By Aswad Walker
It’s a no-brainer that Blacks are the world’s innovators when it comes to music and dance. A little less known is our impact on the world of literature of all kinds. But how many know that Black folks from every corner of the Pan-African diaspora literally put the “fine” in fine arts?
One glance at the artistic masterpieces produced by our ancestors from ancient Kemet in northeast Africa to Xhoshaland/Azania in South Africa to the great kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, and you’ll know that Black folks have always put the fine in fine arts. And that, of course, includes Pan-African sisters and brothers of the diaspora.
Below are presented just a few examples of the countless Black women and men located in the U.S. whose painting and sculpting gifts are beauties to behold – gifts and styles generously copied and “borrowed” by generations of European artistic “innovators.”
Selma Hortense Burke
Selma Hortense Burke was a sculptor extraordinaire and member of the New Negro Movement, or as historians labeled it, the Harlem Renaissance. Burke is best known for a bas relief portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt which appears on the U.S. dime. She also produced sculptures of many Black leaders including Booker T. Washington and Mary McLeod Bethune.
Augusta Savage
Augusta Savage (born Augusta Christine Fells) was another Black woman who made her mark on the culture and the world as a sculptor who came to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance. Savage was also a teacher whose studio was important to the careers of a generation of artists who grew to become nationally known. Savage not only worked as an artist, she advocated for Black artists’ equal rights.
Henry Ossawa Tanner
Henry Ossawa Tanner was an artist who spent much of his career in France and became the first African-American painter to gain international acclaim. Tanner moved to Paris in 1891 to study at the Académie Julian and gained acclaim in French artistic circles.
Kara Walker
Kara Walker is described as one of the most complex and prolific artists of her generation. She has gained national and international recognition for her cut-paper silhouettes depicting historical narratives haunted by sexuality, violence, and subjugation. Walker has also used drawing, painting, text, shadow puppetry, film, and sculpture to expose the ongoing psychological injury caused by the tragic legacy of slavery. Her work is said to lead viewers to a critical understanding of the past while also proposing an examination of contemporary racial and gender stereotypes. Walker’s work is must-see art. And once you see it, you won’t be able to un-see it. Much of it her work will remind you of episode eight of HBO’s “Lovecraft Country” titled “Jig-a-Bobo.” Yes; that one. To call her work haunting doesn’t do the word “haunting” justice. You literally feel the pain, racism, violence, etc. perpetrated upon our people in each piece Walker gifts to the world.
Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley, who has an exhibit happening right now in Houston, is a portrait painter/sculptor of global renown. Based in NYC, Wiley is known for his ultra-naturalistic paintings of Black folks from every corner of society and the globe. Some of you may know Wiley as the brother who, in 2017, was commissioned to paint former President Barack Obama’s portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.