the expression of our
DARKSKINNED selves
HARLEM 1920 circa
by Elijah Williamson
this is for
ken.
#geniusmode #blackstockco
more than just a
hue
................................ 2
the underlying
message
.......................
finding a new
narrative
....................
aaron douglas &
the black voice
........
misrepresentations &
stereotypes
...............
F IGU R E 1
Drawing in Two Colors Winold Reiss between 1915 and 1920
hue
more than just a When looking at graphic design produced during the Harlem Renaissance, specific systems of design that were applied throughout the 1920s and 30s begin to present themselves. During this time, two of the main avenues in which graphic design became prominent were within the entertainment industry as well as the world of literature and poetry. Harlem was the birthplace for many cultural influences and took up residence in various cultural trends and influences – especially within these two fields. Though the nature of content from these two fields is very different, there are a number of elements that are consistent in both areas of media.
2
most of
big catered to white Color is one of the main variables used in design because it helps create meaning within graphic media (Bowers, 53). However, the way in which color was used during the Harlem Renaissance presented an array of associations and visual interactions. In general, the use of color in graphic design was limited to muted earth-tones. In relation to African American content as a whole, browns, reds, and tints of orange were very common in the execution of design during the 1920s and 30s. It is not until these designs are separated and categorized by their respective areas of field and intended audience, that direct correlations and differences can be concluded. It would seem almost human nature to allow color to act as a direct correlation to the natural skin tones represented in each piece of design. Yet when breaking up the designs in accordance to their respective audiences, interesting observations can be found.
3
the clubs in harlem the predominantly audiences only
During the years of the Harlem Renaissance, 1920-1930, New York clubs became popular venues for many well-known of African American musicians. Names like Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, and Louis Armstrong headlined prominent nightclub venues such as The Cotton Club and The Savoy Room. Their names and faces were featured across posters, flyers and billboards to attract different social classes of New York City’s crowds. Most of the big clubs in Harlem catered to the predominantly white audiences only - the top three being The Cotton Club, Connie’s Inn and Small’s Paradise. The Cotton Club, however, was the largest, fanciest, and most extravagant of them all. It was also the most strict when it came to serving whites only. You would not be able to tell this by simply looking at the poster for Cab Calloway’s featuring at The Cotton Club. You would not be able to tell this information by looking at the poster for Louis Armstrong at Connie’s Inn either. Aside from this there are other consistent elements found between the two posters including the dominant use of the color orange. Orange is used to define the composition, color the logo and tint the skin on both posters. Desaturated orange is used to create contrast as well as to highlight the primary levels of copy. In figure two, the contrast against the blue copy brings the type to the foreground. In figure three, the desaturated copy is the primary text, contrasted by black shadows and outlines to create visual hierarchy. There is also a common use of composition and typography seen in both posters. In figures one and two, the type follows an upward diagonal direction from left to right. Though this is more pronounced in figure two, the visual device is used in figure two as well.
F I GU R E 2
Cab Calloway at the Cotton Club New York City 1931
F IGURE 3
“Louis Armstrong at Connie’s Inn” New York City 1935
4
In the early 1920s a decorative style emerged in Europe and developed into a major style in the 1930s both in Europe and the United Sates. This style was called the Art Deco movement or “style moderne” (Art Deco). It featured a “streamlined look” - one with simple, clean shapes, geometric ornamentation and stylized forms. With the development of technology and transportation, the aesthetic of the Art Deco movement leaned against the excessive organic forms of its predecessor, Art Nouveau. The typography shown in these posters is a direct reflection of the time period in which it was created. The viewer sees this style of typography represented most accurately in the logo or identity marks represented on each poster. The identity marks for The Cotton Club, Connie’s Inn, and Decca Records are designed using art deco style motifs. The contrast of thick and think lines within the identity mark for The Cotton Club shows direct correlation to the typefaces created by type designers Morris Fuller Benton and A.M. Cassandre just a year earlier.
5
F I GU R E 4 .
