By Alana Vines, AJV64@uakron.edu
I attended the “outlining black art” and had the opportunity to experience beautiful and inspiring artwork created by African Americans. Every piece held a different meaning and told different stories of the black experience. All the artworks had a certain allure about themselves, the ability to catch my eye and make me look closer to understand what the artist was trying to tell me. Since the beginning of time art has told stories of culture, love, and so much more. Art has also been used to communicate things that words simply cannot convey and the work created by these artists accomplishes both.
Certain Pieces stood out to me, a painting by Stephani Stewart titled “Eden Acrylic '' the painting is of a young black girl with wings sitting in a garden. She looks calm, as if she does not have a single worry. This image contains both beauty and serenity. To me this painting symbolizes all the young black girls who have gone missing and are not being searched for or all the young black girls who have died at the hands of gun, this explains the name “Eden'' referring to the garden of Eden in Heaven this also explains the delicate while wings that the girls has and the beautiful vibrant flowers surrounding her. This painting provokes a feeling of sadness but also comfort in an odd sense.
A painting titled Sailing Acrylic by Darryl Johnson portrays an image of sailboats in the sea as the sun sets in the background. This painting evokes feelings of happiness and tranquility. The artist took their time with every brushstroke, the artist took a beautiful image and put it on a canvas. This painting has a deep connection to black heritage because the ocean means so many Africans were brought to America on boats as slaves, and a lot of Africans died at sea on the way to America. So many slaves swam through rivers to get out of slavery so something that once led Africans to their captors also helped them get away from them. To the ocean symbolizes peace and freedom and the painting communicates the deep meaning behind what is on the canvas.
A painting by Joi Carter captivated my attention. The painting was a portrait of Dorthy Dandridge Who was an African American singer and actor from the late 1930’s to the early 1960’s. She was an accomplished black woman for her time; she was the first African American nominated for an academy award. She was a beautiful and talented black woman and an inspiration to all young black female actors. This painting to me is a representation of resilience. Dandridge was faced with obstacles and struggles though she continued to work hard and do what she loved. This painting shows the glamor and beauty of Dandridge and an African American woman truly living the American dream.
The last painting I had a strong emotional connection to was a piece by Louise Bane titled “Occlusion Mixed Media” the artwork has texture and is of a woman holding a man in her arms they too are fully painted black and look more like silhouettes lacking detail within the facial region. This piece provokes feelings of comfort and joy. The piece expresses black love and the idea of finding safety and sanctuary within someone. I also enjoy the fact that this painting is a representation of black love. This piece also expresses unity the idea that black people form a community and create the ability to rely on each other. I personally enjoyed every piece of art but wanted to highlight certain pieces that spoke to me more than others. I enjoyed this exhibit, and I am thankful to all the artists for sharing their meaningful work. I also hope to see this exhibit next year with more explanations of the art and what the artist was conveying.
Comentários