the harlem renaissance

"the new negro" movement:
-inspired by W.E.B. du bois & alain locke
-great migration of african americans btwn WWI & WWII, trying to escape racism & KKK
-celebration of african american ancestry through culture: art, music, dance, writing, literature
-look back at african traditions, revival but also looking at the future, rebirth
-establish black art & culture as integral part of american culture
-energized by disagreements about black identity & national identity

• 1943 james a. porter published textbook "modern negro art"

the migration of the american negro, panel 1- jacob lawrence 1940-41
(during WWI there was a great migration north by southern afrian americans)
tempura on board
compromise btwn abstraction & figuration
creates migration of the american negro series
color & graphic quality
didactic point; storybook-like
cubist, futurist aesthetic, maybe advertise/graphic design
first black artist represented by NY gallery

les fetiches- lois mailou jones 1938
reclaiming modernist primitivism
as something black artists should celebrate
utilizing african interest to push for appreciation
for contemporary african americans?

aspects of negro life- aaron douglas 1934
for new york public library
WPA (works progress administration) project-
federal money paying artists to make art for public buildings
didactic progression
roots in africa --> finding freedom as african americans
use of layer & silhouettes
body in profile suggests generic bodies that are racially specific
graphic quality similar to jacob lawrence's

• pure abstraction might be a privilege of white europeans w already established reputation; figurative art still had a purpose; tell their stories