The Four African Americans Artist

William H. Johnson was a successful painter who was born on March 18, 1901 in Florence, South Carolina. Johnson began exploring his level of creativity as a child, and it only amplified from there because he discovered that he wanted to be an artist. After making this discovery he attended the National Academy of Design in New York which is where he met his mentor Charles Webster Hawthorne who had a strong influential impact on Johnson. Once Johnson graduated he moved to Paris where he was exposed to different artists, various artistic abilities, and evolutionary creations. Throughout Johnson’s time in Paris he grew as an artist, and adapted a “folk” style where he used lively colors and flat figures. Johnson used the “folk” style to express the experience of most African-Americans during the years of the 1930s and 1940s.

In “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens”, Alice Walker looks to educate us on the hardships that almost all black women face when trying to express themselves through things such as art. She delves into many sociological and psychological concepts that have affected black women throughout human history. These concepts and ideologies created a realm for mass exclusion, discrimination, and oppression of many African American women, including Alice Walker’s Mother, who Alice utilizes as one of her particular examples. The writing thematically aims to show how these concepts of sexism, racism, and even classism have contributed to black women’s lack of individuality, optimism, and fulfillment for generations. The author does a tremendous job of defending and expanding upon her arguments. She has a credible background, being a black woman that produces the art of literature herself. As well as being raised by one, Walker’s first-hand experience warrants high regard. Therefore, her use of abstract and introspective language is presented clearly and convincingly. Also, her use of evidence and support from sources like Jean Toomer, Virginia Woolf, and Phillis Wheatley, all produce more validity for her stance through poems, quotes, and even experiences. All these individuals have their own accounts pertaining to the oppression of black women and their individuality. Successfully arguing that the artistry plights of black women described in “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens” are

Many African American artists of the 19th century were very talented, prominent and successful during their careers. Through their artwork and artistic style some artist followed very similar but yet very different techniques during their time. For example, looking at the artworks of Robert Duncanson and Edward Bannister, the two shared the same interest in their artistic style and subject matter while also remaining to stay original. Both, Robert Duncanson and Edward Bannister, were well-known landscape artist able to capture

(2005). In D. Bjelajac, American Art: A Cultural History (pp. 37-129). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, Inc.

Society seems to change and advance so rapidly throughout the years but there has always seemed to be a history, present, and future when it comes to the struggles of the African Americans. The hatred of a skin tone has caused people to act in violent and horrifying ways including police brutality, riots, mass incarcerations, and many more. There are three movements the renaissance, civil rights, and the black lives matter movements that we have focused on. Our artist come from different eras but have at least one similarity which is the attention on black art.

Not long after arriving in New York, Douglas became acquainted with German artist Winold Reiss. He influenced Douglas heavily and encouraged him to look at African-American art for motivation and “develop his own racially representative work.” 1 Reiss believed that an artist should get inspiration from their own experiences and wanted Douglas to identify with his own race.

"...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 transcendentally material, mystically objective. Earthy. Spiritually earthy. Dynamic." - Aaron Douglas.During the time of the harlem renaissance Aaron Douglas used his artwork to take pride in his african american culture. All of his artwork conveyed one common message and that was the role that African Americans played in society. All of this was seen in one of his major artworks which was the “Aspects of Negro Life,” mural on the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library.

"The Negro wants to be everything but himself… He wants to integrate with the white man, but he cannot integrate with himself or with his own kind. The Negro wants to lose his identity because he does not know his own identity." (Black Nationalism 1962 Elijah Muhammad). In the 1950’s the races were divided, black people were disadvantaged in education, work, voting and other opportunities. However one man had a dream, Martin Luther King took a stand against racism and the Civil Rights Movement was born. A fight for equality to change the future for all people. Good morning, I am Stefanie Clark and I am here to discuss how art, such as literature, has influenced progression of the ideologies of the Civil Rights Movement.

