Arts During the Harlem Renaissance
Name
Institution Affiliated
Harlem Renaissance and Art
Introduction
It refers to a critical period that covered the entire 1920s period. It refers to the artistic, social, and intellectual eruption that happened in the US and centered around New York, Harlem, and Manhattan. It affected Harlem the greatest hence the name Harlem Renaissance. People let loose and started to find new ways of expressing themselves, and this expression took form through modes of dressing, music, literature, and other forms of art. Artists went through a rebirth of some sort and became bold in the way that they communicated through their pieces. The artists came up with new ways of expressing their newly found African American pride. Art during the Harlem Renaissance period aimed to transform and have a substantial impact on the African American culture, as well as reinforcing the pride of the African American people.
Aaron Douglas, Song of the Towers, 1934
The painting is part of a set of murals in which Douglas records the progression of how the Negro identity developed. From the original African homeland, slavery and emancipation, reconstruction of the South, and to the Song of the Towers. The mural depicts a jazz musician trying to scale the mountain of American modernism. The works of Douglas influenced and inspired new Harlem artists as it described the progress of black history, and this set him apart as one of the trailblazers and significant artists of the Harlem Renaissance period.
The Song of the Towers was a way of Douglas ending the story of the murals he created that spoke of black history. At first glance, the painting might depict a positive picture of a person relishing the light of the sun after playing a song on the instrument he has in his hands. However, on second glance, a person can deduce that at the center of the circles of light, lies the faint outline of the Statue of Liberty. The lights radiate from the distance, and it gradually becomes darker as they are visible through the gap of two structures on the left and right borders of the painting. The two structures roughly form the outline of the letter V, gradually narrowing towards the base of the painting. The figures in the painting seem to struggle to make their way towards the light, the light of liberty. The figures are climbing the grooves of the cogs, towards the promise. The centerpiece of the painting is a saxophonist with raised arms, relishing the triumph and basking in the promise of the light. The saxophonist has essentially made it to the opening in the structures—a place of freedom, opportunity, and enjoyment. There are no oppressions and fears of the dark that lines the edges of the painting.
The painting depicts a second figure, closer to the first, carrying a briefcase and relatively enfolded by the darkness. This figure has not cleared the cog, and Douglas painted the figure as if it is trying to make its way up a hill, running. In my mind, I tend to think that this figure is one that has the determination to reach where the first figure is standing in the light. The figure has his hand stretched out as if trying to fend off something that is trying to reel it back. This gesture shows that the figure is trying to fend off whatever threat that is after it, at a dead run, carrying the things that are most important to him. There is a third figure on the bottom left corner that is still in the confines of the dark, and Douglas painted it in a way that shows that the figure has its hand to its head. This gesture shows despair and hopelessness as the figure has not even made it to the cog, and whatever threats and fears that the second figure runs from have engulfed the third figure, oppressing him. The center lights radiate warmth and promise due to the bright colors that Douglas chose for them.
Jazz
Jazz is a genre of music that originated from the African American people, and it depicts and talks of the struggles that the African Americans endured during the tough periods of slavery and the emancipation of slavery. Jazz became a form of expression during the 20s as musicians became bold and started using music to talk about the problems and issues that the average African American endured and continue to endure. Even though times were changing, the black community faced the same issues even after emancipation. Jazz became a tool that gave expression to the experiences of the black community.
Jazz was a fusion of African and European musical traditions. One can trace the evolution of jazz music to ragtime, spiritual folk songs of the black community, slave songs that they sang as they carried out their activities on farms, and also from blues. The artists that wrote and sang the songs had the main objective of making the songs address and reform social equality and justice for every person, but specifically for the African American. Harlem housed all the major jazz bands that had the likes of Benny Goodman and Fletcher Henderson.
As jazz grew in popularity in the renaissance period, people started to associate it with some level of sophistication, and the elite of New York City at the time started to attend jazz clubs. This attribution to some degree of sophistication stimulated both the local and international markets, and radio broadcasting stations played a significant role in spreading the music. This spread also led to the African Americans in places like Paris spread adopt and spread the Harlem renaissance in these countries as well. Jazz offered the African American an outlet to vent out frustration, hopes, and dreams, as well as a vision for a better future. The 20s was a critical period when jazz music became tremendously popular, and it blossomed to what it is today. In no time, jazz became popular with the white American population as well as other cultures all over the world.
Analysis
The painting tells a very different story when a person goes in-depth in its analysis. The painting serves to depict the daily struggle that the African American has to go through in a society or country that oppressed the minorities. Douglas painted it at a time when the black Americans were starting to get things back in order after the whole slavery and the issues that they faced after it. In his painting, he shows these as the dark edges which have outreached hands, trying to pull the figures back to the oppressions and problems that they experienced. These issues include racial profiling, racial segregation, among other things. The period was a time of hope that had a much deeper meaning for the African American population in the US and other European countries.
It’s a time when they came up with new and bold ways of expressing their opinions without fear or reservations. Douglas depicts this breakthrough with the first figure holding the saxophone; the character managed to break through from the darkness and reached the light. However, Douglas painted the statue in a faint texture that shows that it is still quite a distance from the saxophonist. This depiction shows that even though the African Americans had broken through, there was still a lot of work for them to do before they could achieve what they hoped. The dream was still quite a distance some distance away, and they could reach it through perseverance. Jazz, on the other hand, thrived during this period because artists composed their songs based on the issues they faced.
The artists and composers used the social issues that the people of the black community faced to compose their songs so that they could bring these issues to the masses. The African American community has used songs to pass messages of hope to each other ever since the time that they were slaves. Jazz was also a tool for social change. The twenties were a time when the African American population evoked change and made strides towards securing something for the betterment of the black community. They used jazz to reach various people from all over the world, and even the white populace started to attend jazz sessions, and they enjoyed the music.
Comparison
The two art forms, Douglas’ painting, and jazz, both represented the Harlem Renaissance in their ways. The painting, for instance, shows how the African man still struggles with various threats that threaten to suck them back into the pit of darkness from which they struggled to gain freedom. The painting also shows the image of a jazz musician holding up a saxophone, a tool for many jazz musicians. Music has always been a tool for African Americans to communicate emotions ever since they were slaves. Jazz became popular during the Harlem Renaissance period, and it garnered a substantial following from all over the world. There was no mention of the Harlem Renaissance without mentioning jazz or the golden age of jazz.
Conclusion
The Harlem Renaissance period was a crucial period for the African American Population. It was a period that the black community found new ways of expressing themselves from their mode of dressing to new artistic styles. It also became known as the New Negro Movement. It largely affected Harlem than any other place in the world. Artists found new ways of expressing themselves, and Aaron Douglas was one such artist. He used his painting, Song of the Towers, to paint a vivid picture, literally, of the issues the black man has to overcome for just a taste of the promised future. Jazz was also another art form that gained popularity during this period—songwriters composed songs meant to address or speak against the social injustices the black man faced.