Analysis Of Jacob Lawrence's The Migration Of The Negro

During the 20th Century artists began to challenge art and question the foundations and boundaries of artistic techniques and approaches. The main challenge artist faced during this time was breaking the barrier of realism and moving to representative art. Although, the creation of the camera made this change even more difficult. With this technological advance, anyone could buy a camera and snap a shot of a specific moment in time, without having to recreate it by hand. This was a very attracting concept to most, but also another impulse for those artists who were trying to break the artistic boundaries. Likewise, artists who decided to continue, or begin, painting were also looking to create something different that also evoked a specific

This approach to art was a common attraction to those who were seeking to challenge artistic boundaries, but still make art that provided its audience with a message. Jacob Lawrence, a famous African-American painter, was one of these artists. Lawrence was directly impacted by racial inequality, and in his most famous art series—Migration Series—he addresses the effect on his life and the life of those like him. In The Migration of The Negro, Panel No. 49 (1940-1941), Lawrence depicts the societal separation of races in a common place like a restaurant. The painting depicts a group of men, some white and some black, seated separately at a restaurant. Lawrence depicts the classes divided by a belt, in the left side two white men seated separately, and on the right side four black men in three different tables. The figures are abstract yet recognizable, as this is a representative work, but the abstraction serves to convey another emotion. The lack of details in each of the men’s faces, generalizes the scene and this allows the viewer to connect deeper with the piece, as they can imagine themselves in the situation. Also, Lawrence strategically depicts one of the white men reading the newspaper, while none of the African-American men are reading anything. This stands to show the popular thought (of the time) that all African-Americans were illiterate. Lawrence also control color to evoke emotion. The very dark brown—almost black—paint he uses for the African-American men’s faces erases all facial features. This represents inequality once again and society’s mentality that African-Americans are not important and/or should not have all basic human rights. On the other hand, the white men’s facial features are clear, and one of them even appears to be smiling. Also, the placement of the white men