Chrysler Building New York City William Van Alen 1928
There are a number of themes that can be associated with this specific t r e a t m e n t o f type. The upward motion of type could be associated with progression and growth of the African American influence. The “New Negro” is now one of talent, culture, and relevance that, to an extent, crosses cultural and ethnic barriers. These could be factors that played a part in the placement of the typography. On both posters, this application to the 1st level of type on the poster is primarily used to bring attention to headlining act at each venue; Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong. When looking at these representations of headlining artists in club posters, the viewer is drawn in by big smiles and active compositions suggesting an experience worthy of the spotlight. The subject, or musician, is portrayed as a personality
shimmering in the light of the stage. Color is brought to the foreground and used as an identifier not only to the skin of the entertainer but also for the purposes of bringing life to a particular name of an entertainer or venue. We see this in the poster for St. Louis Blues with Bessie Smith. The colors used for this film poster follow the same palate as those used in the posters for Connie’s Inn and The Cotton Club; blue and orange. They too are used to create contrast as well as to highlight skin tone and typography. The poster for St. Louis Blues, however, uses blue as the primary background for the poster. Large arching text is set at the top of the composition in bright orange. As a spotlight shines on the illustration of Bessie’s face, her name sits to the left of her face in an illustrative script face.
ABCDEFGHI JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ F I GU R E 5 .
Broadway Morris Fuller Benton 1927
6
AUTH TICI
The consistent color choice across these three posters is notable considering they span a time of six years. Though this could be explained as a simple coincidence or running trend of the time period, what is more provoking is the motivation and process behind these design choices. the representation of Black America is deeper than a range of fleshly hues. The artists highlighted during the Harlem Renaissance were not blind to the contradictions and misrepresentations of their communities. Bessie Smith was the leading artist in the Theater Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.) during the 1920s and 30s (pbs.com) and her role in St. Louis Blues was her only film appearance. The film was based Smith’s 1925 hit song, “St. Louis Blues”; a song about a broken hearted woman, love-sick behind a man who left her for another woman. The content and message of this film is not portrayed in the poster. Like the contradictory posters of The Cotton Club and Connie’s Inn, the poster for St. Louis Blues shows the main character of the film, Bessie Smith, portraying a different attitude than the character she played on screen. Smith is seen smiling with “jazz hands”. The spotlight is shining on her and a club scene of African Americans dancing to music is illustrated in the bottom left corner of the poster. Though the film was produced with an all black cast, the writers and creators of the project (Kenneth W. Adams and W.C. Handy) were white (redhotjazz. com). These are the representations that raise questions about the integrity of creators and stake holders behind the establishments and projects these posters represent. It can be argued that some design created during the Harlem Renaissance was not based on content and/or the authenticity of background; but on spectacle and entertainment for entertainment’s sake.
7
HENITY F IGURE 6
“St. Louis Blues,” starting Bessie Smith 1929.
the underlying
MESSAGE!
Messaging is something that can be considered a matter of
opinion. The common experience of humanity is one that unites the general population but also separates us. We all have individual experiences, interests, and abilities that not only make us unique, but also influence our perceptions and thought processes about the world. (Bowers, 102). If nothing else, the Harlem Renaissance was an era in time that focused on the expression of African American views through current and past experiences. Experiences that made those participating individuals of that era unique. With this in mind, it is interesting to see not only the interpretation of the African American experience through the mind of white audiences but also to see that “predominantly white audiences wanted to indulge their fantasies of the dark “other” and experience what black culture was “really like”, with its exotic allure, edge of danger, and perceived sexual freedoms (Ward, 5).” White play director, Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds is a musical that’s intention was to fulfill this desire. Blackbirds is a dramatization of Dubose Heyward’s Porgy - a harsh realistic story about the lives of liberated slaves working the cotton plantations. The interpretation of the African American in the visual collateral for the musical Blackbirds offers interesting messaging in the execution of this task.
F I GURE 7 .
