Black art: a cultural history

Abstract

"The African diaspora - a direct result of the transatlantic slave trade and Western colonialism - has generated a wide array of artistic achievements, from blues and reggae, to the paintings of the pioneering African American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner and video creations of contemporary hip-hop artists. This book concentrates on how these works, often created during times of major social upheaval and transformation, use black culture both as a subject and as context. From musings on "the souls of black folk" in late nineteenth-century art, to questions of racial and cultural identities in performance, media, and computer-assisted arts in the twenty-first century, this book examines the philosophical and social forces that have shaped a black presence in modern and contemporary visual culture. Now updated, this new edition helps us understand better how the first two decades of the twenty-first century have been a transformative moment in which previous assumptions about race, difference, and identity have been irrevocably altered, with art providing a useful lens through which to think about these compelling issues"--Publisher's description.

Contents

Introduction : the dark center -- Art, culture, and "the souls of Black folk" -- Enter and exit the "New Negro" -- The cult of the people -- Pride, assimilation, and dreams -- "Black is a color" -- Culture as currency -- Through a glass, diasporally -- Fin-de-siècle blues -- The price of blackness.