In the silent film era, cinema was an enormously powerful tool in influencing culture and shaping public perception. Though often overlooked, black silent film actors played a major role in the early visual medium. In his latest art installation, “Fade to Black,” artist Gary Simmons pays homage to these forgotten African American actors. The show, which debuted at the California African American Museum on Wednesday, features Simmons' signature “erasure technique,” in which the artist hand-smudges wet paint to create a visual effect of partly erased chalk. The technique,  which he's used in prior exhibits including New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, adds special relevance in his latest exhibit as he highlights the erasure of these pioneer African American actors.

                                                                 

"A lot of these film titles — and actors and actresses — have sort of disappeared through history. And I wanted to recall some of them because I think they’re the foundation of early film,” Simmons told the Los Angeles Times. “They’re an important part of Hollywood history that have faded away in certain ways, and it’s nice to have them back here.” Museum deputy director and chief curator Naima J. Keith applauded Simmons' “Fade to Black” installation saying, “it provides a nuanced history of black representation in motion pictures from the early to mid-20th century. History’s subjective bent is also a strong theme within Gary’s work, and the simple nature of chalk lends itself to his artistic concerns —especially in its suggestion of basic communication, the human hand, education systems and of easily erasable or altered information.”

                                                                   

Gary Simmons: Fade to Black' exhibit is free to the public and will be open through July 31, 2018, at the California African American Museum. Click here for a preview of the installation.