ROWELL: I want to begin our conversation by interrogating the very purpose of its central concern: the history and significance of the black visual art scene in Washington, DC, from the beginnings of the twentieth century to the late-1950s. As far as I know (and I hope you will correct me if I am misreading the current intellectual or academic scene), no one has written and published a thorough or detailed book-length history focusing exclusively on DC-MD (or just Washington alone) and, especially, on Howard University as sites that have made an indelible impact on the development of American visual art—especially its African American component. This absence is a major problem. Will you comment on the need and importance of such a history? What would you argue are some of the subjects and issues such a book-length history must address?

中文翻译：

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Talking Howard University, DC-MD, and Visual Art: A Conversation with Floyd Coleman

罗威尔：我想通过询问其核心关注的目的来开始我们的对话：从 20 世纪初到 1950 年代后期，华盛顿特区黑人视觉艺术界的历史和意义。据我所知（如果我误读了当前的知识分子或学术界，我希望你能纠正我），没有人写过和出版过一本彻底或详细的书长历史，专门关注 DC-MD（或仅华盛顿） )，尤其是霍华德大学，这些网站对美国视觉艺术的发展产生了不可磨灭的影响——尤其是它的非裔美国人部分。这种缺席是一个主要问题。您会评论这样一段历史的必要性和重要性吗？您认为这样一部长篇历史必须解决的一些主题和问题是什么？