Black art cannot be defined by use of color, distinct texture or geographical area. Black art is broadly derived from spirituality, struggles and victories as seen through the eyes of the artist in his everyday life.Examples of this can be seen in “Masterworks by 20th Century African American Artists,” which features a diverse mix of 12 great black artists.Associate Professor of Art Pheoris West describes black art like music: there are the blues and there is jazz. The music can be heard in the pieces of “Masterworks.”Jazz is playing in Jacob Lawrence’s “The Street.” The painting jumps off the canvas with vibrant planes of reds, golds and blues. The figure’s feet and hands curve, simulating movement. The liveliness of his paintings can be traced back to the brightly patterned throw rugs that survived the dreary houses and apartments in Harlem neighborhoods where Lawrence grew up, according to Joanne Cubbs, founder and former curator of folk art at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Ga.Then there are the blues with the untitled tempera-on-cardboard piece, known as the “Big Blue Man,” by Bill Traylor. Tiny characters lined up in a zigzag are dark and mysteriously proportioned next to the overbearing yet simple big blue man. Traylor uses several saddened shades of black and blue to mix excitment to the dreary colors.Some of Traylor’s paintings, with the simple stick figures and misplaced eyes, may look like something mom hangs on her refrigerator. Yet, Traylor’s self-taught work is quite humorous with interesting angles, shapes and proportions.Traylor is known to use distinct graphic mediums such as scraps of cardboard and old advertising placards that would have otherwise been trash.Like his paintings, Traylor lived a simple life. Tired of the farm labor of Alabama, he started his painting career in the city at the age of 84. In poverty he slept in the back room of a shoe repair shop and during the day sat on a wooden box in the doorway of a pool hall according to Cubbs.The exhibition was curated by Timothy C. Keny, director of the Keny Galleries in Columbus, and sponsored by the Ohio Arts Council and the Springfield Museum of Art in Association with the Keny Galleries.An opening reception will be held on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with live music by Raise Productions Choir and the Columbus School for Girls Ensemble. “Masterworks by 20th Century African American Artists” will be on view at the Riffe Gallery, 77 S. High St., through June 13.