Thursday, October 30, 2008

Brownstone By Jacob Lawrence


Brownstones created in 1958 by Jacob Lawrence displays and image of African Americans in Harlem, New York during the Harlem Renaissance. It doesn’t say that the art piece was depicted in Harlem, New York, but in previous paintings that Jacob Lawrence has created, including his Migration Series, he is mainly showing life during slavery in the South, and then life after slavery in the North; particularly Harlem, New York. The painting itself involves a lot of bright colors. For example; reds, blues, yellows, browns and orange. As opposed to dark colors, for example blacks and dark browns.

The reason for this maybe is because in this painting Jacob Lawrence is probably trying to show the change of African Americans lifestyle, future, and hope that they now have after slavery is over. So in his paintings of African Americans life in slavery, he displays it as a dark and hard lifestyle, where African Americans have no hope, can’t display imagination, or dream of anywhere else but where they are currently living. But in this depiction of African Americans Jacob Lawrence is showing hope, a new change of lifestyle, and imagination. Now African Americans are able to afford more expensive clothing, can dream and imagine, because they now have the freedom to do so.

Particular parts in the painting of Brownstone, for example of the woman, her husband, and their baby in the carriage, show one example of something that would never have happened back in the South during slavery. The reason for this, is because African Americans during slavery particularly the men were separated from their families. So in very rare occasions and mostly not at all did children know who their father was. So to see in this painting that African American families are still together during this time period is something that should show progress.

This painting doesn’t show that African Americans lifestyle is perfect after slavery, but it does display that African Americans have made a change in their life, and are working towards something more for their families and them.
Image Works Cited

Whitney Museum of American Art. Whitney. 2001. 30 October 2008 <http://www.whitney.org/jacoblawrence/art/neighborhood.html>

1 comment:

Your Teacher said...

Some interesting analysis.