Romare Bearden

Romare Bearden grew up in Harlem, New York, but he was exposed to various urban and rural areas such as North Carolina, Pittsburgh and even St. Martin, an island in the Caribbean. These experiences influenced his works, but the most influential area was Harlem. His piece "The Block" shows a somewhat literal interpretation of a city block, yet transfigured to be more figurative, with aspects of a collage and mixed media woven into the image. His family was culturally involved with current artisans of the time, including famous musicians, artists, poets and writers (among them Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Langston Hughes, Aaron Douglas and W. E. B. DuBois. It must have been very inspirational for him to interact with such intellectual creative artists, and he was very lucky to have those experiences to relate to in his works. He was unique as an artist of his time who did not learn from the WPA program, but his family was able to fund his schooling and expose him to culture that equally inspired artistry.

One interesting fact I learned about Romare Bearden is how he listened to jazz music as inspiration for his images, drawing from the silences in the timing of notes, finding rhythm and balance to apply to his paintings. This was very unique to me, I had never heard of this type of reference before. However, once I had read this, I went back to the image of "The Block" and re-assessed it, and could sort of see how that applied to this work. The way he placed each building and separated buildings from one another but tied them in together to create one mural panoramic image of a street block was balanced and yet haphazard at the same time;kind of like jazz. It creates a business and movement, while drawing the eye across the page so to speak, while simultaneously showcasing images that are jumping out at the viewer. I like the description in the essay that reads "the documentary and the fantastic weave together", because it is a wonderfully intuitive way to explain Bearden's works, specifically his piece "The Block".

Bearden believed that it was the calling of the Negro artist to study present day life and devote oneself to it, to portray it and yet transform it into an imaginative, figural, whimsical world. It shows pure creativity the way he portrays this in his pieces. Bearden's work is not traditional fine art; his collage style contradicts the elegance and formal technique of fine art. He uses this technique to show layers and metaphorical ideas and concepts that prove his intricate thought-process of developing the pieces.

Another piece by Bearden that is very different in subject matter and juxtaposition yet similar in style and combination of literal and figural representation is the image "He Is Arisen". The textbook compares it to stained-glass, which I had trouble picturing because I think of stained glass as being brightly-colored and translucent. However, I see the reference in that the shapes of the figures created by triangles and elongated figures creates similar shapes to stained-glass pieces, and the subject matter is the same as most church building windows; images of Christ and illustrations of religious passages. The religious context appears to be personally relevant and spiritually reflective of his upbringing and experience. He explained that he wasn't intending to portray a literal interpretation of the story of Christ, but rather to explore the concept and enhance the spiritual entity but portraying the subject non-representationally. The figures all connect, some melding together to form the figure of Christ, while the kneeling figure in front of Christ are translucent and Christ can be seen through their images.There is a sense of oneness in the piece, as though all the figures are puzzle pieces that combine to become one image, strength in numbers.

Bearden drew inspiration from a variety of cultures, religions, artistic styles and even historical times. He painted both religious scenes and urban streets; he as influenced by African sculpture and jazz music. This incorporation of multiple styles and cultures creates a new identity in his works, while still depicting a definite portrayal of black identity. In a sense, they embody Bearden himself, as he himself personifies the ideas present in his pieces.

Assignment 8 readings

This week I learned a lot about specific artists such as Jacob Lawrence and William Johnson, and I was particularly intrigued by Lawrence's artwork. I actually enjoyed reading about all of this week's artists in the textbook, which I found visually appealing and historically informative. Each artist represented similar themes, but portrayed them very differently. I interpret the works differently than the artist probably intended, since i don't share their history or experience during this time, but I appreciate their technique and artistic expression of these ideas.

Hale Woodruff's mural scenes are very busy, vibrant and chaotic. His figural representation makes the bodies appear to be sculpted, with careful dramatic shading and muscular exaggeration. The emphasis is on the body and severe facial expressions to represent emotion and evoke passionate feelings in the piece, which is appropriate for this narrative piece.

The black and white/greyscale piece of Robert Blackburn and Dox Thrash portray their figures differently, with less emphasis on the exposed flesh of the body and the intense facial expressions, but more focus on the clothed body and physical motion, such as in the way the arms create motion and facilitate movement. The shading is more gradual in Blackburn's piece and more exaggerated in Thrash's piece. The image creates a statement about a hard working man, dedicated to his job but at the same time having no identity, like a machine. His face is in shadow and his eyes are deep black holes, demonstrating anonymity.

