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Influence of African American literature and importance
Harlem Renaissance the rebirth of African American culture
Harlem rennassiance
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Harlem Renaissance What does racial pride really represent, high art or folk art? Well, in the mid-1930s it was when the Harlem Renaissance took place and the question came into existence. High art is the art where high and strong vocabulary is used, but folk art is the art that celebrates black culture. There are many differences between high art and folk art, but there are some similarities too. So what really represents racial pride, high art or folk art? High art was an art that not many African Americans preferred. High art was not preferred by some, because it used high vocabulary that uneducated African Americans couldn’t understand. The vocabulary was way behind any uneducated African American person who couldn’t read or comprehend. For example, in document B, Sonnet to a Negro in Harlem, it states, “Why urge ahead your supercilious feet?” The word supercilious means to behave or look as though one thinks one is superior to others. This is an example of high art, because the word supercilious is a word that not many can understand. And this is why many did not prefer high art. …show more content…
Folk art was the art that many African Americans preferred to use.
Folk art was loved by so many, because it celebrated black culture, which shows “Racial Pride!” The art wasn’t perfect, but many African Americans could relate to the Folk Art. For instance, in document C, The Creation, it states “Then into it he blew the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Amen. Amen.” In this excerpt, this was a sermon based from a black preacher which used not one high vocabulary. The black culture could relate because it was a black preacher, and the Holy Bible. This is why many people celebrated racial pride as folk
art. Throughout the Harlem Renaissance, these two main arts were celebrated. Some preferred high art, and some preferred folk art. High art did not really represent racial pride, because if it did many African Americans would like it. Folk art was celebrated by many African Americans and even the definition said celebrating black culture. They both contributed to the black culture, but folk art was the art that contributed the most. In conclusion, racial pride is really represented well by folk art! Although they both seemed to play a big role in the African American world, folk art was the one that played the major role. The Harlem Renaissance was a time to celebrate the Black culture, and folk art did just that!
Racial pride was most popular during the Harlem Renaissance. Amidst 1910 and 1930, approximately 1.6 million blacks moved north to forsake the racial discrimination, but also for new opportunities (Background Essay). This is mentioned because it’s understandable to be afraid of showing one’s true self or to want to try something different but, the reason for trying high art shouldn’t be because you’re trying to prove yourself; that’s when folk art becomes the better option. Folk art really revered and acclaimed the African-American culture by presenting the lives and struggles of blacks during that time (Background Essay). While high art was also a good choice, it mainly focused on matching the white’s style and ability to say it’s able to be done. If anything, why not use a bit of both? The art would be beautiful enough for both sides (those who prefer folk art and those who prefer high art) to appreciate.
The art represented more than just sculpture. The art represented the social issue of racism by not having “black art” in a “white museum”. History shows us that black or African-American people have had a hard time fitting into this society because of the older days were black people were considered to be inferior to the “white
Between 1910 and 1930, Harlem began thriving with African- American arts such as literature, theatre and painting, and music. This era was soon known as the Harlem Renaissance. During this time racial pride became a very big thing among African- American artists, but the only problem was how to best show this pride. Both high art and folk art can give a good expression of racial pride.
as "the New Negro Movement" later the Harlem renaissance." The art today isn't really memorable
The people of the black culture need a motivating force behind their community. They need a black aesthetic to motivate them and incline them to support the revolution. The black aesthetic itself will not be enough to motivate the people; they will need black art to help them understand what they are supporting. The art in the black culture needs an aesthetic to get the message across to its viewers and allow them to understand the meaning behind pieces of artwork. One of Ron Karenga’s points is how people need to respond positively to the artwork because it then shows that the artist got the main idea to the audience and helps to motivate them to support the revolution. In “Black Cultural Nationalism”, the author, Ron Karenga, argues that
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement of blacks that helped changed their identity. Creative expression flourished because it was the only chance blacks had to express themselves in any way and be taken seriously. World War I and the need for workers up North were a few pull factors for the migration and eventually the Renaissance. A push was the growing discrimination and danger blacks were being faced with in the southern cities. When blacks migrated they saw the opportunity to express themselves in ways they hadn’t been able to do down south. While the Harlem Renaissance taught blacks about their heritage and whites the heritage of others, there were also negative effects. The blacks up North were having the time of their lives, being mostly free from discrimination and racism but down South the KKK was at its peak and blacks that didn’t have the opportunities to migrate experienced fatal hatred and discrimination.
2. The African American culture blossomed during the Harlem Renaissance, particularly in creative arts, and the most influential movement in African American literary history. Embracing literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts, participants sought to reconceptualize “the Negro” apart from the white stereotypes that had influenced black peoples’ relationship to their heritage and to each other. They also sought to break free of Victorian moral values and bourgeois shame about aspects of their lives that might, as seen by whites, reinforce racist beliefs. Never dominated by a particular school of thought but rather characterized by intense debate, the movement laid the groundwork for all later African American literature and had an enormous
The origins of African American religious music are directly linked to the Negro spirituals of enslaved Africans. One cannot research religious music of blacks in this country without first exploring these spirituals. The spirituals were part of a religious expression that enslaved people used to transcend the narrow limits and dehumanizing effects of slavery. It was through the performance of the spirituals that the individual and the community experienced their God, a God who affirmed their humanity in ways whites did not and a God who could set them free both spiritually and physically. These “sacred songs” were also used as secret communication. That is not to say that all spirituals functioned as coded protest songs or as some sort of secret language. The structure of the spirituals and the way in which they were created and performed allowed for flexibility in their function and meaning.