LP Cover Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds of 1928 1928
10
When looking at the cover art for Lew Leslie’s Blackbird’s of 1928 from a desing perspective, the modern and minimal representation of design is the first thing that stands out. The background is a slightly desaturated gold color flood. On the far left is a moderately thick black line that spans the height of the square composition. The typography of the design is representative of the art deco era. The contrast of between the thick and think lines of the type is indicative of a modern typeface. However, the thin stripped line vertically placed in all the san-serif letter forms dates the type dates back to the 1920s. The secondary level of type is a thin decorative typeface that is set in all caps. A very open type face, suitable for the time period and the rest of the design, the sesconday type suggest new ideas and the ushering in of a new type of thinking and communication. On an illustrative level, the graphic components are very minimal. To the left of the composition is a moderately large orange circle metaphoric of the sun. The most active of graphic components are a set of eight black birds in flight. The direction that the birds are in is an upward motion to the right. There are a number of messages and metaphors that can be made within this composition.
predo white audie
FI GUR E 8 .
Sheet Music for I Can’t Give You Anything but Love (Baby) Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds of 1928 1928
11
minantly nces wanted to indulge their fantasies of the dark “other� The most significant of which happens to be the flying birds. The metaphor used to depict African Americans is mainly one having to do with music: being that the production is a musical, the actors are replaced with song birds. The birds are flying to the upper right corner of the composition, seemingly out of the orange sun. There are a number of ways to interpret this. The most literal of them would be the birds flying south for the winter. If this were a representation of the sun setting, that would mean that the birds are flying in the direction of the general south. Another interpretation could be one a bit more metaphoric. Since the birds are flying in an upward and out motion, this could be a metaphor for the progression of black liberations such as The Great Migreation: a time period where “hundreds of thousands of rural blacks gravitated to the northern cities in the opening decades of the 20th century (Since the Harlem Renaissance, 52). It can be concluded that the sun is be a representation of the oppressive and slave driven south that held so many Black Americans in an impoverished way of living. The representation of birds flying past the boundaries of a concentrated area of pressure and heat into a cooler and more open area has direct relation to the great migration.
12
It is important to note that the time period in which this was created plays a dramatic role in the messaging of the collateral. Created at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, this was a time period where Black expressionism was at an all time high. In fact, it was one of the main goals of the Harlem Renaissance as a whole. “Its essence [the Harlem Renaissance] was summed up by critic and Alain Locke in 1926 when he declared that through art, ‘Negro life is seizing its first chance for group expression and self determination’” (The Harlem Renaissance, History.com). The visual expression of Black Americans during the Harlem Renaissance was particularly different from the art work from Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds. Much of the art and design developed by Blacks of the era was much more literal in its representation of blacks and black life in America.
F I GU R E 1 1
Sheet Music for Love Will Find A Way Shuffle Along 1926
13
The sheet music for Shuffle Along’s “Love Will Find a Way” also takes a different approach from the two pieces depicted above. Accompanied by a number of serif and script typefaces, the title, Shuffle Along is displayed in a large, orange, illustrative font outlined with a black stroke. Below the title is an illustration of figures lined up across the composition. Though they are only shown from the thigh down, it is clear that these are formally dressed people of color. Other visual works produced in the Harlem Renaissance are also more literal in the depiction of African Americans. When it comes to telling the history of the Black American, there seems to be no option but to take the literal approach. Aaron Douglas, Winold Reiss, and Jacob Lawrence are three of the Harlem Renaissance’s most renowned artist. Though they did posses the ability to create real life representations of human figures and still lifes, and they do display this in their careers, the bulk of their known portfolios contained art that showed the Black experience in abstract motifs of the black individual. Never was the African American translated to a representation of an animal.
F IGURE 10
Sheet Music for I’m Just Wild About Harry Shuffle Along 1926
The art work for Black playwrites, Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake’s Shuffle Along took an entire different approach in representation of the play and its actors. The sheet music for I’m Just Wild about Harry depicts an illustration of a young African American male approaching a young African American female as if to propose a dance. The two figures are dressed in rather formal clothing. The male is seen in a black penguin suit jacket with black and white pinstriped pants, a camel top hat, white gloves and an orange cane; the female character in a bright orange dress with red lipstick and pressed hair. The two are shown on a stage as if to enact a scene from the play. The figures displayed here are presented in a classic and prim fashion. Much different from the representation of the charachters in Leslie’s Blackbirds.