William Johnson's piece "Going to Church" is an informative narrative and reference to the social lives of African-Americans in this era, especially interesting because it utilizes simple forms and elementary geometric shapes to create an accurate narrative that becomes a unified piece. The piece seems controversial because it's lack of intricate figures and formal artistic technique imply an untalented artist; it kind of looks like a child's drawing. Yet it is similar to the work of Jacob Lawrence, with the bright colors and generalization of figures.

Lawrence is my favorite artist of this week's readings, and I found the website extremely informative and interesting. Each piece was linked with textual embellishment which related all of his pieces to the historical events and personal experiences that led the artist to portray these themes and create the images in that particular context. The organizations described in the textbook were familiar to me because I studied them in high school and in college history classes, but this specific focus on art programs I found most interesting.

The one concept of this week's reading that i had trouble with was Greenberg's essay on Kitsch. I had a hard time understanding Kitsch as it applied in the essay, but I understand what it is, especially as it applies today in our media-infused culture. The language Greenberg used was difficult to comprehend and his terminology was hard to follow, but the essay read interestingly and it was very thought-provoking for me.

Easter weekend

This weekend was busy and hectic for me, I had a friend go to the hospital on Friday because she was having complications with her pregnancy, and she ended up spending the entire Easter weekend in the hospital-but she delivered her baby on Easter Sunday! So that was really exciting, and now they have a fun story to tell every Easter about what the Easter bunny brought them (a baby boy!). But up until Sunday we were on edge, getting hourly updates from her boyfriend about her health status and progression of the pregnancy. On Saturday, my boyfriend and I dyed Easter eggs with the kids I babysit for, and they got overly enthusiastic about dying the eggs. The older child, Heather, got so excited about the colors that she dropped her egg inside a cup of the dye and held it down with her fingers instead of the egg holder, so of course she ended up with dark purple stained fingers for the next 3 days. The only other funny story that happened to me over the weekend was my mom made us get up early for church, but my sister and I hate waking up early for boring church so we pretend to be asleep til she comes in &forces us to get up. This year, she tricked us &told us church was earlier than it really was, so we got up and got ready and ended up being there almost on time haha. I didn't get to take alot of pictures over the weekend, but here is a picture of the easter eggs my boyfriend and I dyed, and a picture of the baby.

Palmer Hayden

Palmer Hayden This assignment was very difficult for me to decide on an artist, because it was such a broad, generic topic and there are so many talented and unique African American artists to consider. I chose Palmer Hayden for several reasons. I was attracted to some of his individual pieces without knowing the identity of the artist, and I am always drawn to the time period that he created art from, the Harlem Renaissance. Also, I like that he paints with watercolors, because it goes against the standard of fine art, which is generally made from oil paints on canvas, or marble sculpture. Watercolor on paper is a medium stereotyped as amateur. Hayden’s pieces are far from amateur; they are award-winning artistry. Palmer Hayden was one of the first African American artists to use African subjects in his paintings, and I am intrigued by the way his subjects are portrayed in his works, considering they were among the first depictions of Africans as subject matter in fine art.

His first famous work was called “Fetiche et Fleurs“ and won a prestigious award, which helped him get recognition as an artist and got him exposure which resulted in his sponsorship in the form of a grant, therefore allowing him to study art in Paris. This opportunity was very influential to his works, and most of his paintings have French titles as their descriptions. His life is very interesting to me because he didn’t study art at first but he created a piece so worthy of attention that it resulted in a grant, and he was then educated in art in such a prominent cultural and artistic environment. He came back to the United States to work for the government, which seems like a drastic change. To go from studying art in Paris to working for the United States government seems like a dramatic lifestyle change to me. His work with the government was art-related, completing works for the Art Treasury Project.

Hayden's later works went back to using African Americans as subjects in paintings, and he focused on both urban and rural subjects, which I found interesting. Usually an artist chooses to focus on either one or the other, not both. This gives his body of work a developed, well-rounded quality. His first piece, “Fetiche et Fleurs”, was a pivotal work for his career, and is very famous for being one of the first paintings with African influence and of an African subject matter. It depicts a still life image of a table with a vase of an exotic plant next to an ashtray holding a cigarette and an African mask, sitting on an African cloth. I love this piece; it is very unique and depicts several elements contrary to a typical still life image. Many still life paintings portray a vase full of flowers, but this particular vase is holding an exotic-looking plant with beautiful flower blossoms. The table cloth isn’t set as to cover the entire table, but rather to show off the African mask and the textural design of the tablecloth itself. The triangular balance of the placement of these three items makes the painting feel even and balanced.

