Stress is not always a bad thing. In the article, “After a Late Start, an Artist’s Big Break: Michelle Obama’s Official Portrait” by Robin Pogrebin, stress is capitalized and woven all throughout the passage. The article conveys a “struggling” black artist that is on the peak of a very successful juncture. Showcasing the process of an aspiring artist, the consistency of her work, and the stress that comes along Relating to a black artist, there will be subconscious biasness towards the subject in the article. However the author is free to critique. Respecting the author for the subject he chose to write, he made subtle mistakes. For instance, when introducing the artist, he choose to announce her as “Ms.Sherald” when the reader is not familiar
For my research I decided to visit the Smithsonian art museum in Washington dc. The Smithsonian art museum has about 3299 art works on display for viewing. I was able to see many great works of art while the art museum. The trip was eye opening. I was exposed to different art techniques with varying use of contrast and depth. I noted the different brush strokes and drawing styles and how they varied between each artist. After viewing many works of art, I decided to compare Henry O Tanner’s painting “The head of a Jew in Palestine” with Alice Pike Barneys painting, “The head of a Negro Boy”
While visiting the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, the works of Archibald Motley caught my attention. Two paintings by the same artist are the focus of this compare and contrast paper. Both are oil paintings during the same time period. Portrait of my Grandmother was painted in 1922 and Hot Rhythm was painted in 1934 only 12 years later. Although the paintings are by the same artist and have similarities, there are also differences which make the artist’s work interesting. Portrait of My Grandmother and Hot Rhythm are two paintings by Motley that capture different emotions (aspects would be a better word) of African Americans.
Karenga wanted a black aesthetic to judge the validity of the artwork. He wants it to support the revolution and motivate the people about the better times to come. Black art needs to be functional, collective, and committing. It will be judged on two levels, the artistic and social, mostly social though. Karenga wants art to express his hatred for the white man and motivate others to hate the white man. He wants everyone to forget about the past and not let that effect how they feel. The black community has to leave the past in the past so they can focus and not miss out on the opportunity that is presented before them. The art needs to remind them of their hatred for the enemy and their commitment for the permeant revolution that they will fight
In conclusion I feel this artist is really inspiring, as his art gives a whole new look at life. That’s the way I look at it and feel as though he would too. He grew up in one of the hardest era’s for an African American and yet he still perspired, which to me is incredible. Overall his pieces give an interesting look on life, through a piece of metal representing life and humans. All of his artwork intrigued me and I was happy to be able to picture some of the pieces in person. This experience was truly different and I’m glad I chose this artist for his true passion
The exhibition is not too large as it only contains around eighty artworks. These works all have African Americans as the main subject since Marshall believes that African Americans deserve more attention in art because they are almost “invisible” in a way. Mastry is arranged chronologically, starting with Marshall’s earlier works and then leading to galleries with themes such as beauty or the civil-rights struggle. Mastry should be visited because it allows a person to learn about African American art which is underrepresented and underappreciated. The general idea or thesis of this exhibition is that African Americans have been looked down on throughout history and viewed as subhumans, or even invisible. Marshall’s exhibition is about appreciating African Americans and viewing them as what they are: humans.
Detrimental stereotypes of minorities affect everyone today as they did during the antebellum period. Walker’s subject matter reminds people of this, as does her symbolic use of stark black and white. Her work shocks. It disgusts. The important part is: her work elicits a reaction from the viewer; it reminds them of a dark time in history and represents that time in the most fantastically nightmarish way possible. In her own words, Walker has said, “I didn’t want a completely passive viewer, I wanted to make work where the viewer wouldn’t walk away; he would either giggle nervously, get pulled into history, into fiction, into something totally demeaning and possibly very beautiful”. Certainly, her usage of controversial cultural signifiers serve not only to remind the viewer of the way blacks were viewed, but that they were cast in that image by people like the viewer. Thus, the viewer is implicated in the injustices within her work. In a way, the scenes she creates are a subversive display of the slim power of slave over owner, of woman over man, of viewed over
The Negros Art Hokum and The Negros Artist and the Racial Mountain are well-known article written by African Americans George S. Schuyler and Langston Hughes and in which both of them argues about Negros Art in America. Both of the article were published 1926, The Negros Art Hokum was published One-Two weeks before the Racial Mountain because the racial mountain was a response to the Negros art Hokum. George Schuyler argues that Negro art doesn’t exist on his article The Negro Art Hokum, while Langston Hughes disagrees with Schuyler’s article and writes a response to his article and argues that everyone has right to be them self and everyone has their own beauty.
