Harlem Renaissance Art
The Harlem Renaissance established culture for African Americans for the first time in history. The Harlem Renaissance took place in America during the 1920s & 1930s. Not to be confused with the Renaissance period during the 14th & 17th century in Europe. The Harlem Renaissance setting was Harlem, New York. It was a time for African Americans voices to be heard. African Americans migrated from the South, which had terrible living conditions, to the North. It did not matter how poor you were, your art could still be heard. Aaron Douglas and Jacob Lawrence were the most famous artists of this time. The art made during this era represents personal struggles of this age and shows their place in society. Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence, and art itself made a huge impact on African American culture then and now.
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Aaron Douglas was an African American artist during the Harlem Renaissance, more specifically a painter.
He was the father of African American art. Douglas tended to use geometric shapes in his work, along with cubism. He not only did paintings but also murals. Aaron Douglas studied all over the United States. Eventually, he settled in Harlem, New York and was part of the new art movement. Douglas became famous overnight with his illustrations for Alain Locke’s book. He quickly became engaged by the culture in Harlem. Douglas captured the struggles and stories of African Americans and this is why he was so beloved. 6 years later Douglas studied abroad in Paris. Then, he was asked to paint 4 murals in New York City. He spent the rest of his days teaching at Fisk University. Douglas went on to spend his passion for 27 years at the University. Douglas generated the most recognized art of the Harlem Renaissance, making him have an extensive influence on the Harlem Renaissance art movement (The Editors of The Encyclopædia Britannica). But, an art movement cannot be lead alone, also contributing was Jacob
Lawrence. Jacob Lawrence was also a famous artist that impacted the Harlem Renaissance. Lawrence is a very diverse artist and did an array of mediums. He did murals, posters, drawings, prints, commissioned book and magazine illustrations (Sussman, Alison). Born in Atlanta City, Lawrence at the age of 13 he moved to Harlem. He dropped out of school at 16 and attended the Harlem Art Workshop. By the time he graduated college in 1937, Lawrence developed a modern style to his art. In 1942 Lawrence was the first African American to be admitted into the Edith Halpert's Downtown Gallery. His use of blacks and browns with bright colors made him stand out. Lawrence did have times in his career of more sorrow which was represented in his art, and really related to African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance. Once the World War broke out Lawrence was drafted into the Coast Guard, but after that he began his career in teaching. He worked at The University of Washington for 15 years. Artists during the Harlem Renaissance were the first to show the African American struggles (Biography.com Editors). The Harlem Renaissance was the first time African American culture was expressed. It embraced the art and many more aspects of their culture. It was the beginning of African American art, where they started to show their individuality and uniqueness. Artists during the Harlem Renaissance were the voice for all African Americans during this time, they showed their struggles and desires. Before this time African Americans were not represented. They started to have abstract thoughts, be motivated by their heritage, and have “race pride” (Hutchinson, George). It is hard to imagine a world without culture, because it is a natural thing that is not forced. Without the Harlem Renaissance African Americans would not have the same culture that they have today. The Harlem Renaissance contributed to the African American culture shown today. It was the first time their inner thoughts, struggles, and dreams could be reflected.
The Harlem Renaissance is a term used to describe the expansion and development of African American culture and history, particularly in Harlem. It is believed to have started around 1919, after World War I, and ended around the time of the great depression. During this time period African Americans writers, artists, musicians, and poets all gathered in Harlem and created a center for African American culture.
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.
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.