14
DISS INAT F IGURE 12
Sheet Music for Melodies from Blackbirds Blackbirds 1926
15
F IGURE 13
SEMTION Blackbirds 1926
There are other visual representations of Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds that depict the African American in human form. They too, however, raise the questions about the interpretation and dissemination of the Black experience in America. In the sheet music cover for Melodies from Blackbirds the design depats from the metaphoric representation of the African American to a more literal depiction of an actual Black woman. The depiction however, is one of accute representation. Florence Mills, originally named Florence Whinfrey, was a leading actor and singer. She made her debut when she landed the lead role on Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake’s Shuffle Along in 1921. In 1926, Mills starred in the musical Blackbirds, which showcased the song she was most associated with—”I’m a Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird.” The show toured internationally as well, and Mills became a massive, sought-after star in Britain.
16
F IGU R E 1 4
Adaptation from The New Negro Winold Reiss 1925
finding a new
narrative
In 1925, philosopher Alain Locke released an anthology titled, The New Negro. This would be the first project for the Harlem Renaissance’s leading artist-Aaron Douglas. Douglas’s book cover helped set in motion a new visual language that detached itself from the traditional practices of European art training and absorbed a unique language rooted in African heritage (Washington). Aaron Douglas was Born in 1899 in Topeka, Kansas and graduated from University of Nebraska with a BFA in fine arts in 1922. In 1924, he moved to New York, where he spent two years as an apprentice to German artist Winold Reiss. As an artist, as well as a member of the Black American community, Douglas was frustrated with how African Americans were depicted and felt the need to reeducate the black audience. “We are possessed, you know, with the idea that it is necessary to be white, to be beautiful. Nine times out of ten it is just the reverse” (Kirschke, 99).His teacher, Winold Reiss, encouraged him to take on this challenge. He believed that Douglas had a chance to depict Black Americans with dignity, and accuracy (Kirschke, 100). He encouraged him to explore an array of nonwestern art ranging from Cubism, to ancient Egyptian, to the German folk art cut-out technique Scherenschnitt.
18
The compositions by both of these artists are some of the most recognizable pieces of design from the Harlem Renaissance. Their use of graphic systems and skill in specific crafts made their work distinguished amongst their peers but also adds an aesthetic that has lasted in defining a cultural stylization. Both Aaron Douglas and Winold Reiss create dynamic compositions by using silhouetted figures and stylized motifs with harmony, structure, rhythm and an attention to the balance between complexity and rhythm. In the height of the Harlem Renaissance, both Reiss and Douglas would designed many cover illustrations for journals such as Opportunity and The Crisis. In September of 1927, Douglas designed the cover for The Crisis and titled it “The Burden of Black Womanhood�. In this illustration Douglas uses simple shapes to create a composition with hierarchy, depth, emotion and balance. Like most of his work from this time period, the design is made mostly of clean lines and simple shapes that form abstract figures within the composition.
F I GU R E 1 5
we are with the idea to be
Aaron Douglas
F I GU R E 1 6
Winold Riess
19
possessed, you know, that it is necessary white, to be beautiful.
nine times out of ten it is just the reverse F IGU R E 1 7
Sheet Music for I’m Just Wild About Harry Shuffle Along 1926
20
F IGU R E 1 8
Illustration for The Crisis Aaron Douglas 1930
The most pronounced of those figures is an image of a woman much larger in proportion than her surroundings. As she looks up she holds the sun in her arms facing it head on. As she holds the sun, there are a number of connotations that can be drawn by conjugating the visual with the title. As the female figure holds the sun in above her head, it can be interpreted that she is ushering in a new day. However this is no easy task. The slight bend of the knee suggest that this is no easy lift, but instead, a “crisis” in need of full attention. As the wind blows to the left, the woman faces all odds as her body stands in opposition while her head remains focused above. The interpretation could go as far as to say that the woman holding the sun is not just bearing the sun, but also the sons of her community. Her focus is not on the changes happening below her or even on the open space around her that she rises though. Her focus remains on the sun/son. In the lower portion of the design, the figure of the woman splits the composition and Douglas finds an opportunity to create contrast and narrative. On the left side of the woman’s legs are elevations of land made with sharp layers and slight curves. Similar in execution, Douglas uses simple shapes to illustrate buildings at skewed angles. Though the style used to create these different landscapes is very similar, the contrast of city and field still exist and while the “Buildings at skewed angles at the bottom right recall European Cubism and the work of Douglas’s teacher Reiss... A humble shack in the lower right corner suggest poverty in the face of urban wealth and industry. The woman, who towers over her surroundings, including a smoke-spewing factory, is strength personified-and the placement of the magazine’s title, the Crisis, reminds us of the nature of her burden.” (19, Earle). These elements, strategically placed within the composition, create hierarchy and balance by exaggerating proportions and maintaining sizable negative space.
