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Questions and Answers
What book did WEB DuBois write that introduced his theory of double consciousness?
The Souls of Black Folk
What was the name of the book for which Aaron Douglas did illustrations titled God's ________?
Trombone
Who focused on creating art that combined African aesthetics with traditional still life in Fetiche et Fleurs?
Norman Lewis explored abstract expressionism after heavily studying figurative abstraction.
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Match the following artists with their respective artworks:
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Which art movement highlighted pessimism and darkness in the 1940's - 1950's?
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Abstract Expressionism focused more on using paint itself to express feeling rather than telling a story.
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Who were some of the first artists to pioneer Abstract Expressionism in the Black community?
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Beauford Delaney was fascinated with urban street scenes, using impasto, which is a style of painting that uses thick ridges of paint which makes the work more ________.
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Match the artist with their artwork:
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What is Adrian Piper's purpose in her work?
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Martin Puryear's sculptures often reflect his experiences abroad.
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Which artist challenges the definition of art in their work?
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Lorna Simpson's practice is centered around the power of __________ on labels.
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Match the artist with their focus or style:
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What is Kerry James Marshall best known for?
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In which year was Glenn Ligon's piece 'Untitled (I Am a Man)' created?
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Mario Moore primarily works in oil-based painting, sketching, sculpture, bronze, and ______ art.
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Match the artist with their notable work:
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Study Notes
The Jazz Age and the New Negro Movement
- The 1920s: a time of cultural and artistic growth, marked by the Jazz Age, Prohibition, the Great Migration, and the New Negro Movement
- Alain Locke, a cultural theorist, writes "The Souls of Black Folk" (1907), introducing the concept of double consciousness: the psychological and emotional angst of balancing two cultural heritages and environments
Aaron Douglas
- Discarded realism for abstraction, focusing on Egyptian forms and the depiction of the black body and experience
- Illustrated "God's Trombone" (1927), a book of seven Negro sermons in verse, which showcased his style
- Used silhouetted profiles, single colors, and a range of tones from light to dark
Palmer Hayden
- Combined African aesthetics with traditional still-life painting in "Fetiche et Fleurs" (1930s)
- Avoided predictable abstract designs, appealing to both African art and Westernized skill and form
- Painted urban scenes of black life, including "Midsummer Night in Harlem" (1938)
Archibald Motley
- Portrayed mostly family and friends, often focusing on skin color, class, and women
- Created a "visual rebuttal" to stereotypical images of black women as "mammies" or "Jezebels"
- Painted scenes of African American life in Chicago's Bronzeville, showcasing modernism and rhythmic patterns
- Notable works: "The Old Snuff Dipper" (1928), "Saturday Night" (1935), and "Bronzeville by Night" (1949)
Hale Woodruff
- Began as an editorial cartoonist and graphic artist, later exploring abstract expressionism
- Influenced by Paul Cézanne and Diego Rivera, whom he assisted in Mexico City
- Characterized by carefully modeled forms, clustering of figures, and vibrant colors
- Moved to New York in 1946, exclusively exploring abstraction
Augusta Savage
- Focused on sculpture, working in plaster, and depicting the black form through realism
- First black artist elected to the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors
- Notable works: "Gamin" (1929) and "Lift Every Voice and Sing" (1939)
Richmond Barthe
- Sculpted free-standing and portrait busts of African, Caribbean, and African American figures
- Often depicted sensuality and movement, with a classical style
- Techniques: breaking the bronze surface to reflect light, enhancing realism
Sargeant Claude Johnson
- Created folk art, including ceramic ware with art deco influences
- Focus on low reliefs with delineating contours, reminiscent of African masks
William Edmonson
- Began carving at age 60, using abandoned limestone to create art
- Believed his practice was divinely inspired, saying "This here stone... comes from God. It's the work in Jesus speaking His mind."
- Notable works: "Bess and Joe" (1940) and "Martha and Mary" (n.d.)
