The African American Influence on Early Modern Art

 EARLY MODERN ART AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN INFLUENCE

        Early Modern Art was amongst some major changes in our world. Movements, civil rights, and advancements were coming in one after the other. It is said that during this time "life was getting easier and artists found that they no longer required patrons to survive." (PNWFraming) As they didn't need buyers to make ends meet, they began to realize the freedom they now had within art. A modern art movement began where it challenged the idealized depiction that art was supposed to be. While now artists showed expression through color, non-traditional materials and other different kind of techniques. They moved with "things that affected them personally, subconsciously and in everyday life." (PNWFraming) 

    As this era was full of change, the African American influence on it was drastic. It was than after the Civil war that the artistic world changed. The Harlem Renaissance was a huge movement for African Americans as they traveled to Harlem to receive a better life. This consisted of new artists, music, books and dance which all began to be represented by their culture. Their culture had that huge impact as it was the "center of the subject matter portrayed through paintings, sculptures and photographs." (Trina) It also laid a foundation for their lives as they can become an important factor in the art world and the world in general during the early modern era. 

                                        Into Bondage by Aaron Douglas. 1936. Dallas, Texas. 

THE ART        

        Aaron Douglas created Into Bondage in Dallas, Texas in 1936. This paintings dimensions of 153.4 x 153.7 cm on an oil on canvas. The emotions felt from this piece consist of entrapment, discovery, forceful, suffer, and agony. You can feel the entrapment from the bondages that are linked around the figures wrist, and discovery as the figure looks up in the sky. While you can see the figures in the background portray the look of being forced, suffering and agony. Douglas painted this to address and show the fact that many African-Americans were forcibly taken from their homes. This was done as they "suffer terrible hardships for generations." (bjeisenman) It was also said that Douglas was working to change the mindset that African-Americans had no history or culture. Although this was a depiction of enslaved African-Americans it also showed a sense of hope. As the hands are raised in shackles to the right, you can see the ships in the background. While also the figure in the front looks up into the sky that is releasing a beaming light, this delivered a sense of hope during this oppression. This painting delivered a direct relation of influence on early modern art as during this time, enslavement was still used and this painting created a sense of addressing and enlighten on the topic. 

ART ELEMENTS

        This piece helped deliver a message through art to show the influence of the issues African-Americans face. While the message is strong, so are the elements of the art to help enhance it. The use of contrasting colors, linework, shapes, and space helped create this piece. You can view the contrasting colors lie upon the figures as the beaming lights from afar help draw attention to the bondages. While the leaves and the figures stand out against the beaming light. Linework and shape go hand in hand on this piece as you can see the curved, straight lines from the background and leaves. Shape is seen through the basic and organic shapes from the beaming circular and straight line of light and the organic shapes of the leaves. Lastly space is used as you can sense depth within the painting as the figure and leaves remain large and everything begins to belittle to the middle. 

School's Out by Allan Rohan Crite. 1936. Boston.

THE ART        

        Allan R. Crite created School's Out in 1936 within the Boston area. This painting is an oil on canvas piece with the dimensions of 76.9 x 91.8 cm. Upon first impressions of this painting, you can feel order, annoyance, anger, and chaotic. Order is shown through the fact that all of these children and teachers were female. Within these individuals you can see the annoyance and anger from the children. While chaos is shown through the large sum of children shown. Now, this painting is Crite's creation of portraying the "dozens of children leaving the annex of Everett elementary school, in Boston's South End." (SAAM) Boys and girls were taught separately during the era of Civil Rights and Harlem Renaissance. As such,  the Civil Rights era and Harlem Renaissance were in direct correlation with the influence of African-Americans, and this painting shows that. 

ART ELEMENTS

        Now this piece was created upon after the Romantic era, so some may view it as so. But it also "presents a universal statement about community, stability, and the bonds of family life." (SAAM) In doing so, Crite had to use many elemental art aspect to create this piece. You can see the use of line work, color, space, value, and texture. Line work is seen mainly within the background aspects such as the brick school and buildings, the sidewalk and the books and envelopes the figures are holding. Color and value all add to the texture, but contrasting colors, use of different values to their clothing and skin tones. Texture also is enhanced from those elements as you can view it within the silhouette and creasing of their clothes. Lastly, space is also depicted from the view of the figures being large and detailed and the background is smaller with little detail to create depth. 

            
                                Brothers by Malvin G. Johnson. 1934. Charlottesville, Virginia. 

THE ART     

   Lastly, the piece; Brothers by Malvin Gray Johnson was created in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1934. It is also an oil on canvas painting with the dimensions of 38 x 30 in. As I first found this painting, I felt hardship, fatigue, no emotion from the boys and protection. Hardship and fatigue is seen as they have no emotions shown within their faces and they seem tired and struggling. While the protection comes from the older brother being leaned on by his little brother. Brothers is a depiction of two boys in a small-town setting to show that Johnson spent some time between "explorations of modernist composition and 'racial art' as it paid homage to contemporary African American life and its ancestral roots." (SAAM) The boys are shown bare-foot in overalls with an angled picket fence that blocks inactive space. This all contributed to the influence of African-American on art as Johnsons career was based off of racial art and their life and roots.     

ART ELEMENTS

        As Johnson mentioned that he continued his use of modernist composition, he used his style of art to create this strong and beautiful piece. He used colors, value, texture, and linework to compose this piece. You can see the contrasting colors along with different value shades within their clothes and everything in the background. The background remained with hues of the grass and shading of the chair and fence. Texture is lightly used within the shading and lightening of the fence and within the grass to give that elements some enhancement. While line work is shown through the fence within the background through use of thick and thin lines to create definition and figure. 

MY OPINION

        In my opinion, these pieces all held a very enlightening feeling for me, as it allowed me to learn more and more about this era that was so hard but rewarding. I think everyone can relate to these pieces as everyone has dealt with some kind of hardship they had to let time overcome it. I do not think I'd any of these pieces as I believe they should be seen within exhibits or museums dedicated to the African-American influence. 

References:

bjeisenman. “The Rise of African-American Art in the Early Modern Era.” Bjeisenman, Wordpress, 5 Apr. 2014, bjeisenman.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/the-rise-of-african-american-art-in-the-early-modern-era/.

“Brothers.” Google Arts & Culture, Google, 2024, artsandculture.google.com/asset/brothers-malvin-gray-johnson/fgGlEaqvEcgi0Q?hl=en.

“Into Bondage, 1936.” National Gallery of Art, 2024, www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.166444.html#overview.

“Brothers.” Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2024, americanart.si.edu/artwork/brothers-11518.

“Early Modern Art.” Northwest Framing, 5 Jan. 2016, pnwframing.com/modern-art/.

Trina. “Come on Down To Harlem, and See How The African American’s Influenced Early Modern Art: Virtual Exhibit.” TRINAAJLEEE, Wordpress, 2 Apr. 2015, trinaajleee.wordpress.com/2015/04/02/come-on-down-to-harlem-and-see-how-the-african-americans-influenced-early-modern-art-virtual-exhibit/#:~:text=During%20the%20Early%20Modern%20Era,paintings%2C%20sculptures%2C%20and%20photographs.

“School’s Out.” Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2024, americanart.si.edu/artwork/schools-out-5965.