Richmond Barthé was born in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on January 28, 1901. Richmond was born in a hard time for African Americans. He demonstrated incredible guarantee as a craftsman at a youthful age, however as a Colored American in the South, he was banished from selecting in any of the craft schools in New Orleans, Louisiana, close to his home. At eighteen his area minister in New Orleans and an author for the New Orleans Times Picayune distinguished his capability. Richmond was eventually admitted to the Art Institute of Chicago, after struggling to get admitted to an art school. He began to study sculpture, which denoted a defining moment in his profession. After Barthe graduated in 1928, he opened up a studio in Harlem, where he stayed permanently in 1930. Nonetheless, ending up progressively disregarded by a symbolized world that had come to esteem deliberation an imaginative style which held no enthusiasm for him; Barthé moved to Jamaica in the late 1940s, and later existed in Switzerland and Italy before coming back to the United States in 1969. His career in Jamaica flourished, till he later decided to come back home to the states. Overall Richmond Barthe received many honors and awards including: Rosenwald Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, Audubon Artists Gold Medal in 1950, and awards for interracial justice and honorary degrees from Xavier and St. Francis Universities. Overall this artist intrigues me as I’m sure it was extremely hard to start off. He was born during the worst times in America, racism throughout his life and then leading into the great depression. I’m glad he was able to express himself through the art that he published. The first work I would like to talk about is Barthé's Boxer (the... ... middle of paper ... ...ructure balance of the sculpture. How he did it all from memory and made it look fantastic. The blackberry woman may not be one of my favorites, but I love the controversy it brings. How our world can be so cruel just because the color of one’s skin, will still forever intrigue and irritate me. 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
Ernie Barnes was and still is one of the most popular and well-respected black artists today. Born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, in 1938, during the time the south as segregated, Ernie Barnes was not expected to become a famous artist. However, as a young boy, Barnes would, “often [accompany] his mother to the home of the prominent attorney, Frank Fuller, Jr., where she worked as a [housekeeper]” (Artist Vitae, The Company of Art, 1999). Fuller was able to spark Barnes’ interest in art when he was only seven years old. Fuller told him about the various schools of art, his favorite painters, and the museums he visited (Barnes, 1995, p. 7). Fuller further introduced Barnes to the works of such artists as, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Correggio, which later influenced Barnes’ mannerist style of painting.
He has resided and taught in New York. I think his images and prints continue to reveal his practice and memories of growing up in the South. Not only is his subject matter about African American people, but more universally, people of all kinds - black, white, wealthy, poor, religious, northern or southern. As to what I found, his work has been portrayed as Southern, black, or radical, but I think he is above all an American artist. He draws on many different influences in his art, including his father.
Meta Warrick Fuller’s sculpture “Ethiopia Awakening” served as a metaphoric yearning for African culture, a symbolic image of emancipation, an awakening of African Americans diaspora identity, resurgence of Fuller’s artistic career and as a self-portrait of Fuller. The Progressive era, from 1890 to 1920, forms the backdrop to Fuller’s life and art. This period has come to symbolize the reform efforts of the middle class. White middle class progressives sought to reengineer industry and government, pushed for economic and social reforms. The Progressive era was also a time of intense contradictions and ambiguities. Race was the blind spot of white progressives. 1 At the turn of the twentieth-century African Americans continued to be caricatured and stereotyped as buffoons, servile menials, comic entertainers, threatening sub-humans which led to African Americans being objectified.2 When white Americans confronted African Americans in any meaningful way, they did so through the filter of a web of racist images that they placed over the black face of humanity like a mask over an actor. African American intellectuals understood that one of their central tasks to counter the negative representation of African Americans in art would be through the reimage of the physiognomy of African Americans. The task was an enormous one, especially since African Americans had only the most minimal control over the mass production and dissemination of information. In addition, the manufacture of products that displayed stereotypical and derogatory images of African Americans was particularly lucrative.3
...ce was recognized for his talent. Despite the primitive look of Lawrence’s painting the gesture are read and reveals a set of principles inspired by African-Americans. Thus, the modernist aesthetic of his art shows the critical faith of a people oppressed and striving to get ahead. Therefore, elements of his work and themes like man’s struggle produce one of the United States most famous African-American Artist of all times Jacob Lawrence.
As different as both artists are in their form and how they each create their art, they both see how hard it is to be an African American artist. Through their work they tell a story of triumphs and failures and the issues in the world for African Americans and the struggles they face. Even though Benny died in 2006, his work has shown how as an artist he has overcome many hurdles in his life to become the wonderful artist he is today. Hank tells the stories of what it is to be an African American in today’s world and the new struggles they face from day to day.
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.
born in Topeka, Kansas, and was sometimes referred as the "the father of black American art."
Jacob Lawrence is celebrated for his insightful depictions of American and, in particular, African American life. Best known for his epic series of paintings on such subjects as the lives of Harriet Tubman and Toussaint L'Ouverture, he has also created numerous prints, murals, and drawings. Among the latter are a delightful set of twenty-three illustrations...
Mooney, Amy M. “Archibald J. Motley Jr.” The David C. Driskell Series of African American Art: Volume IV. Pomegranate San Francisco. Copyright 2004
This shows that this is him and who he really is. People following his beliefs because he treated people equally and judged people equally. This is a big difference from him and other hip-hop artists.
He depicted the figures in his paintings with dignity and grace. He got his ideas from several different sources. He used repetitive patterns and a lot of different colors and designs which are commonly found in a quilt or an African textile. He made up to as many as 60 paintings, each telling a story, and the messages are usually of human triumph over oppression and injustice. Although his paintings often relate to the history and experience of black people, their themes are universal.
Watts, Steven. “The Young Artist as Social Visionary” The Romance of Real Life. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994. pp. 49-70.
When considering art work people see painting and sculptor however, her form of art work was totally different. Quilting is a form of art that most people look over in the industry. I also took into consideration her message behind her work of art which was tradition, African American heritage and freedom. Her most famous piece of art was “Tar Beach” which was chosen for my research. My first thought when looking at the quilt was of black history, faith, and hope for the future and family. It seems that the only way the family could escape from the problems in the world was to go on the roof top and gain peace. One significant thing I found out about this artwork was that it constructed from a book in which I read several times as child. Then to see it come alive in a quilt that focused on a new idea was very interesting. Seeing the piece for the first time made me feel warm and enriched. I felt that I could connect with the characters in the quilt already just because of the ethnicity and gender. Although, I felt that “Tar Beach” #2 the second creation of the piece did not express the same feels as the original piece. The background scenery of “Tar Beach” #2 takes away from the family and the message being expressed. One thing that is good about the second piece was that there seem to be more wealth and enlighten between the family and their
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
I chose to describe Jacob Lawrence because of the theme of relatable characteristics that each painting that I reviewed to brought to my remembrance For example the Barber Shop rendering from Jacobs spun my thoughts back to the simpler times of my youth. I would spend hours at the barbershop listening to all the stories and news of the day. Many of relatives had paintings similar to Lawrence’s style and looking over Mr. Lawrence’s work has a certain familiarity that I find comforting. Additionally, his attention to color, pattern and his detail research prior to producing a painting, certainly peaked my interest in becoming more familiar with the man and his works. His works were more recently viewed at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Nebraska at Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, and Museum of Modern Art (Phillips Collection)