harlem_renn

Nathan Hale Harlem Renaissance Project

This installation is the culminating project for the Junior Humanities classes reflecting our study of the beginnings of the modern Civil Rights Movement. The artistic influences stem from the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920's and 30's. This was a time when African Americans were casting off the images and identity that stemmed from slavery and the Jim Crow South and began redefining themselves and their role in American society.

More Harlem Renaissance Work

The artwork that you see here reflects the political and artistic visions of this time. Self-identity, re-connection with cultural roots and the connections between seemingly disconnected peoples are among the themes explored in the work. We are very proud of our students and their efforts in this project. As you can see the project is quite large. Unfortunately, we could not display all of the student art. We hope you will enjoy the following selections and the accompanying student comments which describe creation of some of these works of art.

Blue Skies

As tribute to Josephine Baker this piece was meant to show the self-pride of an exceptionally strong female vocalist. I chose to work with oil pastel for both the challenge of the medium and the rich color that I felt represented the life and character of the lively Josephine Baker. The first inspiration for this piece was from Josephine's uplifting song, Blue Skies. The song is about looking past gray times to see nothing but blue skies and "blue birds singing a song." Blue skies has a positive outlook on life that I hope to have captured in this piece.

The contrast of the dark city and the sky separated by barbed wire from the bright charismatic room and Josephine, represent the contrast of skin color and the racial tension of the Harlem Renaissance. Josephine crossed social borders and societal boundaries as a successful black woman earning her own money.

Josephine was a part of the universal language of jazz that united the Harlem people. In the creation of this piece, I thought about the boundary-breaking power the arts can have over society - anyone can tune into a radio - it's for everyone who wants to listen. I enjoyed learning more about the pastel medium and the life and era of Josephine Baker.

In my piece the main focal point is the tree depicted in the biggest picture. The tree branches out onto the smaller painting. This is because it is witnessing the events. The tree represents life: all the boxes of color show different skin. The tree's pattern symbolizes different skin colors on one tree of life. In the boxes the branches are outlined in red to show birth or death. The smallest picture is of two people being taken away and put into a different world. The sky bleeds and the night sky is deep and empty enough to jump into. The sides of the box with the people are painted with corn fields and cotton fields because slaves were always used for something. The bigger painting to the right shows liberation: the man is climbing the ladder to development and freedom. Overall, the piece shows growth and acceptance and people overcoming and becoming strong because of their difficulties.

In order to achieve the full spectrum and effect of the art lifestyle during the Harlem Renaissance, I decided to create my own art piece which blended together the different styles of the various artists from this time. I also added something of my own style to the completed work of art.

I was mainly inspired by Aaron Douglas who had many different styles of art. I was attracted to his black and white pieces because of the contrast and how he was able to make things stand out so much. These pieces he sketched were about the troubling history of blacks in North and South America. I decided to take his style and express the atmosphere of Harlem.

I knew that I wanted to do something artistic because I feel it is beautiful to look at a piece of art which is open and has no boundaries. When looking at a painting or drawing, you can always imagine what would be outside of the art work’s border.

The theme of my piece takes place in Harlem outside a crowded apartment building where you can still find music and joy. My piece expresses the musical life of the Harlem Renaissance, blending it in with the normal everyday life. I chose to draw this because it is simple yet says a lot at the same time.

Creating this piece has motivated me to research the Harlem Renaissance in greater depth and to realize how really wonderful it is. The culture that sprang from this era has inspired me to become more musical and practice my artistic skills more as well.

Harlem Renaissance

Originally, I wanted to do a project with black and white photos. But then I decided to create my own black and white pictures by drawing simple, powerful images that evoke the Harlem Renaissance. These images were then washed with color which makes the piece more interesting but keeps the images simple. This past summer I worked with my middle school art teacher exploring techniques for coloring black and white photos with paints and attaching them to wood. I chose this medium because I thought it would work well with a large piece like this one and I wanted to try out this technique with drawn images (rather than photos). The main theme in my piece is moving forward to something better, brighter and more free. However, the dark and bloody past should not be forgotten. The violence and racism of that past are suggested by images of lynching in the lower part of the piece. The train in the center of the piece suggests moving forward in a general way but also suggests the real trains that African American, including some important figures from the Harlem Renaissance, took as they migrated from south to the North. The dancing couple represents Jazz and the musical culture of Harlem. It is also meant to suggest the explosion of art and literature that took place there. It was important to make sure that the pictures I drew all connected together and were also easily understood. At the same time, I wanted each set of images to stand out in a powerful way and I did this through the use of color in the piece. Red, which is used in the lower part of the piece represents the violent past. Transitioning to orange and then yellow represents moving forward into a better and brighter future that was imagined by the artists of the Harlem Renaissance.

My inspiration for this work of art is the jazz musician Louis Armstrong. I am very fond of his musical talent and his song lyrics which are closely linked to the themes and ideas for this project. Each section of this piece was individually selected from the many jazz songs he has written. When our class researched the different artists of the Harlem Renaissance, one type of art really stood out to me. This type of art was by Aaron Douglas. He used geometric shapes to depict important meanings and history within his artwork. I really was drawn to his strictly black and white pieces.

