Harlem Renaissance Art 2

      

       This image which is also a image that came out of the Harlem Renaissance is called "Midsummer Nights in Harlem",draw in 1938 by Palmer Hayden it was very popular at its time. In this image Hayden was trying to get the viewer to see how midsummer nights in Harlem were. He effectively uses the mood of Harlem residents outside to escape the heat inside the tenements. He said himself that for this piece he "was not striving for satirical effects in his African American folk paintings,but that he wonted to achieve a new expression. He used many different techniques of painting in different ways ad styles.

      In this painting he made it so that ordinary people were doing ordinary work with such vitality that it transcended all ethnic boundaries. He wanted his viewers to recognize that any race know matter black or white can do anything anyway they want to do it. Any particular thing wasn't made for just any particular ethnicity, and in this painting, he makes that very clear.In his many years of painting, he has also been about painting black life and painting the good and black culture and what good black people can make out of it. His painting has also been inspirational and helpful to many people and still to this day is remembered .

     I like this painting , because i love what it is meant to represent. I believe that when you do something to better other people, or when you use words or artwork to talk to others its a beautiful thing. I really like the details that were used in the painting, and i like how he made every little detail look as good as the other one 's were. I didn't really have any dislikes towards the painting,  I think that it was a great piece of artwork that was painting by a great artist.

Harlem Renaissance Art

      The Harlem Renaissance was said to be "an expression of African American social thought and culture which took place in a newly formed black community in the neighborhood of Harlem". At this time visual art like many different types of art were very popular and it was something many people admired. Through there art visual artist played a key role in creating an image of the "New Negro". African American would talk through there art, showing people that they have have talents as well. The outburst was so huge,it was called a the "art era" and is still called that to this day.
    
      This piece is called "Nightlife" it  was done in 1943 by a famous visual artist named Archibald Motley Jr.,in this piece Motley wanted to take viewers inside of one of Chicago nightspots. It was said that the image was meant to leave people's troubles behind. Once they step into the nightlife, people would feel the positive energy going around the room and hear the sound of the jazz bands playing and they would see  people dancing. There's was nothing but upbeat energy in the air, this poem sent a message to many people that said, even when things get tough there's always a place you can go. All you have to to is follow the rhythm of the beat and thumping of peoples feet.
     
      I think that this painting is a very beautiful piece of artwork. I think the vibrant mixes of colors in the piece makes it look more fun and lively. I think this piece definitely represents the fun in Harlem and it shows the different art  forms that people used. It shows its viewers in different ways what the Harlem Renaissance was about in just this one image. If you needed anything to tell what the Harlem Renaissance was about without words, I think this would be the best piece for you.

Harlem Renaissance Jazz Music

      In Harlem Jazz music was most popular and influential and when the Harlem Renaissance came about jazz was an influential to music at that time. When it came to jazz there was know wrong way to play jazz. All the music that played was said to come from the heart. Jazz is an improvisational skill by the performed and the instrumentalist. There is know script, the performer creates the rhythm.

      Many time people played jazz to relief there stress of the economy ,others played jazz to have fun while speaking through there music and entertaining other's. There were many style and characteristics when it came too jazz,one of which was called the "boogie-woogie". The "boggie woogie"was a dance that  involved a short accented bass pattern that played repeatedly while the right hand plays freely, using many different rhythms and techniques.  Although it wasn't as popular in its time, it arose again in the 1940 when jazz pianist Teddy Wilson began to find interest in the technique and took it to new heights.

       Jazz is a type of art that is very soothing i would say, and if your like myself when your stress you find music to calm you. That is why i chose to do this piece especially, because its very soothing to the mind and it is played beautifully. I liked this piece because you can hear the passion and different emotion in the music. You can tell that the artist has a story behind the music, and its a story about happiness,sorrow, joy and love. Its a story that tells whats he's feeling along with many others.

Harlem Renaissance Poem ,by: Langston Hughes

Harlem Sweeties

by Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes

Have you dug the spill   

Of Sugar Hill?

