Imagination as Method: Emma Amos, Art, and Creativity

Figurative, representational art is never merely descriptive. In this lecture, Dr. Rhea L. Combs explores how imagination and the imaginary factor into the practice of art making. By exploring the work of Emma Amos and other artists, Combs examines the indelible power of creativity beyond the canvas and looks at its impact on the artist, archives, and community.

Dr. Rhea L. Combs, now senior fellow in contemporary and global art at the Baltimore Museum of Art, was previously director of curatorial affairs at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), where she served as the curator of film and photography and head of the Earl W. and Amanda Stafford Center for African American Media Arts (CAAMA).