The Harlem Renaissance was an African American cultural movement that began in Harlem, New York after World War I and ended during the late 1930s. The Harlem Renaissance marked the first time that mainstream publishers and critics took African American literature seriously and that African American literature and arts attracted significant attention from the nation at large. It was a blossoming of African American culture, particularly in the creative arts, and the most influential movement in African American literary history. Embracing literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts, participants sought to re-conceptualize “the Negro” apart from the white stereotypes that had influenced black peoples’ relationship to both their heritage and to each other. Never dominated by a particular school of thought but rather characterized by intense debate, the movement laid the groundwork for all later African American music and had an enormous impact on subsequent black music and literature worldwide. While the renaissance was not confined to the Harlem district of New York City, Harlem attracted a remarkable concentration of intellect and talent and served as the symbolic capital of this cultural awakening. The Harlem Renaissance marked the first time that mainstream publishers and critics, primarily White Americans, took African American creative arts seriously and that it attracted significant attention from the nation at large.
... The Harlem Renaissance was a time of growth and development for African-Americans. They wrote novels, performed in clubs, and created the genre of Jazz. However, the Renaissance was imprisoned by its flaws. Rather than celebrating the unique culture of African-American’s, it oftentimes caters to what the White Americans would want to see and hear.
The Harlem Renaissance refers to a prolific period of unique works of African-American expression from about the end of World War I to the beginning of the Great Depression. Although it is most commonly associated with the literary works produced during those years, the Harlem Renaissance was much more than a literary movement; similarly, it was not simply a reaction against and criticism of racism. The Harlem Renaissance inspired, cultivated, and, most importantly, legitimated the very idea of an African-American cultural consciousness. Concerned with a wide range of issues and possessing different interpretations and solutions of these issues affecting the Black population, the writers, artists, performers and musicians of the Harlem Renaissance had one important commonality: "they dealt with Black life from a Black perspective." This included the use of Black folklore in fiction, the use of African-inspired iconography in visual arts, and the introduction of jazz to the North.[i] In order to fully understand the lasting legacies of the Harlem Renaissance, it is important to examine the key events that led to its beginnings as well as the diversity of influences that flourished during its time.
The Black Arts movement refers to a period of “furious flowering” of African American creativity beginning in the mid-1960’s and continuing through much of the 1970’s (Perceptions of Black). Linked both chronologically and ideologically with the Black Power Movement, The BAM recognized the idea of two cultural Americas: one black and one white. The BAM pressed for the creation of a distinctive Black Aesthetic in which black artists created for black audiences. The movement saw artistic production as the key to revising Black American’s perceptions of themselves, thus the Black Aesthetic was believed to be an integral component of the economic, political, and cultural empowerment of the Black community. The concepts of Black Power, Nationalism, Community, and Performance all influenced the formation of this national movement, and it proliferated through community institutions, theatrical performance, literature, and music.
Around the mid 1900’s in Harlem, black was known to be beautiful. During the New Negro movement which is also known as The Harlem Renaissance African Americans created a maximum amount of art that showed who and d what they are. They did this by creating poems, song, paintings, etc., But wonder which way was more effective to show their pride as a black culture, whether it is through “High Art” or “Folk Art”. When talking about High Art it refers to high class work that follows white traditions, While Folk art refers to does strong Negros who sees things at a different angle. Folk Art from the Harlem Renaissance is the most effective way to express racial pride due to it shows uniqueness of the culture, emotions, and
In the art world, the medieval periods were traditionally though to be the unproductive phase of Europe between the decline of Rome and the Renaissance. Our modern feelings toward medieval art are far more appreciative. The main intent of Medieval art was to express Christianity which was also a common bond between a wide spread and diverse Europe. For this reason most of the art found from medieval times originated in monasteries and churches. European art during the Middle Ages can be divided into four periods. These four periods include Celto-Germanic art which ranged from 400 to 800 A.D. and was important in metal work. Carolingian art ranged from 750 to 987 A.D. overlapping 50 years of the Celto-Germanic period. The period of Romanesque art spanned mainly the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and was an important period for medieval architecture. Gothic art, the final period of the Middle Age art began in the Romanesque period around the twelfth century and went on until the sixteenth century. Artwork form these four periods all consist of distinct styles setting them apart from one another.
When you where a kid did your parents ever tell you stories about your culture or about your family’s values? Chances are they where telling you a folk tale. Folk tales are stories passed down usually by word of mouth but often they are written down. Folk tales teach a valuable life lesson while entertaining the reader or in some cases the listener. This essay will give examples of three folk tales and go into depth on how they teach lessons and still remain entertaining for children and even adults.