African American music has evolved into unique musical tradition, reflecting the experiences of Africans in the New World. This musical tradition, however, has been influenced by African cultural patterns in profound and subtle ways. To define such a broad genre is a difficult task, as African music is not a static system of notes and beats, but rather it is a conceptual approach to music making. There are, nonetheless, a set of common basic elements that help define the genre. African music in terms of spirituality, community, and language have influenced African American music profoundly. Musical organization and syntax can be traced directly to sub-Saharan peoples in terms of cyclical

Being African-American and a writer was rare to say back then since many people viewed African-Americans as uneducated and illiterate. Till this day many people still see African-Americans as less competent than any other person from a different race. Throughout history we’ve seen many accomplishments from African-Americans, either it being in sports or in the educational field. I’ve never doubted African-Americans on their capacity on what they can and cannot do. African-Americans have broken many barriers and stereotypes of what prejudice and racist people view them as. It’s nice to be alive knowing and seeing how currently our president, Barack Obama is an African-American who ran for presidency and won the two terms he ran for. I hope educators and leaders of this country start shifting their views on Africa-Americans and stop downgrading them because they are humans as well and they’re capable of doing anything they set their mind to. May educators motivate African-American students and help them achieve instead of giving up on them and not seeing their potential. Throughout this course I have learned many knowledge from African-American authors who have shown the world what they’re capable of and their creativity in their writings. Two authors who I found very interesting while reading their writings were Nat Turner and Malcolm X. The purpose of writing this paper is to compare and contrast Nat Turner and Malcolm X of what I have learned from their writings and as well

The romantic era was a time in history that had altered how people viewed art, literature, and music, having its own significant style. Many people were known throughout the world for their contributions to the romantic era. Robert Scott Duncanson and Mary Edmonia Lewis were two important artists of the romantic era. The first American artist who will be spoken about is, Robert Scott Duncanson. Duncanson was a self-taught African American painter that was known mainly for his landscape paintings, but also for his portraits and murals. The following artist who will be spoken about Mary Edmonia Lewis. Lewis was known as the first “colored sculptor” in her time. In this paper, it will be discussed how these two artists overcame many obstacles

David L. Lewis presents an entertaining and thought-provoking examination of a growing cultural and social movement in his book, When Harlem was in Vogue. Although his title isn’t very extensive, Lewis cleverly uncovers a variety of topics related to this period in American history. Each topic is tied to starring character, ranging from Langston Hughes to Countee Cullen and Claude McKay. Lewis’s aim is to awaken readers to the influence of Harlem, Manhattan on the nation’s literature, music, and acting. He analyzes the roles of black frontrunners in the arts as well as the roles of white counterparts. Using vast amount of primary literature, author Lewis is able to expand on the idea of racial advancement through the arts, the major characters and motivations behind it, and its role in American culture. This task may seem daunting, but the author excels in engaging readers into a vivid account of the lives of black artists in early twentieth century.

African and American Music: Two Distinctive Journeys of Pleasure African music has been one of the most interesting topics in the music world. Unlike any other culture, music in Africa is a way of life. Throughout its rich and evolving history, music has always played a crucial role in the African culture. Consequently, music in the African society allows outsiders to gain an insight into the different aspects of their culture and the norms of the society. American music is rich in history and tradition, but it takes a different path compared to the African one.

In the nineteenth century, European countries expanded their interest in foreign music globally. Through world fairs like the 1889 Universal Exposition, cultural and material riches were displayed, which sparked widespread interest in exotic cultures and music, especially the Indonesian gamelan. Exotic music was ranked on a spectrum of exoticism, ranging from pure exoticism to transcultural composing. The term exoticism represents a non-Western object referred to as “Othering, where one group is discriminated from one’s own group due to self definition. Exotic music evokes “cultural and geographical Otherness” and should be perceived as different from home, both by the composer and by the audience.1 On the other side of the spectrum, transcultural transposing incorporates certain styles and conventions of another culture’s music and “merge musical elements that the composer and audience would recognize as our own with those of the distant other culture”.2 Some pieces, such as Colin McPhee’s Tabuh-Tabuhan, were easier to place on the spectrum, while others, such as Benjamin Britten’s opera Death in Venice, were harder to decide. Through the characteristics, and overall purpose of the opera, although Britten integrates exotic gamelan music in Death in Venice to represent homosexuality, which was prohibited in English society, Death in

Art is something that can only be achieved with the manipulation of the imagination. This is successful when using objects, sounds, and words. Richard Wright and Amira Baraka brought the power of art into the limelight. Wright’s perception of art was for it to be used as a means of guidance, one that could uplift the Negro towards bigger and better goals. Baraka’s perspective of art was for it to be used as an active agent, one that could kill and then imprint society permanently. Baraka and Wright both wanted the Negro to see that there was a much brighter future ahead of them. Both wanted art to leave a stain, a stain that could not be easily erased, washed, or bleached. Both believed that Black Art had no need to be silent but instead daring.