Black art forms have historically always been an avenue for the voice; from spirituals to work songs to ballads, pieces of literature are one way that the black community has consistently been able to express their opinions and communicate to society at large. One was this has been achieved is through civil disobedience meeting civil manners. In this case, it would be just acknowledging an issue through art and literature. On the other hand, there is art with a direct purpose - literature meant to spur action; to convey anger and shock; or to prompt empathy, based on a discontent with the status quo. That is, protest literature. Through the marriage of the personal and political voices in black poetry and music, the genre functions as a form
In the book, “Citizen - An American Lyric” by Claudia Rankine wrote about racial prejudice that the black body has been facing due to stereotyping. In the book, Rankine said the blacks are being judged by the color of their skin and not viewed as equal to their white counterpart. Rankine then backed up her claims by using descriptive imagery to create pictures in our mind as well as evoking feelings by citing various incidents to illustrate how black persons are still being discriminated against and wrongly perceived in the society we’re living in today. The purpose of Rankine’s use of her descriptive imagery is an attempt to capitalize on all of a reader 's senses and build them into something vivid and real in the reader 's mind that some
If he included black women with his color the results might have been different. For example, more people like sitting next to women than a man.The article is a little bias because it is seen through his own eyes. But, the thesis statement introduces the topic well and gets the interest of the reader. The article impacted me as a reader because I started thinking about if something needs to be done, considering the situation and the authors view on racial division. For example, the end of the article the author mentions a poster that says see something, say something in the subway. As if to say something needs to change.
...as been denied both the appropriate formal awards and informal kudos, as well as significant posthumous awards from the American literacy establishment. Perhaps there is no suprise here because the elevation of self-determined blackness, especially outside of sports and entertainment, is usually greeted by deafening silence from both critical as well as the popular authorities of the status quo. How else could it be? To achieve blackness is inherently a liberating act, and liberation is neccessarily disruptive of the status quo.
... model for how the entertainment and media industries depict black people must change. Despite the progress that blacks have worked toward since the days of slavery, society continues to give in to the monetary benefits of producing self-disparaging entertainment and media. It is not only up to the directors, editors, producers and writers to establish this change, but it should also be the demand of the people, or the consumer. If the images of black people in the media are improved the outlook within the community will improve as well. Not only will positive goals and achievements become more realistic for black people if the media outlets discontinue their practice of equating blacks with aggression, lawlessness and violence, but a greater good will also result for whites, which would be represented by a true autonomy and equality in American society.
The image on the left is of the Virginia Serenaders, which were a group of white actors that took on the guise of African American individuals. These actors were quite famous amongst the public. The poster allows the viewer to see the transformation from a white man to an African American man, highlighting the profound effect of “black face”. Moreover, it reinforced how society viewed African Americans, since there is a major contrast between the stature of the white men and their black face characters. The white actors appear to be sophisticated and well-kept, while their black counterparts appear to be loud and rambunctious.
Understand that although black women have the spiritual power to bring about elevation in the black collective, without the masculine energy and leadership of the black man, we will never build the momentum to move forward. This is why there is such a high conscious level in the black community, but no real progress. Not only are we accepting the feminization of the black male image, but we are embracing it as culture and entertainment. Art remains the reflection of human reality; however, art also impacts human reality.
Pollock (1980) begins her article by drawing in her audience in; asking how is it possible that art history does not incorporate any other field beyond the artist in order to explain the meaning behind their work. She then explains that her article is mainly about how she rejects how art historians are depicting artworks and restricting themselves in explaining the work solely based on the biography of the artist who created it. (Pollock, 1980, pg.58)