In this essay I will be exploring the influence and impact the Harlem renaissance had on the political landscape of the time and its influence on society using the display of African cultural roots to challenge stereotypes and notions around cultural identity.

The Harlem Renaissance was a movement which flourished in the North American in the 1920’s.  It freed culture, art of all genres and mindsets - which had been repressed for generations. It was an inspirational movement resulting in a positive movement towards equality. It flourished due to the so-called ‘great migration’ which started in 1916.

The great migration was a large social movement and relocation of more than six million African-Americans from the rural south of America to the northern states (such as New York, Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia).  There were many contributing factors; the civil war had just ended a generation ago, and white ‘supremacy’ was at large. Attempts for equal rights had failed and people were trapped by the new “Jim Crow” laws. People felt it was time for a change.  Another factor was that, not so many years after one conflict had ended – another one started, the beginning of World War One. This resulted in the push away from the south, and the pull towards to the factory and industrial work growing up in the northern states.  Ironically, the African-American people were allowed, and encouraged, to fight for the country which in so many ways was against them. The north’s reputation for a lower tolerance to racism, the prospect of relief from the violence and oppressive approach of the south, and spurred by aspirations of better opportunities many people relocated.

The Harlem Renaissance was all about replacing these distorted negative depictions of culture with positive and more accurate ones.  This allowed the community to portray themselves as they felt themselves to be, and as they were. Corporations run by, and representing, the African-American community such as the ‘N.A.A.C.P’ and ‘Urban League’ now had their own newspaper.  This newspaper was a powerful force for migration, as it spread the message of a better future. The newspaper was called “Crisis” and its editor was a Harvard graduate and intellect, W.E.B Du Bois. Du Bois believed fine arts were essential to combat racism.  He thought that to move forward the community needed to reform their image in the arts:

“Suppose the only negro who survived some centuries hence was a negro painted by white americans in the novels and essays they have written. What would people in a hundred years say about black americans?”- Du Bois 1926 (https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/03/01/what-would-w-e-b-du-bois-make-of-black-panther/ )

This question was asked by Du Bois and published in the ‘Crisis’ magazine in 1926 and shows the urgent need for reform and ability to express themselves.

With this movement came predictable problems; there was competition for jobs and houses.  The dreaded Klu Klux Klan resurged and relations between the white and black community deteriorated.  This resulted in many African-Americans moving to live in a close community, effectively creating their own towns within the cities to which they migrated.  The led to Harlem, a previously white dominated part on New York City, being effectively a micro city inhabited by African-Americans.

The culture of America was renewed as art forms such as painting, music and poetry began to thrive in these areas.  This was because the inhabitants were free to thrive and express their repressed talents and views freely and without fear. The concentration of like-minded people created a hot-pot of creativity.  

In contrast to many other art movements the Harlem renaissance had no fixed style, it was solely based on political change.This freestyle was often expressed through bold colours and a near expressionist style. The works often depicted dancing, music and eating.  There was often a re-creation of stories of African experiences and history.

A key figure in the Harlem renaissance was Aron Douglas (1899-1979).  Aron moved from Nebraska to Harlem in 1925. He often contributed to influential newspapers.  He regularly switched styles from realism to expressionism. He was known for his dramatic, monochrome, geometric pieces depicting the struggle, anger and violence which surrounded him. A classic example is ‘Sahdji’ (tribal women) made in 1925. This piece depicts an abstracted composition of women surrounded by a metaphorical and decorative background. The woman seems to have connections to Egyptian art – with similar flattened bodies and postures.  This may have resonated with him due to the years of his culture being flattened and others trying to squash away his humanity.  ‘Sahdji’ displays a lot of artistic risks as many insisted that art from his culture should only be inspired by authentic African art.  I think Douglas was challenging this view and expressing his genuine mixed-nationality and was motivated to pave the way to acceptance of new cultural identities.

The piece ‘Sahdji’ was created whilst he was under the tuition of a German artist ‘Winold Reiss’.  We can see aspects of art nouveau coming from the abstract composition and organic line.  Despite this, there is an order and structure to the painting creating a sense of symmetry.  There are similarities to art deco due to its geometric and fragmented form. This was ground-breaking yet also highly controversial - instead of embracing and displaying the roots of African culture he used techniques from other cultures.  Some peers argued that this could be seen as his being embarrassed of his culture and thinking it not worthy of being celebrated.  However I believe Douglas is celebrating art, integrity and intelligence.  He was dreaming of a new integrated world - presenting developments to the freedom of knowledge and liberation.  As a result we slowly begin to see changes in the art world; rules become stripped and creation becomes a lot more expressive. The development of cubism and surrealism a few years later shows a flux in artists wanting to express themselves opposed to just creating a form of beauty. ‘Sahdji’ for me draws many similarities to Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ (1937) ten years on from the composition.  The style of the monochrome shapes depicting death and sorrow to the message, which commemorates people killed by violence.

