The Painter Noah Davis
Black folks, modern aesthetic and architecture.
Noah Davis, Bad Boy for Life, 2007.
I didn't know why I was so connected to Noah’s paintings at first, I just knew I really liked them. The brush strokes and the colors that he would choose. They’re just really fucking good paintings, you know?
The other day I thought about him and his work again, and I realized how much he focused on “black modernism”. The everyday living experience of Black people in America. Our homes and interiors, how we exist in our cities, (especially Los Angeles) post-war.
Man, I love that he took it there.
I remembered hearing him say in this one interview in NY that he thought of himself, a painter, just like a “urban developer”, with a responsibility and desire to build out the city. Real or imagined.
Anyway. We've been thinking on his work again mass this week. So here’s some of our favorite Noah paintings showing Black people in and around modernist arch and interiors. RIP NOAH DAVIS.
-Coop.
Noah Davis, The Forgotten Night, 2010.
Noah Davis, Single Mother with Father Out of the Picture, 2007–2008.
Noah Davis, 1984, 2009.
Noah Davis, Casting Call, 2008.
Noah Davis, Delusions of Grandeur, 2007.
Noah Davis, The Waiting Room, 2008.
Noah Davis, Narrator and Pauline, 2010.
P.S. One of our fav clips of Noah speaking bout his fav painting in his 2009 NYC exhibition - “The Architect” - a tribute to Paul R. Williams and the history of Black architects who beeennn here!!!
Written by Coop. Edited by Savannah.
#blackmodernism
Them “16 Modern Arch Style” Flashcards back up!! hoodcentury.com
YouTube!! HOODCENTURY TV
Yeah! and we got a pinterest now.
Yo, for the last 5 years, coop has been doing this thing called Hood Century pro bono.
Yall have been witnessing in real time, the most extensive research around black people, architecture and design as it connects to pop culture.
Help us keep it going by donating how you can.
Buy a product
Become a paid subscriber to our newsletter.
Share our work on social or w a homie!
Use #blackmodernism whenever you share.
Thank you to our 16 new paid subscribers - we do this for a living and that love helps mass.