Strange Fruit Among Southern Magnolias Analysis

American historian, author, and educator, Nathan Huggins criticized the movement saying, “whose sensibilities, tastes, and interests were being served by such art, the patron or the patronized?” Huggins doubted the value or merit of the art in his discourse, “When it is racial, there is, at first, the suspicion that the patron values negro-ness, not the art.”

Kerry James Marshall’s work is informed by his deep appreciation for the history of artistic expression, and profoundly influenced by urban culture, the African-American experience, and civil rights. “What I want to happen when I go to a museum is that expectations of what you find in there are completely altered, so that it’s not commonplace to just see European paintings with European bodies, but it’s also as likely that you will see ... black figures, Asian figures, or Hispanic figures.” Marshal’s art references a number of movements such as Fauvism, abstraction, and perception. He also has a unique way of using of cultural symbolism and pictorial devices that are informed by his own experiences of the world and his avid collecting of artefacts from classical mythology, folklore, African and African-American history, film history, art, literature, posters and comic books.

During the 1920s there were were many new artists. Two famous artists were Georgia O’Keeffe and Edward Hopper. Both artists had very different styles of art. Georgia O’Keeffe often painted close up pictures of flowers showing tiny details. She used bright colors. "Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower," O 'Keeffe said. "l want them to see it whether they want to or not." This challenged the everyday life of Americans. In the 1920s women did whatever they wanted. The “Roaring Twenties” was the first time women spoke out and broke traditional beliefs. O’Keeffe painted what she wanted to paint. She used her own mind and thought of her own ideas. This was her way of showing independence.

In the case of Jacob Lawrence, his personal style brought the African-American experience to life using contrasts between dark and vivid colors. Nonetheless, two examples of some of his most known paintings include “ The Builders, The Family” and “This is a Family Living in Harlem”. While both paintings are similar in that they both show strong family unity in the African Culture, they are different in the setting where each of the paintings are taking place.

1)Hurston’s opening paragraph in “How it Feels to Be Colored Me” functions as a joke that aims to lessen the stigma around discussing race in the 1920s. The phrase “extenuating circumstances” is defined as lessening the seriousness of a situation and therefore reducing any consequence that may emerge from her controversial stance. Hurston’s assertion that her “grandfather on the mother’s side was not an Indian chief” is intended to bring humor to the African American tendency to claim Native American ancestry in order to raise their social status. Her sarcastic juxtaposition of accepting her color versus colored people distancing themselves from it creates a colloquial tone that illustrates her defiance of social stigmas and norms. This biting opening paragraph intrigues the reader and allows her audience to grasp the overall purpose of the

In “The Glass Castle”, Jeannette Walls details the conditions in which she and her three siblings are raised under by their parents, Rose and Rex Walls. Walt Disney had this quote that explained how he doesn 't believe in playing down to his children and that some parents attempt to hide things about the world from children. One may believe that Walt Disney’s quote about playing down to children is one that perfectly describes Rex and Rose Walls’ parenting style. They give the illusion that they portray parents who don 't believe in playing down to their children. On the contrary though as they are just abusive and horrible parents that abandon and exploit their children and disguise their horrible acts as early life lessons.

Society often forces biracial and multicultural people identify themselves with one ethnic group by denying the other part of their ethnic background. An analysis of the many scientific studies, literature, and art reveals the complexities of growing up with parents of different races. The tendency to prefer lighter skin effects how biracial children form their identities and often causes them to deny their black heritage. When specifically examining the painting Lightning Lipstick, by the painter Robert Colescott, and the scholarly article, “If you’re half black, you’re just black”: Reflected Appraisal and the Persistence of the One-Drop Rule by the researcher and professor Nikki Khanna, one can see how they

In 1971, Alvin Ailey choreographed Cry, a three part work solo dance set to gospel music that describes an emotional journey filled with struggle, hardships, defeat, survival and joy. It was intended as a birthday present to Alvin’s mother and a dedication to all black women everywhere. The first part of the dance is the struggle of trying to maintain pride irrespective of the opposition faced from outside. The second part reveals the sorrow within after the woman’s pride has been shattered into pieces and finally the third part is a spirited celebration of finding strength and joy in God. Even though cry was dedicated to only black women, i argue the notion that all women both black and white of the nineteenth century could relate