Despite all odds, and with the great depression at its peak, Douglas was commissioned by the Texas centennial exposition in 1936 to create a four part mural depicting and honouring the centenary of Texas’s liberation from Mexico.  This inclusion of African-Americans in this anniversary demonstrates the effect the Harlem renaissance was already having.  Art was being noticed, their narrative being understood and their skills acknowledged and appreciated. This was revolutionary as for the first time in the southern states the African-Americans were recognized for their accomplishments and were given a voice in a white dominated society.

Douglas created ‘Aspiration’ and used it as a vessel to both celebrate liberation for Texas and to signal the journey his culture still had before it too reached freedom. The mural portrays three figures on a three-tiered plinth looking up with promise at luminous buildings on top of a hill, representing the journey and industrialization of the migration to the north. Beneath these characters are shackled wrists reaching for mercy, light blues and fine curved lines engulfing them and representing the ferocious waves his culture crossed as human cargo whilst enslaved by white Americans. Despite this, the figures are looking for change, turning away from the symbols of slave oppression and depicting a storm on the top right of the composition. The freedom and sense of hope created in the mural ‘Aspiration’ could be Douglas’s aspiration of times to come. The figures are turning away from the past and looking towards a bright future. He represents and defines creativity and the determination to beat any odds, using his unique artistic style to create a hybrid  of modernism and african art, paving a path for arts and culture.

I think the approach of welcoming and combining different art styles and cultures was a key stepping stone to the identity of ‘African-Americans’.  It allowed the heritage and culture of both Americans and African-Americans to join as equals in the depicted art and celebrate the joining of ideas and perspectives of these cultures, rather than hiding or fighting it.

The welcoming of modern advances and outside influences to the African style helped connect the cultures together, building bridges and similarities rather than more walls.

The art, culture and population of the Harlem community grew rapidly, this expansion led to more Americans experiencing and seeing these art forms and forming connections to them. On one hand this was extremely beneficial to the cause of harmony as their narrative was heard and began to deconstruct negative stereotypes, especially in the next generation. However as the African influenced population grew in areas such as Harlem many white Americans felt threatened and outnumbered.

 

Artists such as Douglas were hugely important to others of his culture encouraging them to  strive to express and create a new appreciation for their history. He inspired those around him and future generations such as Jacob Lawrence to a new representation of their heritage. Further Jacob Lawrence, and many like him, wanted to depict an explosion in cultural pride, creating works rooted deep within his African rooted culture.

Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) moved to Harlem when he was thirteen from foster care in Philadelphia.  Whilst working at a laundrette and at a printer he attended the Harlem School of Art along with many other revolutionary artists, making this establishment famous for statement art.  Lawrence was a storyteller, focusing on African experiences and history. The bold flat colours of his work celebrate his culture and past whilst simultaneously the composition broadcasts the ever present struggle of his community. He depicts everyday scenes with warped perspective and angles, in an almost panoramic sense.  This wonky, ‘faulty’ depiction could be another way of conveying the flaws of the environment in which he lived. His paintings are all stories showing people being given a voice; from images of people ironing and standing in the rain, to documentation of their story of enslavement and migration. This approach supports Du Bois’ statement and the desire to correct the history books and to publicise the truth. 

Lawrence’s style replicates and celebrates his African heritage whilst portraying the big differences in shape, colour and tone in Harlem. The use of bold rich colours is a metaphor of his ongoing hope, despite the narrative displaying the metaphorical shadows on his community and the reality of racism.  The colour pallet is often limited and most forms simplified and flattened.  This was inspired by the art of his heritage, as African art is often based around primary colours and focused on people. However it also creates an aesthetic pattern, perhaps this pattern reflects the feeling of repetition, with racism still present not just history, with racist acts seeming to be repeating themselves. The pattern could also be paying homage to the patterns and designs in the textiles from Africa. The predominant focus and subject of his painting is the human form, often little attention being paid to the background emphasising the importance of his community culture and indicating a feeling of being misplaced and not at one with the surroundings.

The positivity and deeply cultural emphasis of the work eulogises pride.  It shows that people should not be ashamed of who they are or where they came from.

This celebration of Africa and the talent and beauty embedded within the culture helped redefine how the world viewed African-Americans, their battles with stereotypes and self-perception. 

Art can relate to everyone and the beauty, talent and innovation of the Harlem renaissance knocked away many views of race superiority and gave the population a window to publicise their own opinions and judgments. America had been filled with racist propaganda and the impact of new images and media being shared and produced confronted and challenged the negative stereotypes. The people championing the Harlem Culture were motivated and their message advanced by each art form created more determination.  Self-worth blossomed. It planted the seeds for the future of racial equality and from these ideas, the principles of ‘The Civil Rights Act’ grew. Finally, in 1964, the Jim Crow laws were abolished.

The influence and narratives formed in the Harlem Renaissance are as much of an influence in today’s society as they were a revolution then. The Renaissance engendered African Americans with control over their lives and freedom to accurately portray the representation of black culture. The resulting artwork depicted the first portraits of African-American life, the creation of a new culture and free artistic style. This expression allowed African-Americans to find a voice and place in modern America. Most significantly, it helped redefine how Americans viewed not only the African culture, but other races.  This creation of this art helped the move towards the vital goal, the elimination of racism across the world.

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