1. The Age of Pluralism

2. Relationship between art and popular culture: Art is a reflection of Culture Culture is also a reflection of Art Artists engaged in usually scathing social commentary through their pieces (usually negative)  In contrast to come earlier eras where art romanticized the dominant culture Art grew out of popular culture

3. Basic Info: What is Pluralism?  A condition or system in which two or more states, groups, principles, or sources of authority coexist  A theory or system that recognizes more than one ultimate principle  http://www.pluralism.org/pluralism/what_is_pluralism Date Range for Era of Pluralism  Unknown  University says 1950’s – present day

4. Political Developments: New nations due to the fall of the Soviet Union New developments in political systems Wars --- lots of them!

5. Socioeconomic Developments: Growth in population Growth of consumerism Growth in art movements Globalization

6. Technological Developments: Computer Internet Genetic cloning Medical advances Methods of travel Cell phones

7. Websites to Explore: http://www.pluralism.org/pluralism/what_is_pluralism http://arlie3.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/living-in-an- age-of-pluralism/ http://arlie3.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/living-in-an- age-of-pluralism/ http://www.udel.edu/htr/American/Texts/pluralism.ht ml http://www.udel.edu/htr/American/Texts/pluralism.ht ml http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Pluralism101.a sp http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Pluralism101.a sp

8. LETS FIND OUT! Does pluralism have any relationship to post-modernism?

9. What is Post-Modernism? A rejection of the sovereign autonomous individual with an emphasis upon anarchic collective, anonymous experience. Collage, diversity, the mystically unrepresentable, Dionysian passion are the foci of attention. Most importantly we see the dissolution of distinctions, the merging of subject and object, self and other. This is a sarcastic playful parody of western modernity and the "John Wayne" individual and a radical, anarchist rejection of all attempts to define, reify or re-present the human subject.  http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/elab/hfl0242.html http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/elab/hfl0242.html

10. What is Post-Modernism? (another definition) That postmodernism is indefinable is a truism. However, it can be described as a set of critical, strategic and rhetorical practices employing concepts such as difference, repetition, the trace, the simulacrum, and hyperreality to destabilize other concepts such as presence, identity, historical progress, epistemic certainty, and the univocity of meaning.  http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/postmodernism/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/postmodernism/

11. Key Visual Art Movements Harlem Renaissance Feminism Globalism Pop Art New Realism New Expressionism Social Conscience Art Total Art Changes in Architecture

12. Individual Activity: Please view the painting to the right and answer the following questions: What is the subject of this piece? Is there a social issue that seems to be the focus? What are some characteristics of this painting that stand out to you? Why?

13. “Ascent from Ethiopia”, Louis Mailou Jones. 1932 Study the picture for 2 minutes. Form an overall impression of the painting, then start to focus on individual details. Questions to think about: 1. What do you see? 2. What people do you see? 3. What objects do you see? 4. What colors do you see? 5. What actions/activities do you see? 6. What questions does this painting raise in your mind? 7. How does this painting relate to the Harlem Renaissance? 8. Based on what you have observed, list what you may infer from this painting.

14. Key Effects of Social Injustice: Led to several reform movements Encouraged Americans to carefully examine social issues Encouraged government intervention to stop social injustice

15. World events & radical changes in art: Harlem Renaissance  Encouraged African-American expression  Gave legitimacy to African-American art Great Depression  FDR’s New Deal offered African-American artists greater opportunities to express themselves World War II  Changed the landscape of how all Americans saw America’s role in the world  Brought about the Cold War which shaped the Art of the 1960’s, 1970’s, & 1980’s

16. Historical Context: Harlem Renaissance of 1920’s – 1930’s  set the stage for African American art of the 1940’s & 1950’s The Great Depression  Government programs afforded African Americans greater opportunities for cultural development World War II  African-Americans fought in the war along side whites and began in earnest to question their standing in society

17. How does the Harlem Renaissance connect to the Great Migration? The economic opportunities of the era triggered a widespread migration of black Americans from the rural south to the industrial centers of the north - and especially to New York City. In New York and other cities, black Americans explored new opportunities for intellectual and social freedom. Black American artists, writers, and musicians began to use their talents to work for civil rights and obtain equality.

18. How did it impact history? The Harlem Renaissance helped to redefine how Americans and the world understood African American culture It integrated black and white cultures, and marked the beginning of a black urban society The Harlem Renaissance set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60’s

19. Harlem Renaissance: An African American cultural movement of the 1920s and early 1930s that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City Emerged toward the end of World War 1 in 1918 Blossomed in the mid- to late 1920s then faded in the mid- 1930s

20. Harlem Renaissance: Marked the first time that mainstream publishers and critics took African American literature seriously The nation began to pay significant attention to African American literature, art, music, theater, and politics.

