Essay on Portraying the New Negro in Art - 1388 Words

During the late 19th and 20th centuries Blacks in America were debating on the proper way to define and present the Negro to America. Leaders such as Alain Lock, W.E.B. Dubois, Marcus Garvey, and Tuskegee University founder Booker T. Washington all had ideas of a New Negros who was intellectually smart, politically astute, and contributors to society in trade work. All four influential leaders wrote essays to this point of the new Negro and their representations in art and life. In â€Å"Art or Propaganda†, Locke pleas not for corrupt or overly cultured art but for art free to serve its own ends, free to choose either group expression or individualistic expression.† (National Humanities Center) In W.E.B. Du Bois speech Criteria for Negro†¦show more content†¦A notable artist Archibald Motley Jr. sought to challenge this theory by creating portraits of cinema and minstrel characters. Motley did not feel his depiction of Black culture should be limited to a singl e body of â€Å"Middle Class† intellectuals to come to a decision on if it’s proper look for Blacks in America. (Colored Pictures) Motley sought to create a variety of African American images. Motley, a Du Boisians, called for a broader view of Blacks in America. Artists as James Porter disagreed with that view felt Negros should be seen one way. Often considered Father of African-American Art History, James Porter sought to create positive images of blacks by only showing them in a morally upright ways and situations. Alain Lock and Porter had disagreeing views for the image of the New Negro. James Porter criticizes how Motley depicts the African American Negro. Porter believes that with artists such as Motley depicting negative stereotypes of the New Negro would promote a bad image. Porter openly opposed Motley with this statement like†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"His Midsummer Night in Harlem is like one of those ludicrous billboards that once were plastered on public buildings to advertise the black-face minstrels.† Ive always wanted to paint my people just the way they were. (Archibald Motley, Jr. 1978). Archibald Motley, Jr. (1891-1981) a highly acclaimed African American artist created portraits with themes depictingShow MoreRelated The Role of Female African American Sculptors in the Harlem Renaissance1689 Words   |  7 Pagestime of global appreciation for the black culture, was a door opening for African American women. Until then, African Americans, let alone African American women, were neither respected nor recognized in the artistic world. During this time of this New Negro Movement, women sculptors were able to connect their heritages with the present issues in America. There is an abundance of culture and history to be learned from these sculptures because the artists creatively intertwine both. Meta Warrick FullerRead MoreJohn Altoon s Jazz Players From 19501396 Words   |  6 Pagesan oil on Masonite painting located in the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach, Californi a. Altoon’s piece conveys a sense of art deco style with his use of bold contour line outlining geometric shapes along with his use of strong saturated colors. Altoon’s Jazz Players reflects Modernism by exemplifying cubism as well as Harlem Renaissance art through the use of angular, geometric shapes and the depiction of the â€Å"New Negro.† John Altoon was born in 1925 in Los Angeles and died in 1969 atRead MoreThe Art Of Jacob Lawrence And The Harlem Renaissance1192 Words   |  5 PagesJacob Lawrence Jacob Lawrences was born in 1917 and was an acclaimed African-American artist known for his detailed works that included the Migration Series and the War Series (Duggleby 7). His style consisted of water-based paintings portraying African-Americans life experiences in blacks and browns mixed with many bright and bold colors. Lawrence’s inspirations were based on Black Aesthetics and lives of black historical figures. The painting The Library was created in 1969. The library in theRead MoreImpact Of Langston Hughess Contribution To Harlem Renaissance1697 Words   |  7 PagesLangston Hughes contribution to Harlem Renaissance Harlem was founded back in the 17th century as a Dutch outpost. Harlem adjoins New York City and host a large population of the African American Community. The blacks found New York City to be more accommodative to their culture and ideologies, during the great migration of the early 1900s, Harlem became the major destination and it became home to many African Americans. [1] Harlem received over time, Harlem developed from a farming village to becomeRead MoreThe Effects Of Harlem Renaissance On The Street Branch Of The New York Public Library983 Words   |  4 Pages...Our problem is to conceive, develop, establish an art era. Not white art painting black...let s bare our arms and plunge them deep through laughter, through pain, through sorrow, through hope, through disappointment, into the very depths of the souls of our people and drag forth material crude, rough, neglected. Then let s sing it, dance it, write it, paint it. Let s do the impossible. Let s create something transcend entally material, mystically objective. Earthy. Spiritually earthy. DynamicRead MoreLangston Hughes : The Black Writers Of The Harlem Renaissance1488 Words   |  6 Pagesearly twentieth century, many blacks who lived in the South moved to the North to find a better way of life. Many families landed in Harlem, New York and the neighborhood eventually became rich in Black culture and traditions. The mixture of cultures, heritage and traditions eventually lead to an explosion of Black creativity in music, literature and the arts which became known as the Harlem Renaissance. As with many transitional time periods in United states History, the Harlem Renaissance had itsRead MoreBlack Cinema965 Words   |  4 Pagesalso helped voice the concerns and issues sometimes quieted and put down by political hindrances. These same hindrances that impeded on the Black Panther movement and were closely tied to political assassinations, found that they could not touch the art of film, which helped lead the movement to freedom by first moving from silence to sound. The Dutchman, written first as a play by Amiri Baraka utilizes imagery, metaphor, and irony to portray the whole of society as a machine. Baracka’s use and placedRead MoreThe Harlem Renaissance : The Rebirth Of African American Arts1708 Words   |  7 PagesHarlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural, social, and artistic movement that took place in Harlem, New York. This mainly took place starting from the end of the First World War until the mid-1930s. Harlem, at this time, was the center of the African-American culture, and Harlem appealed lot of black artists, writers, scholars, musicians, poets, and photographers. Lots of these artists had fled from the South because they needed to get away from their oppressive caste system so thatRead MoreAaron Douglas Crucifixion Essay1337 Words   |  6 Pagesartists were influenced and informed by the work of exotic regions throughout the world, more specifically Africa. African Art would influence much of the Modern Movements from the latter part of the Nineteenth and the beginning of the Twentieth Centuries. Much is said of the artists within the Harlem Renaissance, and how it directly reflects the influence of Africana upon their art. Often times, this work is neglected to be considered Modern if not in specialized selections of course throughout manyRead MoreFiction in Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe1477 Words   |  6 Pages One southern writer, William Simms, can be credited with the development of the view that Uncle Tom’s Cabin should not be used to criticize society. He stated: â€Å"The effort to create a moral argument through use of this book is a vicious abuse of art and argument. The thing cannot be done thoroughly. The book is made to yield where the fiction demands it† (Gossett 195). While William Simms did not write books seeking to correct any glaring evils, often he would lecture in his works on social and