Ernie Barnes - Celebrating his Genius and Life - Seeing Humanity
Ernie Barnes, great American artist, died on 4/27/09. Linking Ernie Barnes' biography . Barnes' life journey is inspirational and I love how he acquired his authentic voice and expressed himself through his unique style of painting. I first became aware of his art work by watching the hit TV show, Good Times . JJ's art work was done by Ernie Barnes. It was alluring and always captured your imagination. However, Barnes didn't really enter my consciousness until I had an encounter with Coach Bill Hayes, head football coach at WSSU, in the late 70's. In his office was an Ernie Barnes original. The first time I saw it, I said to Coach Hayes, 'that's a nice print.' He gently corrected me and told me that it was an original piece of art from his friend and teammate at NCCU, Ernie Barnes. How cool was it for me to see an original piece of Barnes art in a small, cramped office at a historical Black University. Actually, given Barnes backgr...