The artwork titled “Berkeley – The City and Its People,” created by Romare Bearden in 1973, is an exemplary piece representing the art movements of Cubism and Outsider art. It falls under the genre of cityscape, depicting diverse elements and subjects associated with the city of Berkeley and its inhabitants.
The artwork is a vibrant collage that captures various aspects of the city through fragmented and assembled elements, typical of cubist influence. It features a mixture of historical and contemporary imagery, including ships, architectural structures, figures, and abstract shapes. The composition is intricate, combining different textures and colors to reflect the rich cultural and social tapestry of the city and its people. The use of collage techniques, overlapping images, and a dynamic layout convey movement and diversity, emphasizing the multifaceted nature of Berkeley. The representation of faces, everyday scenes, and landmarks within distinct geometric sections highlights Bearden’s proficiency in merging elements to narrate a collective urban experience.
