The Harlem Renaissance PDF

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Dr. Stacy Schultz...

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The Harlem Renaissance  Refers to an artist group mainly working in Harlem, NY who focus in particular concerns of African Americans  W.E.D Dubois- one of influences/ wanted artists to transcend stereotypes and embrace the “new negro” (elite/ intellectual)  The “New Negro” art developed into the Harlem Renaissance  Explored the civilization of Black Africa (connect their heritage)  The New Negro Movement (1917-35)  Phrase coined by Alair Locke, a Howard University professor and philosopher  1st appeared in a special issue of Survey Graphic (March 1925)  Movements zenith in the 1920s  The term ‘new negro’ used at the end of the 19 th century to devote social and economic  S  S  The New Negro artist  Paul Kellogg issued as a book, The New Negro: An Interpretation (1925), a collection of political, sociological and historical essays with Alain Locke was its guest editor  Locke called  S  S  S  S  Winold Reiss, Portrait of Langston Hughes, c. 1925, Pastel on artist board  Portrait if a poet, significant figures of the Harlem Renaissance (23 at the time)  Reiss was white (German immigrant), well known in the black community for his support of the New Negro movement  Advantageous position as immigrant  No connection to past racism  Combination of both his styles (Realism and Modernism)  Background references Cubism (style for his graphic design)  Sharp contrast in naturalistic portrait (more traditional format) ties to Art Deco  Celebrates the US in the 1920s  Aaron Douglas  1924- arrived in Harlem  Received tutelage from Reiss (influenced his style to a more abstract African one)  West African sculpture combined with European Modernism  Ma Bad Luck Card, 1926, Illustrated for “Hard Luck” by Langston Hughes in Opportunity, October 1926  Flat sharp outlines  Geometric outlines  Geometric forms dominate  Contrast between dark and light colors (Reiss influence)  Gives dignity to the figure (emphasis on facial features/ racial pride)  Similarities to Art Deco  Rebirth, 1927, from The New Negro  Evolution of themes  Crucifixion, 1927, Oil on board

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Monochromatic color scheme Working in shard-like style (Cubist inspired) Christ depicted but Simon dominates piece  Accepted Simon as a black Jew  Crucifixion a metaphor for their experience  Egyptian form- bodies frontal but head to the side  Soul of self  Harriet Tubman, 1931, Mural  Generalizes the form in order for her to represent all women  Fractures form and explores working with tints and shades  Compare to Charles Demuth (precisionist) James Van DerZee, UNIA Activist Documentary Photography  Self-taught  Documented; parades, demonstrations, other events relevant to the Harlem Renaissance  UNIA- Universal Negro Improvement Association  Return to Africa (racial lines in US too difficult to cross) James Van DerZee, Couple in Raccoon Coats, 1932, Silver print  New perspective on African Americans Palmer Hayden, Fetiche et Fleurs, 1926, Oil on canvas  Combined references of African and American culture (meant to reference two worlds)  African sculpture considered fetish objects  Work is fairly conservative (avoided abstract designs)  Paris- style changed from still life to depiction of African American life Palmer Hayden, Midsummer Night in Harlem, 1936, Oil on canvas  Depicts figures in stereotypical way- a way to challenge?  Highly criticized Archibald J. Motley Jr. Mending Socks, 1924, Oil on canvas  Focused on portraits of women (majority)  Really challenges stereotypes  Paternal grandmother  Exhibiting two types of painting: portrait and genre  Viewer left questioning who does the interior belong to?  Crucifix important (source of strength)  Should African Americans assimilate? Archibald J. Motley Jr., The Octoroon Girl, 1925, Oil on canvas  Octoroon- tern used to refer to being 1/8th black  Considered his best portrait  Showcase relations between whites and blacks in Louisiana  White-skinned African Americans shown in middle-class settings Archibald J. Motley Jr., Jockey Club, 1929, Oil on canvas  Club in Paris (focus in the outside)  International crowd  Setting the scene  Citified images of African Americans (rise of Urbanism)  Contrast between black and white figures Meta Warnick Fuller  Interest in maintaining surface roughness  Motivated by rising racial consciousness

 The Awakening of Ethiopia, c. 1914, Bronze  Emphasis on the idea of change/ metamorphis  Liberation of racism symbolism  Showcase African heritage (negritude)  Negritude used mainly by Paris based artists/ representing African diasporas  Richmond Barthe, African Dancer, 1933, Plaster  Best example of sculptor showcasing negritude (concept)  1st African American sculptor whose work becomes part of a major museum collection  Emphasis on pride/ celebrate the beauty of the black body  Not meant to be a portrait but a generalized representation  Sense of curvilinear elegance  Sexualized depiction  Josephine Baker (dancer) embodied the term of New Negro in Paris  Primitive, exotic, and overly emphasized sexualized sexuality  General influence  Influenced/ inspired by Geprge Specht, Nobosodru, Femme, Mangbetu, 1925, from GeorgesMarie Ha  Source photograph  Richmond Barthe, Fera Benga, 1935, Bronze  Interest in negritude and the beauty of black women (white artist)  Conveyed to give a sense of respect  Tries to accurately depict every detail  Aaron Douglas, Cover of Opportunity, May 1927  Isolated certain features (sense of Forward motion)...