When he was thirteen years old, he moved to New York City with her mother and two younger siblings right after his parents separated. As a teenager, he took classes in the library in 135th Street, which nowadays is the famous Schomburg Center. One of his teachers, Charles Alston (muralist, sculptor, and painter), exerted great influence on him. Alston created an art school for young people called the Utopia Community Center, where an after-school art program took place; Lawrence was successfully admitted. When he was 16 years old he dropped out of school, but continued receiving classes at the Utopia Community Center. Alston insisted him to attend to the Harlem Community Art Center, conducted by the sculptor Augusta Savage. Savage arranged him a scholarship for the American Artists School and a paid position in the Works Progress Administration. Lawrence was able to study and work with notable artists of the Harlem Renaissance, like Charles Alston, and Henry Bannarn in the Alston-Bannarn
A truly exquisite work of art would both be aesthetically appealing as well as morally empowering. The painting Aspiration by Aaron Douglas achieves these two things. Aaron Douglas was a prominent art figure in the Harlem Renaissance, the time period in which there was an artistic; intellectual; and literary explosion that sparked a new black cultural identity. The majority of his artworks contain many central ideas from the Harlem Renaissance. Aspiration is one of the strongest pieces of art Douglas produced. When viewing Aspiration, one can observe that the painting contains many central ideas from the Harlem Renaissance. Aspiration includes ideas from African-Americans’ shared heritage and cultural identity, the progression from slavery
The Harlem Renaissance was a time of racism, injustice, and importance. Somewhere in between the 1920s and 1930s an African American movement occurred in Harlem, New York City. The Harlem Renaissance exalted the unique culture of African-Americans and redefined African-American expression. It was the result of Blacks migrating in the North, mostly Chicago and New York. There were many significant figures, both male and female, that had taken part in the Harlem Renaissance. Ida B. Wells and Langston Hughes exemplify the like and work of this movement.
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural revolution that happened mainly in Harlem, New York but also in other parts of America. The Harlem Renaissance took place from 1918 until 1937. The Harlem Renaissance was never about a single entity or event but the gathering of the best and brightest minds around the America. These great minds helped create one of the biggest cultural movements in American history. The work contributed during the renaissance helped future African American artist in the future. Many historians contribute the Harlem Renaissance to the beginning of the civil rights movement.
The Harlem Renaissance enriched America through its music. Countless African Americans became key figures in music during this time. The Harlem Renaissance was a time of African American expression in art, music, and literature. The Harlem Renaissance was instigated by the migration of African Americans to northern cities that was taking place in America at that time. (Hutchinson) The music of the Harlem Renaissance brought about a sense of equality among black and white Americans and was a sense of inspiration, which was made possible through African American migration and led to civil rights movement of the 1960s.
All in all, the Harlem Renaissance was a black cultural movement that took place in the North, particularly in Harlem. Many African Americans stood out including Langston Hughes, Marcus Garvey, and W.E.B. Du Bois. They were all different kinds of artists who were a part of the Great Migration. These artists traveled from the South and other parts if the world to the North because of the increase in black population and culture. Each one of them made a large impact on the Harlem Renaissance and changed black culture forever.
..., where his paintings grew even more popular due to their religious themes. His study in drawing and painting became beneficial to becoming friends with a renowned mentor, Stuart Davis. “In the early 1930’s, he joined the Harlem Artists Guild and was responsible for the drawing of cartoons that were to be published in Baltimore Afro-American. He formed the spiral group that dealt with the promotion of the black artists’ works, as well as, exploring ways for contributing to the civil rights movements at that time” (edu, 2014). His lifelong commitment to African Art, helped shape the way that African American art was viewed.
...re famous during the Harlem Renaissance were Aaron Douglas, Lois Mailou Jones and Jacob Lawrence. Aaron Douglas was an African-American painter and a role model in the Harlem Renaissance. Lois Mailou Jones was a female artist. She was born on November 3rd in the year of 1905. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
Occurring in the 1920’s and into the 1930’s, the Harlem Renaissance was an important movement for African-Americans all across America. This movement allowed the black culture to be heard and accepted by white citizens. The movement was expressed through art, music, and literature. These things were also the most known, and remembered things of the renaissance. Also this movement, because of some very strong, moving and inspiring people changed political views for African-Americans. Compared to before, The Harlem Renaissance had major effects on America during and after its time.
The Harlem Renaissance was a period of great rebirth for African American people and according to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, the “Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s.” Wikipedia also indicates that it was also known as the “Negro Movement, named after the 1925 Anthology by Alan Locke.” Blacks from all over America and the Caribbean and flocked to Harlem, New York. Harlem became a sort of “melting pot” for Black America. Writers, artists, poets, musicians and dancers converged there spanning a renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was also one of the most important chapters in the era of African American literature. This literary period gave way to a new type of writing style. This style is known as “creative literature.” Creative literature enabled writers to express their thoughts and feelings about various issues that were of importance to African Americans. These issues include racism, gender and identity, and others that we...
... 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.