BOZRAH,
JAMES BROOKS
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about the artist
"Bozrah." James Brooks.
James Brooks’ “Bozrah” fits nicely into the category of Abstract Expressionism — a painting movement developed in the decades following World War II. Abstract Expressionists like Brooks attempted to capture emotion through gestural brush-strokes and spontaneous movement across the canvas.
more works by influential abstract expressionists
Brooks went through a number of stages throughout his career to reach the Expressionist style he found with works like “Bozrah” in the 1960s and onward. During the Great Depression, his murals and paintings with the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) — which worked to employ artists during the economic crisis — were realistic. At the time, Brooks’ paintings and murals were realistic. During WWII, too, Brooks painted realistic scenes of army life as a combat artist in Egypt and the Near East.
"Convergence." Jackson Pollock.
"Combat." Lee Krasner.
Gansevoort Street.
Willem de Kooning
"Orange and Black Wall." Franz Kline
By the 1950s, he had found the style he became famous for. But throughout his diverse career, Brooks’ primary subject and interest was always color — what happens on the surface of the painting. In Hebrew, “Bozrah” means sheepfold and Brooks’ painting seems to fold the bright vibrant blue and green with its white lines and general movement and chaos. It is probably no coincidence that some interpretations of the Bible see the city of Bozrah in Jordan as the site of the end times and deliverance to the Lord. “Bozrah” seems to represent the sort of chaotic movement of color and surface experimentation that Brooks prioritized throughout his later career.
more work by james brooks
"Untitled (Study for a downed plane)." James Brooks. 1944.
"Untitled." James Brooks. 1953.
"Bowditch." James Brooks. 1974.
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It might just look like splotches and scribbles, but it is so much more. Watch this short doc about what makes abstract expressionism, known at the time as the New York Movement, so important in art history. Think about how the movement's philosophy might apply to "Bozrah."
A community organization in East Hampton, NY is spearheading efforts to preserve the longtime home and studio of Brooks and his wife and fellow artist Charlotte Park. Watch this video for insight into their secluded life and artistic inspirations during their time in the home from the late-1950s onward.
There is no written or known reason for why James Brooks named this piece "Bozrah," but we can look to the historical and biblical significance of the name for ways of understanding the piece. Here is a traditional American hymn exploring the biblical view of Bozrah as a place for the end times and a site of deliverance to the Lord.