21. Harlem Renaissance: Beginnings A time of social and intellectual unrest in the African American community Several factors that laid the groundwork for the movement  An increasing black middle class  Increased education and employment opportunities following the Civil War enabled many poor African Americans to obtain work and schooling.  The Great Migration  hundreds of thousands of black Americans moved from an economically depressed South to industrial cities in the North  They could take advantage of employment opportunities that were created by World War 1.  More and more educated and socially conscious blacks settled in New York’s neighborhood of Harlem

22. Development into the political and cultural center of black America. Widespread exposure of African American culture  Thousands of sophisticated New Yorkers, black and white, flocked to Harlem’s new exotic and exciting nightlife Harlem Renaissance: Beginnings

23. Diversity of expression. People were united in giving expression to the African American experience Appealed to a mixed audience and relied heavily on white publishing houses and white-owned magazines The relationship between the Renaissance writers and white publishers and audiences created some controversy Harlem’s cabarets attracted both Harlem residents and white New Yorkers seeking out Harlem life Harlem Renaissance: Characteristics

24. Harlem Renaissance: Ending & Influence A number of factors contributed to the decline of the Harlem Renaissance in the mid-1930s  The Great Depression of the 1930s affected all aspects of life.  Organizations such as the NAACP and Urban League, which had actively promoted the Renaissance in the 1920s, shifted their interest to other social issues and the economy  Many influential black writers and literary promoters left NYC in the early 1930s  A riot between the black community and white shop owners who profited from that community

25. Harlem Renaissance: Ending & Influence The Harlem Renaissance changed forever the dynamics of African American arts and literature in the United States Publishers and the public were more open to African American literature than they had been at the beginning of the century The existence of the large amount of African American literature from the Renaissance inspired other black writers to pursue literary careers The Harlem Renaissance was proof that the white race did not hold a monopoly on literature and culture

26. William Johnson Pictured Above : Street life – Harlem (ca. 1939-1940) Born into a working-class black family & moved to New York City at the age of seventeen Educated in the academic and formal traditions of art at the National Academy of Design In 1926, Johnson went to Paris, where he not only painted but also began his studies of modernist art In 1930 Johnson married a Danish textile artist and moved to Denmark Traveled throughout Norway and North Africa studying traditional crafts and art in both cultures  Travels strongly influenced Johnson's later style In 1933 Johnson returned to New York and discovered the intensity and excitement of life in Harlem His best paintings characteristically place flattened figures, in a limited and high-keyed palette, on abstracted ground, depicting scenes of daily life with great personality and intensity

28. Louis Mailou Jones Pictured Above : Les Fetiches (1938) Jones did not have a fixed career in art until she received an offer from the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts for a vocational drawing class Studied at Columbia University and Howard University Granted a teachers certificate after she graduated in 1917 Her formal artistic career began in 1930, when Jones joined the faculty at Howard University In 1931 went to Paris to attend the Academe Julian where she studied painting Her works were mostly inspired by her experiences with discrimination and the aftermath of the Harlem Renaissance Her most popular works were a great number of oils and watercolors. These works carefully, and skillfully depict aspects of African masks, textiles, and figures One of the first female African-American painters to depict African imagery Les Fetiches was completed during her stay in Paris. The faithful representation of the artifacts is a result of her first hand study of African masks Les Fetiches is a poetic blend of spirit and a stirring depiction ancestry

30. Jacob Lawrence Pictured Above : The Street (1957) The culture of Harlem was primary source of inspiration Possessed a consciousness of black history that is generally not included in textbooks Original intention was to provide African Americans with a sense of pride, accomplishment, and hope Began studying art at an early age, first in after-school programs and later at the Harlem Art Workshop. For much of this time, black artist Charles Alston was his mentor. In 1937 received a scholarship to the American Artists School In 1938 he was accepted as a painter in the WPA Federal Art Project Painted the things he saw around him and unavoidably expressed his feelings about the life he experienced in Harlem Civil rights movement and the desegregation of the South during the late 1950s and 1960s provided Lawrence with themes for later paintings

32. Lawrence’s Work Jacob Lawrence painted his Great Migration series during the 1940s to capture the experience of African Americans during the 1920s http://www.columbia.edu/itc/history/odonnell/ w1010/edit/migration/migration.html http://www.columbia.edu/itc/history/odonnell/ w1010/edit/migration/migration.html

35. Aaron Douglass Passion for art at young age, encouraged by mother The Crisis and Opportunity Illustrated books, painted canvas and murals Father of African American Art Show heritage and history of African Americans “At a time when it was unpopular to dignify the black image in white America, Douglas refused to compromise and see blacks as anything less than a proud and majestic people.”- Driskell Inspired and impressed later generations of black artists in America

36. The Founding of Chicago: Aaron Douglas Painted between 1930 and 1933 Shows a laboring man and an enchained mother Man shown thought to be Jean Baptiste du Sable: The French African American who founded Chicago. Gouache on paperboard (146.7 x 351.2 cm)

