Who Are These Musicians? (Black Heroes/Musicians)

On Guide: n20 Sculpture: Louis Armstrong Location: Cohen Amphitheater In 1998, Niki began work on a series of Black Hero sculptures, paying tribute to prominent African-Americans. They included jazz musicians Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis, who was born and raised just across the Mississippi River in East St. Louis. Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong are not only cultural icons, but also draw upon Nikis early marriage and life in Paris. Her first husband was a musician who was interested in jazz. The young couple was a part of the Paris jazz scene in the late 1950s and early Sixties. These mosaic musicians are fleshed out with stained and mirrored glass as well as tumbled stones, with gold leaf for the jazz instruments. Notice how the diverse sizes and shapes of the hand-cut mirrors on their trousers affect the textures and perception of color.

You can listen to Who Are These Musicians? (Black Heroes/Musicians) online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Who Are These Musicians? (Black Heroes/Musicians) is an episode from Missouri Botanical Garden - Niki 2008 by Missouri Botanical Garden.

This episode is 0:49 long.

This episode was published on Apr 29, 2008.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Missouri Botanical Garden - Niki 2008 when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.