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Analysis Of Untitled: Four Etchings By Glenn Ligon

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The artwork Untitled: Four Etchings by Glenn Ligon contains an immense amount of depth and symbolism using Zora Neale Hurston’s famous depiction of her relationship with racism. In his piece, Ligon utilizes a unique style of texture through his portrayal of the noteworthy phrase “ I do not always feel colored… ... I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp white background,” (Hurston). As one looks from the top of the image down, there is an extremely noticeable transition in the texture of the words from clear, smooth letters into letters that are blurry and smeared. As the viewer looks lower and lower into the piece, the words that are depicted transition into something incomprehensible that is hard to grasp.. If one were to …show more content…

Glenn Ligon is an African American man who was born in the Bronx in 1960. Ligon grew up in a primarily black neighborhood at the height of the civil rights movement. Ligon is mostly known for his expression of famous texts from renowned civil rights authors such as Walt Whitman, Zora Neale Hurston, Gertrude Stein, James Baldwin, and Ralph Ellison. Ligon normally creates abstract pieces that are not easy to comprehend and have many layers of meaning, which is very similar to what the subject of his pieces are saying as well. This specific image was created in 1992, and it contains an excerpt from one of Zora Neale Hurston’s most famous essays. Ligon perfectly embodies Hurston’s intended message through his portrayal of her words on canvas. Hurston’s point of feeling contrasted and that her voice cannot be heard is depicted perfectly through Ligon’s portrayal of this piece. This work of art contains so much depth and meaning, and it is able to perfectly capture an extremely common and powerful feeling that many black people still have today. The main idea that Ligon wants the viewer to walk away with is that everyone needs to embrace the importance of black people being able to speak their minds, which is exactly what Zora Neale Hurston did so many years

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The line of choice for Ligon 's work is the outline. Underneath all the vibrant colors, are outlines of kids playing basketball, people, a fence, a house, some letters, Harriet Tubman, a butterfly, and a strange looking woman. This piece has nothing but bright and bold colors. The colors Ligon uses are colors straight from the rainbow. The only dark

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She argues he was once like present day American citizens who feel trapped and chained by inequality and the super powers who enforce it. To combat this cage, Douglass is presented as an ideal that American’s today should strive towards to enact change in our country. Lapore states “Fredrick Douglass…. tried to lift those burdens with the strength of his ideals”. His character and involvement in the fight for justice and equality gave people a voice and aided communities to believe in equal rights for black men and all women.

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In final words figurative language helps give ideas on how Hurston is allowing the stereotypes to not define her which leads to a brighter

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In this book, Hurston uses symbolism to illustrate that contentment is more meaningful than fitting into society. Janie’s hair plays a big role in this book. It brings out her power and unique identity, but Jody takes that away from Janie. Jody sees that Janie’s hair attracts some of the townspeople, so he makes Janie wrap her hair and hide it.”

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By creating a work that blurs the lines between poetry, prose, and visual art, she is able to explore the complexities of black experiences in a way that may not be possible with a more traditional form. The chapter is a mixture of prose and visual elements, including photographs, line drawings, and other visual images. These images are often integrated with the text, creating a multi-layered, multimedia experience for the reader. The images are sometimes used to illustrate the text, while at other times they offer a counterpoint or commentary on the text, adding nuance and depth to the author's exploration of the subject matter.

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By analyzing John White 's watercolor replicas of engravings by Theodore De Bry we can tell how John White 's journey to establish a colony in Raleigh 's charter territory, Virginia, in 1587 affected his few of the Native Americans. Even though this journey ended in bad blood between the two very different people, a look into their life gave John White greater respect for their passion for family, friends, and religion. We see this in the way John White 's images gave us more of a warm view of their family, housing, and religious practices rather than focusing on them being blood thirsty killers preparing for war. With outrageous rumors of the possibility of Native men pillaging the newly made villages and raping their delicate women,

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The rhetorical aim of expression is understood in the first paragraph because Hurston begins in first person: "I am colored but I offer nothing in the way of extenuating circumstances except the fact that I am the only Negro in the United States whose grandfather on the mother's side was not an Indian chief" (12). Hurston does not stray from first person as she continues to express from personal experiences throughout her life. She concludes the essay by questioning "who knows" about the "Great Stuffer of Bags" (15). In Hurston's conclusion, she compares colored people with paper bags. Hurston's essay is effective because (1) she succeeds in organizing her experiences with a common phrase starting the beginning of her paragraphs and (2) Hurston effectively narrates each experience with imagery and literary devices.

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