Another piece I liked was his watercolor painting “Jeunesse”, which means “youth” in English. This painting portrays beautiful movement, activity and liveliness, which are all characteristics of youth. I like how he displays the two main figures, as the center of the piece and different from both the characters on the left and from the other dancers on the right. There is a feeling of improvisation on the part of the main couple, because all the figures on the right side of them are dancing slowly, closely, and seemingly to a different beat. The main couple is dancing wildly, yet at the same time seem to flow into each other’s movement. The female dancer looks like a ballerina, with soft movement and elegant gestures, while her male partner dances jazzy and with more jerky movements. Their positioning makes them stand out next to the dancers on the right. The couple seems to be dancing to the beat of the jazz band on their left, while the other couples look like they are slow dancing and cuddling. The feel of the piece is alive and full of excitement. The artist painted with light, quick brushstrokes in some areas of the painting, and with methodic, harsher and darker strokes in other areas. Hayden painted from the perspective of a black artist who is creating a window into the lives of young African Americans in the Harlem Renaissance era, and also showing that while they enjoy their lives and take it all in stride, they still work hard and fight to make the world view them differently, as they should be seen.

In his piece “The Janitor Who Paints”, Hayden depicts a friend who is an artist but is seen only as a janitor, not as a talented creator of beauty. The painting shows an African American man in his home, with his family (wife and baby), and they look like a hard-working family who have a tight family unit. The man is painting a portrait of his wife holding their baby. The image shows that painting is his passion, whereas janitorial work is just how he pays his bills. Hayden himself was an artist, but also a working man who made his living as a janitor, but did not label himself as such. This piece drew awareness to the working class African Americans and also to the untapped potential of African Americans, to be viewed as more than slaves or the working class, but as talented and unique individuals who were also artisans, inventors, creators with any number of talents. Palmer Hayden’s art opened the minds of Americans in the 1930’s and 1940’s to stop undermining African Americans and learn to appreciate their gifts and culture.

Week 3 Blog Entry

This week we studied several different artists of various styles and mediums. I found the video somewhat boring at first but each artist had unique ideals and I got something out of each piece that I didn’t expect to. The first artist in the video, Bruce Nauman, was my least favorite, but even his stairway art was interesting, and I like the idea of a functional object becoming unusable and having to figure out how to make it functional..that speaks to the tasks of everyday life. I found that very relatable.

I loved Kerry James Marshall’s pieces, especially how dramatic his darkness of figures is; it makes a bold statement and also stands out in the image more so than a lighter shade of brown would. A simple shade difference creates a completely different image with a bolder context. I was very intrigued by his love of greeting cards and how inspirational he found them, because I love to make greeting cards for friends and family which are usually collages of photos of us, mixed with text and drawings that I put on a big board or make a huge construction paper card. I love how Marshall’s family members got together and shared their cards he made them, and it’s sentimental and moving that they all saved his cards because when they reflect on them you can see the pride and appreciation they have for him and his artwork. I love that when I make birthday cards and Christmas cards for my family they cherish them and save them to reflect on later. I find it much more fulfilling to create cards for my loved ones rather than get store-bought cards that are impersonal. Here are a few examples of some cards I made my family recently.





Marshall’s pieces are more than meets the eye in almost every piece I’ve seen, such as his murals of the presidents where their figures are severely distorted and little black dots on flowers are actually the faces of African-Americans. It is interesting to learn what images or ideas inspire artists, and how each person can retain something different than another person seeing the same image or feeling the same emotions.

At first I didn’t really like the hands pieces by Louise Bourgeois, but I also didn’t really understand their meaning. Watching the video and seeing her interact with the sculptures and explain what they meant to her and how they were to be interpreted really changed my mind about them. I could see from her conviction and constant touching of the hands that they were very personal for her and very intimate. When I first saw them on the stones they looked like detached body pieces that were kind of disconnected and dead, like the black stone. But when I saw them through her eyes, they were very emotional and personal, like the touch of a familiar hand or the interaction between family. I like the contrast of the smooth black stone on top of grey rugged blocks of stone, showing the elegance of the hand compared to the rough stone and the textural differences between the two materials. I like that the sculptures were made from her own hands, and how accurate the molds were to her actual hands. It made me want to make plaster molds of people, which I always thought was strange as art.

