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.
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4 comments:
I love the pictures you put up from Palmer Hayden. He does fascinating pieces. The Harlem Renaissance is definitely an interesting art time period! I agree that his paintings are award-winning artistry. I love how he used the watercolors and how he uses the African culture within the paintings.
I liked how descriptive and thorough in your blog was on Palmer Haydens life. I learned a lot about his life and his pieces from your blog. The artist that I chose has a lot of things in common with Hayden, which I thought was interesting too!
I liked the piece "Janitor who paints" because it reminded me of stereotypes that people place on others and how we look at people's social class and career differently depending on the information given. For example we see a janitor and we think that either he doesn't speak English or that he is uneducated. We make assumptions about a person based on outwardly attributes that it takes precedence over their inner qualities.
Thank you. it was a wonderful read.
-Pluto.
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