21
F I GU R E 1 9
“The Burden of Black Womanhood”, The Crisis, Aaron Douglas. 1927
The influence Weiss had on Aaron is very evident in the work he created for this cover. The use of simple stylized forms is indicative of both Scherenschnitt and ªncient Egypt. The body form of the woman in the figure is reminiscent of the figures found in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. The eyes and hair are also visual devices influenced by ancient egyptian culture. These influences alone are enough to make a compelling piece of visual media, however, Aaron manages to do something that had rarely been seen by a large audience beofre that time. Aaron Douglas created a hero out of his illustration.
22
the black voice Aaron Douglas &
In comparison to the nightlife poster targeted to the downtown Caucasian on the “A” train, journals and books created for
African-Americans took an entirely different approach in design. To begin with, many of these publications neglected the use of colors and hues altogether; a visual device rarely seen used primarily for club posters. Opportunity: Journal of Negro Life, an academic journal published by the National Urban League, is a fine example of the differences seen in design as it relates to materials produced for entertainment and those for literature. Published from 1923 to 1949, Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life, aimed to give voice to black culture. The 1926 cover illustration for the February “Industrial” issue entitled, “From the New World” uses creates form, shadow and movement within the composition. Though color can be used to form and create drama within the frame, this journal cover captures setting, history, and tells a story using only line and form in black an white.
F IGU R E 2 0
LP Cover Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds of 1928 1928
24
Many of Opportunity’s covers were designed using little to no color at all. Especially those created by Douglas. Even the most complex designs were composed only in black and white. This created a high level of contrast, attracting the viewer’s attention without taking away from the message and content of the media. This also highlighted the form of the AfricanAmerican and in turn emphasized the message of “black life in America”. Much of this had to do with his teachers and sources of inspiration, Winold Reiss and Georges Baraque. It was the mid 20s when Douglas would graduate from Reiss’s tutelage and discover his own artistic style. “From the New World” was a definitive preview of what The Harlem Renaissance would look like with Aaron Douglas as one its main artistic contributors. “The conceptual merger on Douglas’s part of abstract, modern forms with historically enriched social content was neither a contradiction in the linking of these categories nor a conflict between disparate creative intentions” (Earle, 56).
opportunity: a of negro life, aimed to give voice to black culture.
In figure 1, Douglas shows his awareness of cubism, with jagged, broken forms surrounding two figures hard at work (Kirschke, 74). In this special edition “Industrial Issue”, the character on the left is shown holding a mallet while the character on the right is shown in the action of stricken the mallet. He holds a tool reminiscent of a blacksmith. The two silhouetted steel workers was a bold stroke (Earle, 55). Striking a single tool, the illustration demonstrates the two characters striking a particular material for some purpose of function or weaponry. Apart from that, there is a visual reference of impact illustrated by a stylized jagged line. A stream of smoke flows from the work being made. Further in the distance - or simply lower in the composition - are two buildings also producing streams of smoke. These buildings are characterized as factories representing industry and progress. The characters are illustrated as flat, profile, 2-D renderings that were particularly geometric and modern (Earle, 56). “Here Douglas was inspired by the early landscapes of the cubist Georges Baraque. He not only considered cubism a sign of modernism and cosmopolitanism, but he also considered those who did not appreciate cubism as “first rate” and “infantile”; incapable of growing up in their art life (Kirschke, 74). Like Baraque, Douglas became know for his monochromatic works that avoided strong diagonals, foreshortening, and other perspectival devices that gave traditional indications of depth in Western painting. (Kirschke, 75).
