Analysis Of Norman Lewis Twilight Sounds

A confusing jumble of twisty vertical lines and small shapes of primary colors within a confined rectangle is what one sees when first looking at the painting, Twilight Sounds, by Norman Lewis. This Abstract Expressionist work from 1947 is a colorful and visually stimulating artwork. Art Historians now recognize Lewis as one of, if not the first Black artist in the Abstract Expressionist movement, but when this work was created, Norman Lewis did not receive the same praise or attention from art critics or the public. With many of his works centering the Black experience in America, Lewis establishes crowds as a common motif in his artworks. The crowd we see in Twilight Sounds is vibrant and active, but it is also surrounded on all four sides

Later he started creating more abstract works, distinguishing himself as an abstract expressionist painter during the height of the movement in the United States. As a Black painter, his work often centered ideas about the Black experience in America, which was not easy, as Lewis explained in an oral interview with Henri Ghent in 1968 stating, “I just hope that I can materialize something out of all this frustration as a black artist in America” (Ghent). As a Black artist, Lewis wasn’t often accepted or realized as part of the movement, and his paintings and opinions weren’t given the same consideration as those of white, (cis, male) artists. In Ann Gibson’s article, Recasting the Cannon: Norman Lewis and Jackson Pollock, she explains how a distinction for the term “subject” is necessary to understand the Abstract Expressionist movement. The subject, rather than signifying what is depicted in an artwork, refers to the creator of an artwork. She goes on to say about Lewis’s exclusion from the canon, “no matter what Lewis did or did not do, his work would always have one distinct difference from Abstract Expressionism: a black subject” (Gibson, 71). As a Black artist, his work wasn’t valued in the same way as that of white (cis, male)

Norman Lewis did all these things but did not have nearly the same prominence as white (cis, male) artists. Today, in 2023, we see the value in the works of Norman Lewis and other underrepresented artists, that they were never given when they were created. These works now hang in museums and are sold in auctions, and it is only because of the determination and persistence of these artists, that I can write this essay today. When asked if he makes a successful living as an artist, Norman Lewis replied, “No, I don't. I don't think any black artist makes a living. Despite his prominence or what he contributes to American culture it is always sort of second class” (Ghent). I think this answer would be very different if Norman Lewis was alive and able to be asked