1930s America Scene Painting
- Folk art gained popularity for its innocence and expressiveness
- Valued for representing early American simplicity, appealing to modern sensibilities
- Critics favored folk art for its depiction of what an artist felt, not just saw
Horace Pippin
- Fought in WW1, losing mobility in his right arm, and taught himself to paint
- Painted African American historical events, biblical themes, and landscapes
- Characterized by symmetrical composition, flat colors, and a simplicity that conveyed a sense of hope
Abstract Art Movement (1930s-1940s)
- Art critic Clement Greenberg argued for abstraction as the absolute in art
- African American artists explored abstraction, finding a middle ground between abstraction and realism
- Characteristics: flat picture planes, visible brushstrokes, and pure colors
Norman Lewis
- One of the first African American artists to explore abstraction
- Moved away from realism, saying it was limiting and tied to a "Negro Idiom"
- Explored abstract expressionism in the 1950s, with long, detailed titles for his works
Jacob Lawrence
- Studied Alain Locke's writings and Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera
- Perfected his style by age 23, creating the Migration Series (1941), a narrative of the Great Migration
- Called his style "Dynamic Cubism," characterized by flat picture planes, visible brushstrokes, and vibrant colors
Expressionism and Surrealism (1940s-1950s)
- Artists painted for personal gratification, emphasizing emotional response over message
- Focus on pessimism, darkness, and subjective interpretation
- Surrealism: highly realistic, dream-like images or abstract, improvisational works
Abstract Expressionism (1940s-1960s)
- Emphasized the relationship between artist and materials, with freedom of expression
- Characteristics: thick brushstrokes, vivid colors, emotion in technique, and a move away from realism
- Artists: Norman Lewis, Herbert Gentry, and Romare Bearden
Late 20th Century African American Art
- Ralph Ellison's "The Invisible Man" (1965) exemplified the struggle for visibility and equality
- The Black Nationalism of the 1920s-1930s was rekindled, fueled by civil rights issues and pan-Africanism
- The Spiral group (1963) explored politics and aesthetics, rejecting the label of "Black artists"
- Post-Modernism (1980s-1990s): a movement without a central style, embracing diversity, and open to many interpretations### Faith Ringgold
- American artist known for her narrative quilts and paintings
- Works include "American People Series 20 Die" (1967), "Black Light Series #12- Party Time" (1969), and "The Sunflowers Quilting Bee at Arles" (1991)
Robert Colescott
- American artist known for his satirical and allegorical paintings
- Born in 1925 and died in 2009
- Began his career in San Francisco, California
- Used images from various inspirations, including African Art, cartoons, and advertising
- Paintings comment on race and discrimination in America, as well as artistic hierarchies
- Notable works include "George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware" (1975) and "Natural Rhythm: Thank You Jan van Eyck" (1976)
Jean-Michel Basquiat
- American artist known for his expressive and autobiographical paintings
- Born in 1960 and died in 1989
- Born in New York to Haitian and Puerto Rican parents
- Began his artistic career in the late 1970s with graffiti and poetry
- Worked against modernist aesthetics, incorporating popular culture and personal phrases
- Notable works include "Untitled Skull" (1981) and "Untitled" (1981)
Emma Amos
- American artist and weaver known for her prints and textiles
- Born in 1938 and died in 2020
- Moved to New York in the 1960s and became a member of the Spiral group
- Focused on reflecting her life, feminism, race, and the black middle class in the South
- Notable work includes "Equals" (1992)
Adrian Piper
- American conceptual artist and philosopher
- Born in 1943
- Began creating art in 1969, focusing on writing her autobiography and addressing race and racism
- Created conceptual works with typescript and drawings, focusing on the representation of Black women
- Notable works include "Vanilla Nightmares #2" (1986) and "The Mythic Being: I Embody Everything You Most Hate and Fear" (1975)
Martin Puryear
- American sculptor known for his abstract and minimalist works
- Born in 1941
- Creates freestanding and wall-mounted sculptures, often made from wood
- Works allude to human physicality and abodes
- Notable works include "Jug" (2001) and "Vessel" (1997-2002)
Alison Saar
- American artist known for her sculptures and installations
- Born in 1951
- Influenced by her mother, Betye Saar, and her father, Richard Saar
- Works often feature aspects of African Art and African spiritualism
- Notable work includes "Rouse" (2012)
David Hammons
- American artist known for his challenging and conceptual works
- Born in 1943
- Moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s and began making "body prints" in response to the socio-political climate
- Later expanded his practice to include installation and abstract works
- Notable works include "Untitled" (2007) and "Oh Say Can You See" (2017)
Lorna Simpson
- American artist known for her photography and conceptual works
- Born in 1960
- Began her career as a photojournalist
- Works often feature the power of words and labels, juxtaposed with photographs of individuals