The other image that I enjoyed in the video was Maya Lin’s architectural piece called the three stages of water, particularly the ice skating rink which was made to look like the night sky with lit stars that you skated over. It is beautiful to look at from above, and I’m sure fun to skate on. I would love to go there and visit the site where she created this piece.
Another artist who I was intrigued by was Jules Lion, for several reasons. I studied daguerreotypes in my photography classes and also in other art history classes, and found them interesting as historical photography and as art. Strangely, in my other classes I didn’t learn that Jules Lion is considered the first African-American photographer. I was also interested in his work because there is so little known about him, the mystery is intriguing. I want to learn more about his artwork and his life.

This week I found so much material to reflect on so it was hard to choose only two artists or readings to interpret. The book reading was long for this week but it kept my interest because there was so much historical context that helped me understand the context of the art discussed in the chapters. I was surprised how intricate and meaningful the quilt work pieces were by Harriet Powers and Aunt Ellen and Aunt Margaret. For women who were considered illiterate slaves, these pieces of art speak volumes about their intellect and talent, as well as knowledge of history and an eloquent way to portray this knowledge. The fact that patchwork quilts were used to display secret codes for directions through the Underground Railroad is very clever.

Also in the textbook reading I found the furniture pieces by Peter Day and Dutreuil Barjon to be exquisitely crafted. I was surprised that these pieces were appealing to me because I don’t usually care much about furniture or architecture in these styles, as artistic works. The carving and design of these household items is very pleasing to the eye and they have stood the test of time because they are still pieces that could be found in houses today. My grandmother had some similar secretaries in her house, made with the same pair of facing s-scrolls design, but in a lighter wood stain.

This whole week I learned about artists I had not previously been aware of, and I enjoyed reading and reflecting on their works. I intend to go to the MOMA to view Kerry James Marshall’s murals in person. I was excited to learn that his pieces were currently on display, so I hope I catch the exhibit.

Art 13 blog 1 (response to op-ed article &goff's response)

I agree with Kelli Goff on many points in her response to the statement made by Harry Reid. I believe Reid may be subconsciously showing how his views of African Americans is skewed or that he is not in the loop of what politically correct terminology is appropriate, but I do not believe he is proven to be a racist by this remark. However, while this may be a small insignificant slip of the tongue for a random individual, it shows a deeper issue coming from a government official representing President Obama.

Goff said that he just used an outdated term which was exaggerated and blown out of proportion to accuse him of racism, and I agree. I think it’s a bit extreme that Michael Steele wants him to resign from office because of it. Yes this comment shows that he is out of touch with the African-American public, which for a government official representing diversity is more of an issue than if someone else said it. It does show a contradiction. However, I don’t think he is racist because he said this remark and I don’t think he needs to step down from office. He may not have an accurate portrayal of African-Americans because he does not involve himself in social activities with African-Americans outside of work or within a social context (although he should). I am not a black American so I can’t really speak from that perspective, but my personal response to that statement was “wow, he said that? That doesn’t seem like politically correct dialogue, but I think he just stated it in a wrong way”. I don’t find him racist, just out-dated. I feel that Obama maturely handled the situation properly and was gracious to forgive Reid’s remark and dismiss it.

In terms of race and representation in the media, I somewhat agree with Bell Hooks that we haven’t made much progress in the way we represent African-Americans. We want to believe we have improved our viewpoints and elevated ourselves from segregation and unequal representation, yet we continue to categorize and judge accordingly. I love the quote on page 6 that reads “it is only as we collectively change the way we look at ourselves and the world that we can change how we are seen.” I think this opens up the reader to personal reflection and also gives food for thought as to how and why certain groups and types of people are seen in different ways.

Undirected..crossword puzzle

This week seemed to go a little differently in terms of class assignments and how the calendar was, for turning them in. I had never done a crossword puzzle for an online class before, the angel system had an interesting yet somewhat confusing way of designing the puzzle, but once you figure it out it's kind of fun to do (I usually love crossword puzzles, I used to do them all the time with my grandma and grandpa). I thought that the hints would be clues to the puzzle word though, not just giving you the first letter of the answer! I think it would be more fun if it gave you additional clues instead. It was a new way of doing homework assignments for me though, and it was kind of nice to complete a puzzle this time instead of a reading guide. It's a good variety though. Did anyone else enjoy it or find it confusing? I'm curious.