Aaron douglas and Hale Woodruff: African American Art Education, Gallery Work, and Expanded Pedagogy

Teaching and Cultural Domination: Re-Examining Trajectories of Traditional African Sculpture through Critique

“…(Locke, 1940, p. 207) Some believed that Locke stressed a singular and limited view of the complex and multilayered African American experience. They felt that Locke's views would set apart the form and content of negro art, and not necessarily make it more acceptable to the white public (Porter, 1992;Bey, forthcoming 2011). White patrons who supported earlier racist ideologies wholeheartedly subscribed to Locke's position.…”

“…The shift from realistically rendered African American figures to their attempts to merge traditional African sculptural influences with African American cultural and historical subjects and modernist aesthetics distinguished African American modernists from their European and white modernist counterparts. However, the African American artists' relationship to modernism and African art was sometimes construed as disingenuous (Porter, 1992;Gibson, 1997;Bey, forthcoming 2011). Unfortunately, they were not given credit for achieving the same level of skill and sophistication as whites who worked in a similar genre.…”

“…Nonetheless, through their transit to Barnes's gallery, Douglas, over time, began to hold these works, along with the modernist painting and sculpture, in high esteem. As a result, he incorporated influences from art deco, modernism, Egyptian art, Dan Ivory Coast art, and Fang male reliquary guardians (Kirschke, 1995;Bey, forthcoming 2011). Stylized and simplistic Egyptianinspired figures with mask-like faces began to dominate many of Douglas's compositions.…”

“…From the onset of the Harlem Renaissance, African Americans created dignified images of themselves to counter those derogatory images that pervaded nineteenth-century visual culture in the United States. Locke advocated for African American artists who made the conventions of African art foundational to their development, just as European artists built on the traditions of Greece and Rome (Locke, 1925;Driskell, 1995;Bey, forthcoming 2011). Locke suggested that studying these works could give African Americans a greater appreciation of African art, which in his view contrasted with the humanistic and emotional sensibility of African American art (Locke, 1925).…”

“…It was only after his white Austrian mentor, Winold Reiss, encouraged him to do so that he began to develop his signature style by embracing African sculptural influences (Douglas, 1973). Reiss also suggested that Douglas consider the influence of African American spirituals as he developed (Kirschke, 1995;Bey, forthcoming 2011).…”