It's a fitting point of reference for Leonard Scott's Echoes of a Middle Passage, which, aside from providing a playful allusion to Scott's own impending middle age, also references the continuing theme of his work: examining the lives of towering figures of black history in intricate, hand-assembled collage.
"He's done collages on everyone from Miles Davis to Bob Marley," notes Holly Hurd, curator of the Cousins Gallery in the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, where Echoes will anchor the Black History Month celebrations. "His imagery is so detailed, you can't really stand back from it; it encourages a more intimate relationship with the work. And once you come closer, it tells you a story. You can really get lost in there."
Echoes opens tonight, accompanied by a gala ceremony for the Juanita Ross Gray Community Service Awards, and stays up through February 25 at the Blair-Caldwell Library, 2401 Welton Street. For more information on the exhibit or other Black History Month events -- including lectures, a film series and a panel of African-American women artists -- call 720-865-2401 or visit http://aarl.denverlibrary.org.
Feb. 3-25, 2012