25
a journal
26
BLACK -NESS 27
K S
This example of representation offers a view of blackness that is not based on hue but on history; a frequent and foundational theme threaded through the artistry of “The New Negro Movement�. “The muralist of the 1930s, such as Aaron Douglas and Charles Alston, painted the story of African-Americans by beginning in the jungles of Africa and then tracing their course from slave ship, to slavery, to freedom and finally to the cultural renaissance then taking place in the heart of northern cities (Since the Harlem Renaissance, 52). This cover spoke directly to the cultural shifts the Black American experienced during the Harlem Renaissance. Factory jobs were one of the biggest causes of the great migration that lead to the birth of the Harlem Renaissance itself. Black people were now making their mark in the industrial field, providing a reputation for their work and capabilities. There was a sense of community and togetherness that brought people together. We see this illustrated as the two figures on the cover work together to get the job done. All this is done at a time where the odds are not in favor of Black Americans. The oppression, segregation, and poverty that existed so deeply within the Black culture of America could be a direct result in the representation of the chaos and rigidity illustrated above the two characters. The differences in representation of blackness across audiences is consistently dramatic. There is a sense of exaggeration that exists in media produced for both audiences in completely different ways. The geometric abstraction that captured the essence of so much of the Harlem Renaissance is tied directly from some of the actual art forms of black culture. A sophisticated advocacy for African art, Winold Reiss urged Douglass to move past his doubts and fears that loomed in the essence of African masks (Earle, 56). This caused him to move past his own feelings and personal responses to culture. It would be the African sculptures that Reiss encouraged him to study at the Brooklyn Museum that would become the blue print for much of the uptown storefront spirituals and cabaret blues he listened to (Earle, 56). The graphic devices that best enacted these conversations became his signature method of visual execution.
28
F IGU R E 2 1
Rythmania The Cotton Club 1928
misrepresentation &
stereotypes
The importance of the Harlem Renaissance, and what makes it unique, is that it was the first time that Black Americans were world renowned for their contributions to society. (history. com). It would be one thing for a story to be told by anyone but when a story is told by a participant of the narrative being shared, it adds a level of depth and accountability. The work that “The New Negro” shared was a product of their past. The stories they told were real and important to the foundation of African American culture. In 1926, Alan Locke, the “dean” of the Harlem Renaissance, said that through art, “Negro life is seizing its first chances for group expression and self determination” (history.com). Langston Hughes would call it, “The expression of our individual dark-skinned selves” (history.com). These notions of self expression were not just simple recordings of history. They offered a new representation for the Black community. One that faced a smear of historical oppression, and an economic wall of propaganda rooted in racial stereotypes. These same stereotypes present themselves in the graphic materials created around white audiences throughout the Harlem Renaissance. They were consistent in their skewed depictions of Black Americans.
30
this pervasive simple-minded,
The sheet music for Between the Devil and The Deep Blue Sea shows two major stereotypes that have been historically attached to the Black American. Both the male and female figures are depicted in a motion signaling a pleasant walk or dance. The male figure, however, breaks the fourth wall by making eye contact with the viewer. His lips are exaggerated in size and he wears a smile of glee. Dressed in a black suit while holding a cane his body is drawn with perfect curves free of bones or joints. This overly happy representation of the Black American man goes back to two of the most enduring stereotypes in American history; Sambo and Jim Crow (Boskin, 1986). This pervasive image of a simple-minded, docile Sambo man dates back to as far as the colonization of America (ferris.edu). The overall basis for the Sambo caricature
31
is the idea of the “happy slave”. The Sambo was seen as naturally lazy and therefore reliant upon his master for direction. In this way, some would try to justify the institution of slavery. It was during the time of slavery that the Sambo stereotype flourished. White slave masters molded the stereotype into this image of a jolly, overgrown child who was happy to serve his master (ferris.edu). Scientific studies were conducted to try and establish a “proper place” for the African-American in society. Scientists conducted tests and measurements and concluded that blacks were savages (ferris.edu). Part of this was attributed to longer arm lengths amongst Black American men. This gives light to the the representation of the male figure’s joint-less limbs on the cover of RhythMania.
