Clifford Ricardo Joseph (June 23, 1922November 8, 2020) was a Panama-born American artist,

art therapist Art therapy (not to be confused with ''arts therapy'', which includes other creative therapies such as drama therapy and music therapy) is a distinct discipline that incorporates creative methods of expression through visual art media. Art ther ...

and activist.

Early life

Cliff Joseph was born in 1922 in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

. At the time, his father was employed in the construction of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

. His parents emigrated to the United States the following year, settling in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

. Joseph enrolled in the army, and served overseas in a field artillery unit. Following

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he studied at the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

in New York, receiving a degree in illustration in 1952; he later taught art therapy at Pratt. He also attended the Turtle Bay School of Therapy.

Art and activism

In 1968, he co-founded the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition (BECC) with

Benny Andrews Benny Andrews (November 13, 1930 – November 10, 2006) was an African-American artist, activist and educator. Born in Plainview, Georgia, Andrews earned a BFA in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1958, and soon after m ...

, Henri Ghent, Reggie Gammon, Mahler Ryde and Edward Taylor.

Faith Ringgold Faith Ringgold (born October 8, 1930 in Harlem, New York City) is an American painter, writer, mixed media sculptor, and performance artist, best known for her narrative quilts. Early life Faith Ringgold was born the youngest of three children ...

was also a member of BECC. Its goal was to bring attention to the lack of representation of Black artists in New York City galleries and museums. The founding and mission of the group came in response to the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

's presentation of the exhibition ''

Harlem on My Mind ''Harlem on My Mind'' is a studio album by American jazz singer Catherine Russell, released on September 9, 2016. It earned Russell a Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Reception Christopher Loudon of ''JazzTimes ''JazzTime ...

'', which included no Black artists. BECC protested the show, leading to a rebuke of the museum from the mayor of New York City, as well as a public apology from the Metropolitan Museum itself. Joseph and BECC went on to protest at the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...

exhibition ''Contemporary Black Artists in America'', for which the Whitney had hired a White curator. 15 Black artists pulled out of the exhibition the day it was to open. In response to the Whitney exhibition, Joseph remarked that it was essential for Black art to be curated by someone "whose wisdom, strength and depth of sensitivity regarding black art is drawn from the well of his icown black experience". As co-chair of the BECC with Benny Andrews, Joseph went on to organize a rebuttal exhibition, titled ''Rebuttal to Whitney Museum Exhibition'', held at the Acts of Art Gallery in Manhattan. Joseph and Andrews also requested that the Whitney postpone its exhibition in order for consultation with BECC and "other community representatives" to take place. The Whitney rejected their offer. According to a 1978 profile, Joseph's art practice "ma eracism, war, and sexism his principal pictorial concerns". One study links him to the

Black Arts Movement The Black Arts Movement (BAM) was an African American-led art movement that was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Through activism and art, BAM created new cultural institutions and conveyed a message of black pride. The movement expanded from ...

. Joseph strongly opposed the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Paintings including ''Isaiah II:4'' (1964) and ''The Playpen'' (1967) reject both the war in Vietnam and war in general. During the 1971

Attica Prison uprising The Attica Prison Riot, also known as the Attica Prison Rebellion, the Attica Uprising, or the Attica Prison Massacre, took place at the state prison in Attica, New York; it started on September 9, 1971, and ended on September 13 with the high ...

, Joseph and Andrews presented a letter to Governor

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...

suggesting a variety of cultural activities and art-based therapies for prisoners.

Art therapy

Joseph was among the first African Americans to join the professional practice of

art therapy Art therapy (not to be confused with ''arts therapy'', which includes other creative therapies such as drama therapy and music therapy) is a distinct discipline that incorporates creative methods of expression through visual art media. Art thera ...

, and is considered to have made a significant contribution to the practice. Joseph was the first African American to join the American Art Therapy Association. As of 1982, he practiced art therapy at Lincoln Hospital and was on staff at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Publications

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Notes

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Cliff 1922 births 2020 deaths People from Panama City Pratt Institute alumni Art therapists African Americans in New York City American activists Artists from New York City Panamanian emigrants to the United States