Johnson, Malvin Gray (1896–1934)
"Along the Harlem River" (1925)
Oil on canvas board
For the Second Pentathlon of the semester, I decided to take a look at the David C. Driskell Center's online exhibition, "American Landscapes."
This exhibition is described as intending to "juxtapose African American artists with their contemporaries, presenting a comprehensive narrative of the contribution of African American artists to American art canon."
This work was displayed in many different sections, showing the chronology of African-American landscape artists as compared to more notable white artists of their time.
These works were extremely striking, as it showed how even in an art form dominated by nature, these African-American artists were able to create a cultural statement with their works.
Two things that were on my mind after viewing this exhibition were how cultural norms can play a part in an artwork - even if it is not visible through the piece, and that there is an entire world of artists out there that I have never been able to enjoy the work of.
Coming from a background of art history - I'd only ever seen it through the notable works that were shown to me. I feel like I'd failed to realize that there was a whole sea of artists that were producing work at the time that may have been far more impactful than the ones I know, but were not pushed in popularity due to societal reasons, independent of the work itself.
This was a really interesting exhibition that introduced me to artists that I really enjoyed, especially the work of David C. Driskell.
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