Soul of a Nation

Soul of a Nation

Soul of a Nation is an art collection that existed in the era of Black Power between the year 1963 to 1983. They have shone a perky light on the vital role of Black artists’ involvement in more than twenty years, starting in 1963 at the rise of the movement of civil rights. The art examines how those movements, as well as aesthetic advancements in visual art,  were sturdily conveyed in the effort of artists including Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar, Alma Thomas, and others. The artists reside in Los Angeles and have appeared throughout the Soul of a Nation. They have particularly been involved in the art and history of the civil rights’ movement and the following activist age. They have influenced and maintained the originality of the artists, which many of whom have no recognition.

Betye Saar reflected how the African American was assaulted and racially abused by the white through the use of artistic images. The images portrayed disparaging imagery as a method of protest and mark of black women empowerment. The medium consist of wood, cotton, plastic, metal, acrylic, printed paper and fabric with a dimension of 29.8 x 20.3 x 7 cm and made in 1972. The work of aunt Jemima is to take care of the white child and sweeping the fragment of cotton wools. Jemima juxtaposes stereotype of a raised large black fist at the forefront, on the left a stood a gun that has been erected, on the right, she holds a bloom and a pistol at her right hand at the front a big colourful portrait of her holding a white child with one hand. The colour palate involves white, yellow, red, chocolate, black, green, orange. “Unless the Black artist establishes a “Black aesthetic” he will have no future at all. To accept the white aesthetic is to accept and validate a society that will not allow him to live. The Black artist must create new forms and new values, sing new songs (or purify old ones); and along with other Black authorities, he must create a new history, new symbols, myths and legends (and purify old ones by fire). And the Black artist, in creating his own aesthetic, must be accountable for it only to the Black people.” In the first sentence, the artists are told that unless they love to depict and value the Africanism, they will not be appreciated and recognized by the large group of the Americans. They have to use their artistic skills to create a history for themselves to the world and at the same time communicating through them. Byte Saar demonstrated through the artistic drawing of Aunt Jemima, a jovial and ever-smiling lady though informed and ready to act as she was already fully armed.

The work is reflected using a devil wearing a hat and a jacket, both bearing an American flag and facing each other with six young children and a woman with the face of Martin Luther King II. The artist is Kay Brown and ‘The devil and his game” as the title of the work. The medium consists of a collage of various papers and mixed media on canvas measuring 48 x 36 inch. (121.9 x 91.4 cm in size and made in 1970. The devil represents President Ronald Reagan’s policies that hurt African Americans. The different colours used by her included purple, orange, purple, golden yellow, grey, white and black. “This confrontation between the black radical and the white liberal is symbolic of larger confrontations occurring between the Third World and Western society. It is a confrontation between the colonizer and the colonized, the slave master and the slave. Implicit in Easley’s remarks is the belief that the white man is culturally and politically superior to the Black Man. Even though Western society has been traditionally violent in its relation with the Third World, it sanctimoniously deplores violence or self-assertion on the part of the enslaved. And the Western mind, with clever rationalizations, equates the violence of the oppressed with the violence of the oppressor. So that when the native preaches self-determination, the Western white man cleverly misconstrues it to mean hatred of all white men.” The quotation means the conflict of the African Americans is an image of the larger problem lying between Western nations and the African countries.

The work is reflected using a flag with red stripes depicted as dropping blood. In the painting still, a woman is seen oozing blood from her breasts as her two kids grip to her legs. The woman’s upper body parts are set behind the stripes, and stars but her children below the stars. The medium is a piece of cloth measuring 42.4 x 31.3 cm | 16.7 x 12.3 inches and was made available in 1997. The colours are red, white, green, blue, yellow. How it relates is as follows; American flag symbolizes freedom and representation of all of the people of the United States. Though putting the woman of colour behind the stars shows that she is not included in the symbol of unity. The people of colour are a part of the nation, but not really accepted. The kids are in front of the stripes as they symbolize a new generation, the people of colour will attain acceptance and equal privileges. “In a context of world upheaval, ethics and aesthetics must interact positively and be consistent with the demands for a more spiritual world. Consequently, the Black Arts Movement is an ethical movement. Ethical, that is, from the viewpoint of the oppressed. And much of the oppression confronting the Third World and Black America is directly traceable to the Euro American cultural sensibility. This sensibility, anti-human in nature, has, until recently, dominated the psyches of most Black artists and intellectuals; it must be destroyed before the Black creative artist can have a meaningful role in the transformation of society.” The artists are assured that it is rightful to be treated as human beings and must be fought for in order for them to gain access in changing society.

During the era of the Black Art Movement, several African American women took a bold and firm step in enforcing justice and fairness have prevailed. They tried their best through the use of arts to make sure they sell their ideas to the white in order to win them and be granted freedom, dignity and the position in the society that they deserve. Change has not been seen yet, but the vigour and the determination the women had would make changes in future to happen. They artistically portrayed their mind on issues which they were going through. The incorporation of the brain was strong in order to show the effect of the harsh conditions and suffering the African American went through. The artistic frameworks lacked some writings as a supportive guide in ensuring comprehension of the message to those people unable to interpret the information. The writings should give a cohesive understanding and interpretation of the information.