ART

African American Artists

African American Artists

Introduction

The history of Afro-Americans is a respected and a constitutional field of American history. In order to show black participation in the nation's growth and development, to prove the inevitability of black equality, or to demonstrate the inexorable progress made by Afro-Americans. It conducted as a distinct area of inquiry, within the discipline of history, with black people as its primary focus to reveal their thought and activities over time and place. As we approach the twenty-first century, the time has come to assess and evaluate the historical outpouring of the last few decades.

Ancient human beings around the world painted on rocks. The purposes of these ancient rock paintings are not known. Archaeologists often suggest that they were religious works, because religion has been one of the most powerful motivators of artists. Perhaps the depictions of animals, humans, hunts, and war were intended to make hopes into reality. It was common in ancient cultures to believe that art was more than mere representation of something concrete, that an artistic depiction of something made it actual fact. That is, the act of creating art was simultaneously the creating of reality. For instance, the depiction of a bird actually created a real bird in the world. Thus, the depictions of hunts could be attempts to make successful hunts reality (Richard, 1992).

This supernatural interpretation of art, whether paintings or statues make sense of some but not all depictions. It does not account for the portrayal of a gored man on a European rock wall, of people dancing on Saharan rock sides, or of beings that are half animal and half human found in Egypt, Africa, and the Near East. Some African rock art was used during initiation rites to tell young people about their responsibilities as adults. In Inner Mongolia the rock paintings may have done no more than list the kinds of wild game found in an area.

Discussion

The Harlem Renaissance Period

Harlem Renaissance is a period which is characterized by cultural movement. The era in which Harlem Renaissance took place was from between 1920's to 1930's. This period captured the tense situation amidst the African-American expression and the impossibility of expression due suppression of expression in the American society (Miers, 1994). This period communicates a time that was promising and full of hope for the African-American artists. Their attempts were taken notice of and were appreciated at a larger scale in America. This period of Harlem Renaissance was known as the period of Jazz Age. It was the time when African-American musicians created a unique musical form that gained instant popularity across America. The Art and Music by African-Americans was widely acceptable and was liked by all. The acceptance of the work was deemed positive, as it was the acceptance of the African-American in US. This era was also termed as the New Negro Movement (www.loc.gov).

The Concept behind Double Consciousness

Harlem Renaissance is termed as an era which consisted of the concept of ...