The main theme of my work is "creation of a new Negro culture". This is because of the many African Americans who started to create their own music and lifestyle. The lyrics from each of the songs also represent the beginning of the new Negro lifestyle. As their culture began to grow, the African American people and their lives blossomed as well.

My inspiration for this drawing comes from the joy of singing and music and jazz reflected in the portion of Rhapsody in Blue (1925), a painting by Miguel Ducland Covarrubias, that I based my own art off of: a joy that so perfectly mirrors my own. I love jazz and I wanted to pay some sort of tribute to this art that I enjoy so much in a way that would somehow encapsulate its freedom, spontaneity and vitality.

Jazz seems like it should be performed in a smoky, dark, intimate nightclub, so I tried to capture that with dark, smoky charcoal that contrasted with the energy radiating from the singer. I also haven't worked with charcoal for a while, so it was fun to experiment with it and see what I could do. I actually did most of the work in one day. I started sketching it in the morning, and finished the drawing late that night because I didn't want to lose my train of thought or forget the ideas and images I had in mind.

I thought about a couple of themes relating to the creation of jazz while looking for a piece of artwork to re-interpret. I found that I couldn't choose just one, so I tried to incorporate elements of three hat I felt worked together: self-worth, self-identity and the creation of a new Negro culture. I saw self-worth and self-identity expressed in the singer's confidence and security in the picture: she seems to have no inhibitions or fears of bearing her soul for all to see. The theme of a new Negro culture was, in my mind, the growth of jazz, a movement of the Harlem Renaissance so essential, that the 1920's were known as the "Jazz Age." Jazz, unlike most styles of music, relies heavily on personal interpretation, on trying to express what you feel through the melody or lyrics of a song, even though you may change them drastically in an effort to most perfectly convey whatever you want to express. I wanted to illustrate that freedom.

This picture was based on the style of many pf the paintings we looked at in class. It features bold, two-dimensional shapes and is done with a stylized look instead of with realism; the shapes are simplified, and are mainly silhouettes. I wanted it to look sort of moody and jazzy, so it is all in blue and black, except for the minimal white highlights and the red dot at the top of the Empire State.

I selected this particular medium after I had mapped out the image in the computer. I considered painting it, but it seemed as though paper cutouts would produce a really bold, simple image that would best replicate what I had made with the computer. The layers of cutouts give some depth to the image. Also, many paintings from the Harlem Renaissance featured such bold, simple designs.

The picture features a man standing alone in New York City playing his saxophone. This in itself touches on many of the themes of the Harlem Renaissance, such as self-sufficiency (he is standing alone), self-identity; self-worth and pride (probably the main themes of the piece), and the creation of a new Negro culture. Jazz in itself was an aspect of that new culture, and was a way of expressing oneself. The song that he is playing was written by Duke Ellington in 1933, and is entitled "Drop Me Off in Harlem." It was notably sung by Ella Fitzgerald, and is basically about leaving the South for Harlem, which also applied to the theme of "crossing borders."

I designed this work with the computer using Adobe InDesign. Once I had an image that I liked, I printed it with a one-inch grid on it. I then cut the paper to size, mapped the image onto the back using a two-inch grid, and cut it out with an exacto-knife. I glued the paper down to a piece of 2-ply museum-board using rubber cement. I used a white-out correction pen to draw the lines. As it turned out, the project went smoothly up until it came to finding the music; it can be very difficult to find a specific piece of sheet music on the Internet that is royalty free. I found a few possibilities, but many of them just didn't seem to apply to the themes. I drew the notes with a white-colored pencil.

Dance to Harlem

My inspiration came from Aaron Douglas's "America". I especially liked how his painting instantly grabbed my attention. I tried to recreate that in mine. The theme of my painting is the musical advancements and awareness of African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance. During this period many musicians sprang out onto the mainstream culture. Musicians such as trumpeter Louis Armstrong, saxophonist Sidney Bachet, bassist Pops Foster and pianist Duke Ellington are just a few of the great many who contributed to the music of Harlem. My painting represents the musical achievements of their time and the lifestyle of those who embraced it.

Before starting on this project I knew immediately that I wanted to do something that represented their musical achievements. Being the least musically inclined person around, I decided to put my painting skills to the test. While I painted I grew to appreciate the dedication they had. I reflected upon the struggles they experienced and how they overcame them through their music. With this new found appreciation, I greatly respect and thank them for all that they contributed.

Evening song

This piece is a visual interpretation of Jean Toomer's piece "Evening Song". This particular poem really struck a chord with me because anyone can relate to the kinds of emotions this piece holds. Toomer talks of "full moon rising on the waters of my heat, lakes moons and fires". To me that line signifies an emotional struggle that everyone has to deal with. In his case he had to deal with all the criticisms against his race and against the fire that keeps his pride and hope alive, while the water signifies the people who try to dampen the fire of hope within his heart. I decided to pick three defining colors that will keep the piece simple but bold, not too shocking, just enough to make anyone feel at ease.

"Promises of slumber leaving shore to charm the moon, miracle made vesper-keeps, cloine sleeps and I'll be sleeping soon.". This kind of signifies a death of a dream but at the same time it signifies an awakening. I wanted the person to look dreamy and alive at the same time, so I placed fire and water counteracting each other.