ART 365-02, The African American Image in Art and Visual Culture, 1700-2000, Spring 2005

Abstract

A topical, interdisciplinary seminar focused on the representation and misrepresentation of African Americans in art and visual culture during the past three centuries. The class will NOT be taught in a strictly chronological or linear fashion. Rather, we will back and forth between 18th/19th century and 20th century art, between art produced by black artists and visual materials depicting African Americans, between material culture and fine art. Topics for discussion will include the visual culture of slavery; blackface minstrelsy; stereotype and the power of popular advertising; Uncle Tom, Mammy, and Aunt Jemima; the display of lynching photographs and “black collectibles”; and the rise of the African American artist, including discussions of Henry Ossawa Tanner, Edmonia Lewis, Aaron Douglas, Romare Bearden, Betye Saar, Fred Wilson, and Kara Walker.