Early Modern Artwork

 Today, my blog will focus on the artwork of three different African American artists of the Early Modern era of artwork. The three artists I will be looking at are Horace Pippin, a WW1 veteran who sought to show his experiences through art, Aaron Douglas, who was one of the most prominent Harlem Renaissance artists, and Lois Jones, an artist and teacher whose career lasted about 70 years. All three can be considered pioneers of art in a time where segregation was alive and well in the United States. All three artists made a name for themselves and paved the way for many young Americans.

The Ending of the War, Starting Home by Horace Pippin 1930-1933, USA

Horace Pippin was a self taught artist from Pennsylvania, who also fought in WWI. His above painting, The Ending of the War, Starting Home, depicts a time from the war where he got shot and injured. While the overall painting is much more simplistic in nature than much of the artwork we have looked at in the previous weeks, it does not detract from the delivery of this piece of work. It has a lot going on, ultimately chaotic in nature. It depicts a trench with Soldiers engaged in battle, with explosions all around. To me, this does display his vivid memory of the event. The explosions and chaos of the piece can invoke some sort of fear or confusion. To me, it does invoke this feeling. The pallet used creates a feeling of foreboding. Dark grays and browns in the forest, and the light grays of the potential storm clouds above. I enjoy this piece a lot. I would love to see it in a museum dedicated to WW1. I believe it captures the tone well. It does not over embellish war as much of the art of the past has.

Let My People Go by Aaron Douglas c. 1935-1939, USA

The title alone describes the entire tone of the piece in itself. While slavery was not around in the 30's, racism and segregation was very much alive at the time. The piece seems to picture a storm, tsunami, and a man being attacked by men on horses. The people in the painting are shapes, silhouettes instead of detailed human figures. This allows the story to be told through the actions and flow of the figures instead of small details. Layering of colors is used to distinguish between near and far, the darker the image, the nearer the subject. I do personally enjoy this piece and see it as something that would be seen on a mural in a city downtown. The use of purples and yellows is something I enjoy, as I am a fan of these two colors working together. 

Les Fetiches by Lois Mailou Jones 1938, France

The last piece I will be looking at is a piece by Lois Mailou Jones, who created art from the early 1900's to her death in 1998. The work uses contrast and shapes heavily to make this piece come together. It has a solid black background and has many exotic masks, which Lois became familiar with while she was working with a costume designer in high school. This piece definitely showed the potential of the artist who would end up lecturing in many countries around the world. I do believe that the distinct style of this piece would be great to be shown in a school to show students a different way of producing paintings.

SOURCES:

Sailsman, Kaycia. “7 Prominent Artists Of The Harlem Renaissance In NYC.” Culture Trip, The Culture Trip, 11 Feb. 2016, theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/new-york/articles/7-prominent-artists-of-the-harlem-renaissance-in-nyc/.

Yau, John. “Seeing American History Through the Art of a Black WWI Soldier.” Hyperallergic, 23 Aug. 2019, hyperallergic.com/514440/seeing-american-history-through-the-art-of-a-black-wwi-soldier/.