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Aaron Douglas African American Art Museum

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“Aaron Douglas African American Modernist.” Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Smithsonian American Art Museum. Web. 7 Nov. 2015. Born and raised in Topeka, Kansas, Aaron was the son of a homemaker and laborer having several brothers and sisters. Though he came from a poor family, he was fortunate to receive a promising education. His artwork spoke volumes as he is still influencing artists and inspiring people today. Aaron Douglas “provided a dignified voice of opposition, insight, and aspiration” to others simply through his creations (1). He displayed courage for African Americans through his work which in turn encouraged many to take action, if they had not already. His beautiful, attention grabbing paintings completely captured culture …show more content…

This was a time where many African Americans migrated north to be a part of a more civic, industrialized society. The African American people migrated so far north that they made it to the streets of Harlem, New York, earning this new Negro movement its name. Aaron Douglas is one of many black artists from the Harlem Renaissance and was the “first modern Black artist to use traditional African roots” in his artwork (1). Douglas was also the first president of the Harlem Artist Guild. He worked to help other African American artists find employment, as it was difficult to do so considering that “with this rebirth of traditional African culture, the number of African American artists rapidly increased” (1). This source will be extremely critical throughout the development of my thesis as it entails the story of Aaron Douglas, the artist of Aspects of Negro Life, and also a description of what the Harlem Renaissance is. This source is reliable as it is published through e-Vision at James Madison …show more content…

2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2015. Being yet another contribution to Aspects of Negro Life, Aaron Douglas displays the occurrence of a war dance in The Negro in an African Setting. This work tells of the “importance of the African spirituality” as the floating statue in the upper-center of the painting consumes all attention (1). The statue is highlighted as everyone in the piece leans back with their line of sight directly viewing the statue. Douglas delightfully illustrates movement through both angular lines and circles. I will be able to use this source to display representation and meaning through this piece. This source is reliable as it is published through the website Blog Spot and provides a creative, knowledgeable insight to the

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