Zora Hurston uses vivid imagery, natural diction, and several literary tools in her essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”. Hurston’s use of imagery, diction, and literary tools in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” contributes to, and also compliments, the essay’s theme which is her view on life as a “colored” person. Throughout “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” Hurston carefully incorporates aspects of her African American culture in an effort to recapture her ancestral past. Hurston’s use of imagery, diction, and use of literary tools shape her essay into a piece of Harlem Renaissance work.

She traveled to the northern Haitian-Dominican border in the year of 1994, which was 57 years after the massacre. She explained that she wanted to place her hand in the massacre river where the colonists of the Spanish and French had once butchered one another over how to split the island of Hispaniola, which Haiti and the Dominican Republic currently share. While she sat by the side of the river, she jotted down in her journal that “nature has no memory.” She observed children who were bathing in it, men watching their animals drink from it, and women washing their clothes in it. Thus, instead of seeing blood in the river, which is what she was expecting, she saw people living and thriving. People were living even with such a painful and dark past. However, living does not entail forgetting. Parents and grandparents stories’ were inherited and passed down from generation to generation. Confused as to why there were no plaques or even a memorial to remember and honor the thousands of individuals who died, she asked an old Haitian cane worker why he thought that was. The cane worker was unsure why there were no plaques but he replied with the following: “the best way to commemorate the horrors of the past, is to stop the injustices of the present” (Danticat,

Gordon Bennet includes a representation of values, identity, history and culture into his work as he explores indigenous background through abstract art. Bennet has been influenced by his background as his mother is Aboriginal and this has carried on for generations, however his father was English. He had described his childhood as “overwhelmingly Euro-Australian, with no knowledge of my Aboriginal heritage,… My identity was shaped by the historical narratives of colonialism with all its romantic illusions and factual deletions” expressed by Gordon Bennet. (National Gallery of Victoria, 2015) Gordon Bennett’s art challenges stereotypes and “labelling of Aboriginal Australians. He works illustrates the suffered of Aborigines, using a rich visual

What shocked me the most when visiting the museum was the role that Douglass placed on photography as a tool for social reform. Douglass believed that by taking photos, most common self-portraits, he would tear apart the societal norms about what white Americans thought African

Edmonia Lewis is known to be the first professional African-American, and Native-American sculptor, whom also explored religious and classical themes. When Lewis was questioned how she became an artist, she replied; "well it was a strange selection for a poor girl to make, wasn’t it? I suppose it was in me ... I became almost crazy to make something like the thing which fascinated me”.(Henderson, H. and Romare, B. 2014). Lewis knew how hard it was for a poor black woman at that time she was blessed with an exciting talent that she wanted to explore. Edmonia Lewis was originally born in East Greenbush, NY, but worked for most of her career in Italy, Rome where she obtained her fame, and recognition in the international fine arts. One of Lewis’s

The artwork, From Slavery Through Reconstruction, created by Aaron Douglas, depicts the cultural identity of African Americans post-World War I and his personal identity living in Harlem. The artwork was an oil painting on a canvas. Aaron Douglas portrayed the entire community in the Harlem quite realistically. His artwork does not display just the good times or the winning moments, this mural displayed the entire history of African Americans. It portrayed the cultural identity that African Americans were experiencing and their hardships to get to the Emancipation Proclamation. Douglas personally wanted to spread the dream of a better community for everyone, he lived in Harlem so he got to experience the joys and pains they had felt. This specific

The 1920s and 1930s was a time when everyone was inspired by jazz and urban, black expression. It was a moment when modern African American culture took people's imagination. According to Coleman, F. (1995), “No one captured visually the essence of African-American life in the 1920s and 1930s as vividly or faithfully as did Archibald Motley” (para. 2). Archibald Motley was a visual artist who took part in that period and expressed his art well. He has paintings from all aspects of his career. From the time he was in college at the Art Institute of