How Did Romare Bearden Influence August Wilson

Throughout the course of history, two activists that were influenced by Blues music, strived to unite the black community despite the struggles of oppression and poverty. They guided the youth to make them familiar with their African roots. The Blues is a musical form that traces back to African rhythms, African-American slave songs, and spiritual music. These two activists are Romare Bearden and August Wilson, who both grew up during the Harlem Renaissance. Romare Bearden was an African American artist who was famous for his paintings that reflected African lives. August Wilson was an American playwright who was best known for his plays “Fences” and “The Piano Lesson”. Romare used his art and paintings to speak, meanwhile Wilson used his

“In a 1999 interview in The Paris Review, Mr. Wilson cited his major influences…the blues was the primary influence, followed by Jorge Luis Borges, the playwright Amiri Baraka and the painter Romare Bearden” (NY Times). The blues is different from other forms of music because it was only recorded by memory and was passed down through generations of African Americans. It began in North Mississippi in post-Civil War times. The blues music was influenced by African roots, church music, and rhythmic dance tunes which were called jump-ups. An evolution of African music created in the United States by slaves influenced the blue. The blues was a way for people to share their feelings and personal views on life. Both Romare Bearden and August Wilson were influenced by the blues music. “After I discovered the Blues I began to look at the people in the house a little different” (Werner, 276). After Wilson learned about Blues music he started to see value and determination in others’ lives. In a sense, it changed his view on society and his view on how others live their lives. They both believed that it was a form of music that connects the youth to their past and identifies who they are. August Wilson’s play “The Piano Lesson” influenced by the blues and so was Romare Bearden’s painting “The Piano Lesson”. These both showed a piano and portrayed how the piano is important to African culture and

In this play, Wilson illustrates the current generation that is struggling to hold on to their ancestry. He exposes the audience to two such characters named Berneice and her brother Boy Willie, who tell the history of the piano. When he saw the painting of Romare Bearden, he was influenced by it to make this play. “The Piano Lesson is a painting of a little girl at the piano with her piano teacher standing over her and in my mind, I saw Maretha and Berniece” (NY Times). The piano is carved with the faces of their ancestors in slavery, the piano represents a valuable piece of history that the family fights over. In Bearden’s collage he shows a figure playing the piano with a woman that is standing above her trying to teach her how to play. In Wilson’s play, Berneice teaches her daughter named Maretha, how to play the piano while standing above her and keeping a distance from the it. The playing of the piano and the presence of ghosts int the play represented the African belief in the supernatural. As the painting portrays the ritual of passing down knowledge and stories in the playing of the