An Artists Perspective On Ethnic Art
Black people in America have been creating art for hundreds of years in an effort to restore a culture that was ripped from them, often violently. Slave owners did everything in their power to dehumanize those who were forced into servitude. They tried to stamp out native languages and any cultural links. This is why modern African American art bears little resemblance to more traditional forms of African art. This is a style of art that has emerged to celebrate the fact of being black in the United States.
Just as African American culture evolved to encompass many parts of daily life, including the cuisine, the music, and speech patterns, in its most potent form, African American art can be a shock to the senses and quite unlike anything else.
Earliest Forms of African American Art
Due to the bondage they were forced to be in, many of the earliest African American artists were untrained in the classical sense. Many artists were craftsmen who made objects which served a functional purpose but were also highly decorative. These include wood and metal goods as well as some textiles. Many painters did landscapes or portraits, developing a new style that had almost nothing to do with popular techniques of the time.
How African American Art Impacted the Post Civil War United States
A lot of African American artists from the middle half of the 19th century to the advent of the 20th century were still craftsmen. Many of them tried to scrape together money by performing any task that held value, including basket weaving, quilting and working as a carpenter. Some scholars believe these served a larger service than simply self expression. It is believed that some quilt squares were designed to be coded escape plans to let others know about the Underground Railroad.
How the Racial Inequality of the Civil Rights Era Shaped African American Art
Throughout the Civil Rights movement, African American art was enjoying a surge in popularity, alerting Northern allies of the poverty and harsh condition faced by those living in the southern United States. Colors became harsher, shapes more vivid as emerging artists were pouring their whole souls into a single piece. This was the most evocative period for a struggle between classes in our society. Art from this time period is also highly indicative of a yearning to get closer to more traditional art forms.
How African American Art is Influenced by Racial Prejudices and Inequality
African American art has always reflected the tribulations under which African American people have existed and continue to exist. Everything, from the type of art to its physical appearance is influenced by such things as institutional racism and cultural prejudice. Many paintings by white American artists of African Americans show them as not even being human. As a reply, the African Americans who are shown in African American art almost seem as if they are celebrating what it is to be black in the United States. Racial prejudice in this country has been, for too long, telling African American that they are less than human. A new tradition of African art has sprung up, almost as if to refute that.
Modern Examples of the Uniqueness of African American Art
This style of art has come a long way since its textile and utilitarian instrument origins. The signature of a piece of African American art s that it is not classically trained. Many of the colors and shapes are not subtle. They are in your face. Popular styles of artwork are painting, photography and sculpture. Many of the most successful African American artists blend the various styles that they have been exposed to into something that is wholly their own.
African American art has evolved as a style to be as large and encompassing of different techniques as any traditional European style. From quilt squares carrying coded messages about an escape to a photo of a sharecropper, all African American art is different from any other in that it evokes a struggle, and a longing to be free.