- Notable works include "Stereo Styles" (1988) and "Source Notes" (2019)
Dawoud Bey
- American photographer known for his portraits of marginalized youth
- Born in 1953
- Works often feature young African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans
- Focused on conveying individuality and group identity
- Notable works include "A Young Man Resting on an Exercise Bike, Amityville, NY" (1988) and "Combing Hair, Syracuse, N.Y." (1986)
Barkley Hendricks
- American artist known for his portraits of African Americans
- Interviews acquaintances and friends to capture their attitude and style
- Works often feature a single figure against a solid background
- Notable works include "Lawdy Mama" (1969) and "Yocks" (1975)
Simone Leigh
- American artist known for her sculptures and installations focused on Black feminist thought
- Combine the female body with domestic vessels or architectural elements
- Often works with bronze or clay structures
- Incorporates aspects of the African Diaspora
- Notable works include "Brick House" (2019) and "Last Garment" (2022)
Roy DeCarava
- American photographer known for his depictions of modern Black life in Harlem
- Combined formal acuity with an intimate and human treatment of his subject matter
- Works often feature a vast use of space and tone
- Notable works include "Jimmy Garrison" (1961) and "Progressive Labor" (1964)
Senga Nengudi
- American artist known for her sculptures and installations
- Studied dance at Cal State LA
- Created "fabric spirits" in the 1970s, which serve as sculptures and installation work
- Works often feature the physical black female body
- Notable works include "R.S.V.P. Reverie – 'B' Suite" (1977/2011) and "Performance Piece" (1978)
Radcliffe Bailey
- American artist known for his mixed-media practice
- Born in 1968 in Bridgeton, NJ
- Grew up in Atlanta, where he was introduced to the works of James Van Der Zee and Jacob Lawrence
- Works often feature aspects of the Black experience, rural South, African spirituality, and afrofuturism
- Notable works include "Untitled (Ancestral Tree)" (2002) and "Tobacco Blues" (2000)
Mickalene Thomas
- American artist known for her paintings, collages, photography, and installations
- Examines the ways women are represented in art and popular culture
- Works often feature rhinestones as a symbol of femininity and power
- Notable works include "Racquel Reclined Wearing Purple Jumpsuit #2" (2004) and "Shinique: Now I Know" (2015)
Deborah Roberts
- American artist known for her collages and installations
- Focuses on depictions of young Black children to depict aspects of visual culture, identity, and social constructs
- Uses collage to challenge the ways Black children are represented in art and popular culture
- Notable works include "The Unseen" (2020) and "SHANKIA AND GRACE" (2021)
Iona Rozeal Brown
- American artist known for her figurative subjects that embody a mix of African American and Japanese culture
- Uses traditional ukiyo-e print techniques
- Works often feature geishas, courtesans, and yakuza outfitted with Afros, hair extensions, and deep brown skin
- Notable works include "El Oso Me Pregunto" (2016) and "You Opened My Eyes Man, Thought I Had a Man, But How Could I Eye Scan" (2008)
Harmonia Rosales
- American artist known for her paintings and installations that focus on empowerment of Black women
- Works often feature Yoruba orishas and rewrite the complicated history of Black representation in Western Art
- Notable works include "Birth of Oshun" (2017) and "Creation of God" (2017)
Kara Walker
- American artist known for her paintings, silhouettes, and installations that explore race, gender, sexuality, and identity
- Works often feature stereotypical images of Black women from slavery, reappropriated with scenes of violence
- Notable works include "Grub for Sharks: A Concession to the Negro Populace" (2004) and "Untitled" (1996)
Carrie Mae Weems
- American artist known for her photographs, videos, and installations that explore issues of race, gender, and identity
- Notable works include "Untitled (Putting on Make-Up), Kitchen Table Series II" (1990-1999) and "From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried" (1995)
Kerry James Marshall
- American artist known for his paintings and installations that challenge Western art history
- Works often feature everyday Black life, but also experiences of relaxation and luxury
- Notable works include "A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self" (1980) and "When Frustration Threatens Desire" (1990)
Glenn Ligon
- American artist known for his text-based paintings and installations that explore American history and literature
- Works often feature the writings and speech of diverse figures, including Jean Genet, Zora Neale Hurston, and Richard Pryor
- Notable works include "Untitled ('I am an invisible man')" (1991) and "Untitled (I Am a Man)" (1988)
Mario Moore
- American artist known for his oil paintings and sculptures that recontextualize the Black body in art history
- Works often feature contemporary models and use realism to tell his narrative
- Notable works include "My Body" (2023) and "International Detroit Playa: Sheefy" (2023)
Hank Willis Thomas
- American conceptual
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Description
Test your knowledge of African American art, literature, and cultural movements. From WEB DuBois to Aaron Douglas, explore the works and theories of influential figures.