38. Aspects of Negro Life: Aaron Douglas Series of murals depicting the role of African Americans from slavery through reconstruction Illustrates the story of how Africans were brought to America through the slave trade and struggled to freedom. Specifically, The Idyll of the Deep South shows the “happy” southern plantation worker in the fields. However, the reality was brutality for most slaves in the South The Idyll of the Deep South Window Cleaning, Oil on Canvas (30 x 24 in) Painted in 1934

40. William H. Johnson Moved to Europe to pursue painting, which urged him to devote life to painting Continued to travel world and paint images of people and places Returned to America work with WPA WPA inspired with work of the history, events, and peoples of the African American community Focus on reworking traditional religious images “Folk” style painting

41. Going to Church: William H. Johnson Use of “folk style” painting African American linked to tradition and change Emphasizes urban vs. rural “Going to Church” Personal belief in religion: rooted in church and community. 38 1/8 x 45 Oil on burlap

43. Palmer Hayden Controversial painters of Harlem Renaissance Offered real and true depictions of blacks “Folk” style artwork Explored folklore style in Paris of $3,000 grant Returned to American with new images of black life U.S. Treasury Art Project and WPA Later images of career seen as racist stereotypes of blacks only tolerated because he was black

44. The Janitor Who Paints: Palmer Hayden Depicted African American Life African American experience Illustrates both rural life in the South as well as urban backgrounds: Harlem 1930 Oil on canvas (39 1/8 x 32 7/8 in)

46. Themes “The New Negro”- New image of African American community Affirming and celebrating African American identity Adaptation of European art forms and ideas Critique and rejection of racism

47. Motifs in African American Art African folklore/ Ancestral images Slavery through post-Reconstruction scenes Urban and rural scenes Emergence of the African American middle class family Elegant portraits of African Americans

48. Art Techniques Geometric Shapes Silhouetted/ Semi-abstract figures Different bands/shades of colors Use of Nature Flat forms and hard edges Symmetry in photography

49. Criticism Some people saw the adaptation of white ideas as assimilation There was a large reliance on whites to get Harlem Renaissance artwork of all sorts out there Some people saw artwork as trying to dumb down traditional art

50. Conclusion Inspired other artists of later generations Made other people experience the ideas of the Harlem Renaissance through various media Lead to a new African American identity Was a factor in the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement

51. “Ascent from Ethiopia”, Louis Mailou Jones. 1932 Study the picture for 2 minutes. Form an overall impression of the painting, then start to focus on individual details. Questions to think about: 1. What do you see? 2. What people do you see? 3. What objects do you see? 4. What colors do you see? 5. What actions/activities do you see? 6. What questions does this painting raise in your mind? 7. How does this painting relate to the Harlem Renaissance? 8. Based on what you have observed, list what you may infer from this painting.

52. Feminism Principle of advocating equal social, political, and economic rights for men & women Modern feminism began in post-war period Focus on the capability and not frailty of women … frail woman was artificial construct meant to control, not to protect

53. Cindy Sherman Feminist photographer Uses newest techniques to openly and viscerally challenge preconceived notions of femininity and sexuality http://www.metrojacksonville.co m/article/2012-oct-cindy- sherman-as-iconic-revolutionary- #.U8wLyvldV-c http://www.metrojacksonville.co m/article/2012-oct-cindy- sherman-as-iconic-revolutionary- #.U8wLyvldV-c

54. Niki de Saint Phalle Feminist sculpture Challenges western stereotypes of female beauty

55. Anne Sexton Feminist poet Examines feminine social identity Explores images that traditionally define women “Self in 1958” What is reality? I am a plaster doll; I pose with eyes that cut open without landfall or night fall upon some shellacked and grinning person, eyes that open, blue, steel, and close. Am I approximately an I. Magnin transplant? I have hair, black angel, black-angel-stuffing to comb, nylon legs, luminous arms and some advertised clothes.

56. Globalism Condition of interdependence among all parts of the world Confluence of contact, communication, & competition Media driven art, which drives culture, which drives media, which drives art ….

57. THESE IDEAS WILL BE ELABORATED ON IN CLASS Literature

58. Key Literature Movements Harlem Renaissance  African-American Literature Feminism Globalism Language Theory p. 123 Science Fiction New Expressionism Social Conscience

59. THESE IDEAS WILL BE ELABORATED ON IN CLASS Dance

60. Key Dance Movements Harlem Renaissance  Jazz Modern Dance Hip Hop

61. THESE IDEAS WILL BE ELABORATED ON IN CLASS Music

62. Key Music Movements Harlem Renaissance  Jazz Rock Reggae Hip-Hop Rap New Jazz Minimal Music Post-modern Opera