http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/arts/fifty-years-later-black-panthers-art-still-resonates.html 2016-10-15 22:01:15 Fifty Years Later, Black Panthers’ Art Still Resonates The Black Panther Party is often associated with armed resistance, but one of the most potent weapons in its outreach was its artwork. === The Black Panther Party was founded 50 years ago in Oakland, on Oct. 15, 1966, and within two years it had chapters across the country. The New York Times is taking this opportunity to explore The Black Panther Party is often associated with armed resistance, but one of the most potent weapons in its outreach to African-Americans in cities across the country was its artwork. In posters, pamphlets and its popular newspaper, The Black Panther, the party’s imagery was guided by the vision of Emory Douglas, its minister of culture. His art came from many sources. As a teenager in San Francisco during the late 1950s and early 1960s, Mr. Douglas found himself incarcerated at the Youth Training School in Ontario, Calif., where he got involved with its printing shop. He went on to study graphic design at San Francisco City College, where he developed a deep interest in the Black Arts Movement, the His particular background, a combination of art, printmaking and activism, eventually attracted the eye of the Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale, and led to Mr. Douglas’s becoming a central figure in the party. The newspaper’s circulation eventually climbed to over 200,000, making it one of the most popular black newspapers of its day. In the years since the party’s demise, Mr. Douglas’s posters have come to be known as iconic artifacts of their era. Mr. Douglas’s work is currently on display in an exhibition at Manhattan’s “Art serves as a blueprint to be inspired by, but it’s also a language that continues on,” she said. To create a conversation between the past and present, and to explore the relevance and importance of his Black Panthers artwork 50 years later, we interviewed Mr. Douglas, who is now retired but still creating art, traveling, and living in San Francisco, along with two young artists who often look to him for inspiration: Ms. Casteel and Emory Douglas: Jordan Casteel: Fahamu Pecou: Emory Douglas: Fahamu Pecou: Jordan Casteel: Emory Douglas: Jordan Casteel: Fahamu Pecou: Emory Douglas: Fahamu Pecou: Jordan Casteel: Emory Douglas: Jordan Casteel: My own work came about from noticing the differences between what I would see of those I loved, particularly black men like my brothers and father, and how they were portrayed by the world. The portrayals were full of fear or assumptions I never understood. So I used my paintings to enlighten and inform but also genuinely create a sense of empathy for these men — to really see them. Fahamu Pecou: Emory Douglas: Jordan Casteel: Fahamu Pecou: Jordan Casteel: Emory Douglas: Jordan Casteel: Fahamu Pecou: Jordan Casteel: