends like Jack Rentfro, who told the Knoxville History Project the following:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>A few times in this life, you meet people who, by their own brand of benign weirdness, assuage the bad crazy of this world. They take it away and replace it with something good. Sometimes, they pay a heavy price for this compulsion\u2014poverty, isolation, early death. We should appreciate them more while we\u2019re in the same plane of existence. Ali Akbar was one who put his life on the line. For art. One of those whose very existence was a kind of experiment in living art<\/span><\/i>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

BAIA BITS are produced in part by the generous support of our Patreon members with a special shout out to Zadig & Voltaire.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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\"\"Stephanie Robinson, Esq.<\/strong> is a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, a national media figure, author, former Chief Counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and former President and CEO of The Jamestown Project, a national think tank focusing on democracy. Ms. Robinson hosted her own national radio show, Roundtable with Stephanie Robinson<\/em>, a popular weekly 30-minute, talk-radio program focused on culture, politics, and relationships that aired on TSN. For over half a decade, Ms. Robinson was Political and Social Commentator for the Tom Joyner Morning Show<\/em> where she spoke to between 9 and 10 million people weekly, offering her perspective on the day\u2019s most pressing social and political issues.<\/p>\n

Robinson is co-author of Accountable: Making America as Good as Its Promise<\/u>, (Atria Books, 2009). She is a nationally recognized expert on issues relating to social policy, women, race, family, and electoral politics. She was featured as one of the 30 Young Leaders of the Future in Ebony Magazine and was profiled in the book As I Am: Young African American Women in a Critical Age<\/u>, by Julian Okwu. Robinson is a frequent speaker expressing her views in countless media outlets including the Associated Press, The Washington Post, C-Span, Fox News, NewsOne <\/em>and NPR<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Stephanie was a Member of President Clinton\u2019s first Mission to Africa regarding children orphaned by AIDS. Robinson, a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Maryland and the Harvard Law School, is a native of Steubenville, Ohio. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two sons.<\/p>\n

Would you buy stock in BAIA if you could? Well we invite you to join us in becoming a monthly supporter, starting at just $3 a month YOU<\/b> become a stakeholder and begin to help us transform lives through art. We are growing the BAIA team and will use your contributions to hire more team members for the purpose of creating more educational and marketing resources for schools and universities about african american artists both past and present. Such art initiatives and educational programming like Blacklite with Steve Prince, Relating to Art with Dr. Kelli Morgan, and BAIA BITS would not be possible without the ongoing support of our Patreon members. Please consider becoming a monthly Patreon member today!
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