Oh man, I just heard about this, even though Ernie died last month (April 30th). I didn’t hear a word about his passing in the mainstream media (big surprise there…) or in any of the art-oriented stuff I receive.
Mr. Barnes was one of my favorite American artists; he painted these cool, constantly in motion, elongated, taffy-like figures that were vaguely reminiscent of Thomas Hart-Benton, only black. The ‘black’ descriptor is important because Mr. Barnes’ ‘blackness’ (or ‘blackitude’, maybe) was such an important part of his work; the cultural significance of the American black experience was Ernie’s stamp on the art world. When I was a wide-eyed young white boy art student, I had a copy of his book “From Pads to Palette” that I would spend countless stoned nights marvelling over.
If you’re of a certain age, you might remember Ernie’s work from the opening credits for “Good Times” about a hundred years ago. Really a terrific artist with a unique look, amazing visual sensibilities, and drop dead compositional skills. So long, Ernie.
Very sad to have lost such a talent.