F I GURE 2 2
F IGURE 23
Cover for The “Pop-Up” Little Black Sambo Illustration by C. Carey Cloud. 1934
Cover for The Story of Little Black Sambo 1931
image of a docile sambo man dates back as far as the colonization of america Jim crow was northern, “city dandy” counterpart to the “plantation darky” Sambo (ferris.edu). In the early 19th century, white performers took to the stage to perform minstrel shows to entertain society. Minstrel performers darkened their faces with burnt cork, painted grotesquely exaggerated white mouths over their own, wore woolly black wigs and took the stage to entertain society. The character they created was Jim Crow. Thomas Dartmouth Rice, also known as Jim Crow Rice is referred to as the father of the minstrel show. Sources credit Rice as an actor who “Rice created a vogue for impersonating African Americans in both the United States and England through a series of extremely successful tours” (Britanica.com). Rice was not the creator of Blackface. In fact, sources proclaim that minstrel shows were originally based on class structure before America’s social culture polluted it into one based on skin color. Actors would wear blackface to signify communities struggling under heavy economic conditions. The inspiration for T.D. Rice’s famous minstrel dance-and-comedy routine was an old, crippled, black man dressed in rags, whom he saw dancing in the street (Engle, 1978). This single experience would become the overarching umbrella for the image of the African American. It became even more powerful in the north and west because many people never had come into contact with AfricanAmerican individuals. (ferris.edu). There would be a song to go with the act. The folk song “Jim Crow,” published by E. Riley in 1830, furthered the transmission of this stereotype of AfricanAmericans to society: “I’m a full blooded niggar, ob de real ole stock, and wid my head and shoulder I can split a horse block. Weel about and turn about and do jis so, eb’ry time I wheel about I jump Jim Crow” (Bean et al., 1997, p. 11).
F I GU R E 2 4
Illustration for The Story of Little Black Sambo 1931
32
The representation of the female figure in RhythMania stems from a different root of stereotyping. The attention to her is centered around her body and beauty. Her face is not represented with bulging eyes and lips, but with closed eyes, red lipstick, and a slight smile. Her orange dress is revealing, leaving her back and shoulders completely open. The illustration gives attention to the lines and curves of her body. Where certain parts of the body would be unseen to the eye due to clothing, the illustration clearly outlines. The woman of color as been the victim of sexual misrepresentation since the inception of slavery. Unfamiliar to the climate, Europeans misunderstood tribal dances for sexual orgies. A lack of clothing was not attributed to the climate or culture of African lifestyle. It was rather attributed to the false pretenses that people of color are more sexual than the rest of the human race. (White, p. 29). Polygamy was looked at as a response to uncontrollable lust. This mindset made Black women targets for procreation and rape while becoming labeled as sexually promiscuous and immoral. This is known as the jezebel stereotype. This stereotype attributed to much of the visual representation of Black women in design during the Harlem Renaissance. Commonly presented topless and and in sexually suggestive positions, club posters displayed the Black woman as a focus for the sexual appetite.
F IGURE 25
The Original Jim Crow
33
ST -T
TEREO TYPE There are a number of other stereotypes that have skewed the image of Blacks in America. The mammy, sapphire, savage, mandingo, and mulatto images are all those of offensive stereotypes created by American culture. Stereotypes alone are harmful because of the narrow scope it puts on a group of people. What makes these examples above so significant is that they surpassed the country and culture in which it was created for. A community of people who had been taken to a strange land and oppressed into the depths of slavery were now the butt of a racist and ignorant joke that spread as far as present day London. They had no chance to define themselves or even present themselves to the rest of the world. The Harlem Renaissance was the first time where people of color were able to put out any form of self expression to the rest of the world.
