Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: A Nonstandard Celebration

Harriet and the Promised Land, No. 10 (1967)

I like to think I’ve expanded my interest to include not just the Negro theme but man generally and maybe if this speaks through the Negro I think this is valid also…. I would like to think of it as dealing with all people, the struggle of man to always better his condition and to move forward…. I think all people aspire, all people strive towards a better human condition, a better mental condition generally.—Jacob Lawrence

Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) (1966)

In perhaps a non-standard way of honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I’m posting some (images of) art works by one of my favorite artists, Jacob Lawrence (September 7, 1917 – June 9, 2000):

“Lawrence is one of the first American artists trained in and by the black community in Harlem, and it is from the people of Harlem that he initially obtained professional recognition. He was also the first African American artist to receive sustained support from mainstream art museums and patronage outside of the black community during an era of legalized and institutionalized segregation. [….]

…Lawrence developed a philosophy regarding art and the role that it can play addressing social issues, particularly as they pertain to race. Though much of his career coincides with a period in which artists attempted to strip all narrative and literary references from their work, he has always maintained that art, as one of the highest forms of human endeavor, is too significant a communicative medium to be simply reduced to formal experimentation. For over sixty years and with intentionally limited means (water-based paints on boards or paper)[1], he has harnessed the seductive power of semi-abstract forms to address many of the great social and philosophical themes of the twentieth century, especially at they pertain to the lives and histories of African Americans: migration, manual labor, war, family values, education, mental health, and creativity. He made visible a side of American history that includes the contributions of African Americans; has presented scenes of daily life that provide a compassionate counterpoint to stereotypical images of African Americans; and painted poignant social commentary on the effects of racism and bigotry in American culture. His ability to distill the essence of these subjects into elemental shapes is unparalleled and one of the defining aspects of his work.”[2]

Confrontation at the Bridge (1975)

 

Struggle II—Man on Horseback (1965)

 

Soldiers and Students (1962)

Notes:

[1] On the role of intentional constraints (‘intentionally limited means’) in art, see Jon Elster, “Less is More: Creativity and Constraint in the Arts,” in his book, Ulysses Unbound: Studies in Rationality, Precommitment, and Constraints (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000): 175-269.

[1] Peter T. Nesbett and Michelle DuBois, eds., Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence (Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, in association with Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonné Project, 2000): 11.

The Library (1966)

References & Further Reading:

• Denning, Michael. The Cultural Front: The Laboring of American Culture in the Twentieth Century. London: Verso, 2010 edition.
• Elster, Jon. “Less is More: Creativity and Constraint in the Arts,” in his Ulysses Unbound: Studies in Rationality, Precommitment, and Constraints. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
• Hemingway, Andrew. Artists on the Left: American Artists and the Communist Movement, 1926-1956. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002.
• Nesbett, Peter T. and Michelle DuBois. Jacob Lawrence: Paintings, Drawings, and Murals (1935-1999)—A Catalogue Raisonné. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, in association with Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonné Project, 2000.
• Nesbett, Peter T. and Michelle DuBois, eds. Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, in association with Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonné Project, 2000.
• Wheat, Ellen Harkins. Jacob Lawrence: American Painter. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1986.