Cast your gims

On this sepia thrill:   

Brown sugar lassie,   

Caramel treat,   

Honey-gold baby   

Sweet enough to eat.   

Peach-skinned girlie,   

Coffee and cream,   

Chocolate darling   

Out of a dream.   

Walnut tinted

Or cocoa brown,   

Pomegranate-lipped   

Pride of the town.   

Rich cream-colored   

To plum-tinted black,   

Feminine sweetness   

In Harlem’s no lack.   

Glow of the quince   

To blush of the rose.   

Persimmon bronze   

To cinnamon toes.   

Blackberry cordial,   

Virginia Dare wine—

All those sweet colors   

Flavor Harlem of mine!   

Walnut or cocoa,   

Let me repeat:

Caramel, brown sugar,   

A chocolate treat.   

Molasses taffy,

Coffee and cream,   

Licorice, clove, cinnamon   

To a honey-brown dream.   

Ginger, wine-gold,   

Persimmon, blackberry,

All through the spectrum

Harlem girls vary—

So if you want to know beauty’s   

Rainbow-sweet thrill,

Stroll down luscious,

Delicious, fine Sugar Hill.

Langston Hughes, “Harlem Sweeties” from Collected Poems. Copyright © 1994 by The Estate of Langston Hughes. Reprinted with the permission of Harold Ober Associates Incorporated.




      The Harlem Renaissance also known as the black literary Renaissance was a revolutionary time for the literary world. It was a time when poets like Langston Hughes, Alain LeRoy Locke, Countee Cullen , Claude McKay, Sterling Brown, Robert Hayden, Gwendolyn Brooks and many others became established. Some say that the first stage of the Harlem Renaissance started in 1910. This was said because at this time "Negro Literary" began to get published. This gave wonderful poets like Langston Hughes to blossom and show the world what he is made of.

      " Harlem Sweeties" a poem written by Langston Hughes in 1921 is a poem about black skin and it tells how amazing black skin is. In this poem Langston Hughes describes all the woman as if they were food. For example, "brown sugar lassie, caramel treat, honey-gold baby, sweet enough to eat". He embraces and celebrates the tones of black skin  "Molasses taffy/ Coffee and cream/ Licorice, clove, cinnamon/ To a honey-brown dream." In this poem he is making it very clear that not only is he cherishing woman but black women in all shades to be exact.
 
    I chose this poem to read because i love poems that are meant for black women and are made for black women. Because some black women are insecure and its nice to have poems dedicated to them and showing them that there beautiful know matter what shade there in. I like the poem because he describes black skin as if it was a food, and not just any food. He described the different shades of blacks as the same color of something that is good and flawless. I definitely recommend it to any one.

Swinger Dancing of the 1920's

      The history swing dancing goes back as far as the 1920's when the Harlem Renaissance started. Social dancing back then played a huge part in Harlem life. For some, dance was a break from the harsh economic realities and the heartache of earning a living doing horrible tasks. For others, swing dancing was done for fun and to have a good time in the night life. At the time there were two main types of swing dances that were most popular. One of which was called charleston and the other was called  lindy hop.

      Lindy Hop, that was also known as Jitterbug, is the genuine Afro-Euro-American Swing dance. It is an joyful dance, with a solid, flowing style that closely reflects its music from the late 1920's. While dancing the "Lindy Hop" partners are connected smoothly and gently to each other, while relating closely to the music, in feeling, improvisation and phrasing. The Charleston dance is a dance that has been around since 1903 but become extremely popular in 1920. The dance consist of swaying both arms and moving your feet in a fast motion. Also enjoyable as well.

      Even today swing dancing is practiced all over the world in ballrooms, barrooms, basements and school gymnasiums across America. As it progressed throughout the years many different types of swing dancing has been established such as Two-Step, Waltz, Cha Cha, and West Coast Swing,Jive, Push, Whip, Shag, East coast swing, West coast swing, Imperial, Jamaican, Bop, etc. Different dances come alive when different music plays but either way, with swing you'll always be dancing and on your feet having fun. I chose to write about swing dancing because as a dancer myself and loving what i do, I love when i get the opporunity to learn something new.