F IGURE 26
Poster for The Cotton Club
34
For many, the 1920s is a time reminiscent of flappers and speakeasies. But for the Black American, it was time of self-expression and rebirth. From 1914 to 1920 “the Black Belt”, as it was called, grew from stretching only between fifth and seventh avenue to extending from madison avenue to eighth ave (Watson, 13). This was an exciting time for the African American. For years, people of color were only free to do what was told of them by their superiors. A new sense of freedom was enough to prompt thousands of African Americans to move from southern states to one in the north. Though the Harlem Renaissance did prompt a number of changes for people of color, (i.e. giving birth to the civil rights movement), the original intent of the movement “was not political but aesthetic. Any benefit a burgeoning Black contribution to literature might have in defraying racial prejudice was secondary to the expression of our dark-skinned selves.” (history.com). It is important to note that Black artist did exist and can be identified prior to the Harlem Renaissance. However, their numbers were very few and their work rarely had dealt with anything pertaining to an ethnic background (Since the Harlem Renaissance, 52). Because Americans of color had been so far removed from their history as a people, it would have been odd to for them to make up their own origin of inspiration or design, but they did not do this. They instead acknowledged Africa with pride. A major part of “The New Negro Movement’ was devoted to exploring the Afro-American heritage. Sculptor Sargent Johnson appeared in the October 6, 1935, edition of The San Francisco Chronicle:
F I GURE 2 6
Poster for The Cotton Club
35
“I am producing strictly a Negro Art. Studying not the culturally mixed Negro of the cities, but the more primitive slave type as existed in this country during the period of slave importation… It is the pure American Negro I am concerned with, aiming to show the natural beauty and dignity in that characteristic lip and that characteristic hair, bearing and manner; and I wish to show much to the white man and to the Negro himself. Unless I can interest my race, I an sunk… Too many negro Negro artists go to Europe and come back imitating Cezane, Matisse, or Picasso; and this attitude is not only a weakness of the artist, but of their racial public” (Since the Harlem Renaissance, 52).
`
The work that was created by African Americans is vastly different from the work that was created for white audiences. This alone shows us how the artists of the Harlem Renaissance found a way to break free from the normal currents of society. By simply telling their personal story, the Black American community was able to set a platform in order to re-introduce themselves to the world. No longer bound to the false representations of Blacks through the evolving sense of minstrel shows, African Americans combined experiences, skills, concerns, desires, and spirituality to develop their own voice; thier own language (Bowers, 102). This formula is not limited to one specific group of people. All artist and designers must realize that although we all live amongst one another in society, we each have separate experiences, interests, and abilities that make us different. “Drawing on these as well as learning, research, and outside input can result in work that is original and meaningful to ourselves and others (Bowers, 102).
FERTIG. G E R M A N T RA N S L AT I O N FO R
"Finish"
ROOTS. " A RT D ECO : A RT MOV E ME NT" . Britannica. com/art/art-deco.October 20,2015
Beane, A., Hatch, J., & McNamara, B. (1996). I NS I D E THE MI NSTRE L MASK: RE A D I NGS I N NI NE TE E NTH C E NTU RY B L AC KFAC E MI NSTRE L SY. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press. Bowers, John. Introduction to twodimensional design: form & function. New York:John Wiley & sons Collins, Patricia (1990). BL ACK F EMI NI ST TH O U GHT. Hyman. p. 80. Engle, G. D. (1978). THI S GROTE SQUE E S S E NC E : P L AYS F RO M THE A ME RI CAN MI NSTRE L STAGE . Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University. THE HA RL E M RE NA I S SA NC E . History.com, October 4, 2015. Web. Video. 2009
Kischke, Amy Helene. Aaron Douglas: Art, Race & the harlem renaissance. Jackson: University Press of Missisippi. 1995. Book.
"SIN CE THE HARLEM REN AISSAN CE " Pennsylvania: The Center Gallery of Bucknell University, 1985. Book. ” THOMAS DARTMOUTH RICE” . Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 05 Dec. 2015.
Watson, Steve. THE HARLEM REN AISSAN CE: HUB OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE . 1920-30. New York' Pantheon Books. 1995. Book. West, Carolyn (2008). “MAMMY, J EZEB EL , SAPPHIRE, AN DTHEIR HOMEGIRLS: DEVELOPIN G AN ‘OPPOSITION AL GAZE’ TOWARDS THE IMAGE S OF B LACK WOMEN ” (PDF). Lectures on the Psychology of Women (4). White, Deborah Gray (1999). AR’N ’ T I A WOMAN . W.W. Norton & Company.
ELIJAH WILLIAMSON __ Harlem Circa 1920 Thesis II Antonio Alcalla Corcoran College of Art + Design