Spiral

Spiral was a collective of African American artists founded in New York in 1963 on the initiative of Romare Bearden, Hale Woodruff, Norman Lewis and Charles Alston. The group was formed in the context of the civil rights struggle, with the immediate impetus being the historic March on Washington of 1963. The artists sought to discuss collectively how African American artists should respond to the political and cultural shifts in America and what their aesthetic and civic responsibilities might be. The name "Spiral" was proposed by Woodruff, referring to the Archimedean spiral that moves outward, embracing ever-wider spaces — a metaphor for forward progress. The members debated whether a distinct "black art" existed, the relationship between abstraction and figuration, and the role of the artist in social struggle. In 1965 the group held its only exhibition, in which the works were executed exclusively in black and white as a symbolic statement. Although Spiral was short-lived, it became an important milestone in the history of African American art and a forerunner of the Black Arts Movement, influencing later generations of artists who combined creativity with questions of identity and social justice.