Augustus+Savage



media type="custom" key="3068464"

Jade Kellenberger Michael Meisel Reagan Penner Sam Raffino

During the [|Harlem Renaissance], African-American culture was hit by a tornado of creativity. African-Americans started playing jazz and the blues, painting pictures and making murals, and at the end of the Harlem Renaissance, a stock market crash hit the city. “It is the night in the city. Listen. The whisper of a poet reading his word sneaks down from a window above. The blare of a trumpet and a tune from a singer fill the air. People gather outside talking about their hard day’s work and, more importantly, what they are planning to do with their future.” (Rau 4) One of the interesting parts of the Harlem Renaissance was that this was the first time the African-American people played a role in popular society. One of the biggest focal areas of their creativity was in art. During this time period, the artists invented new styles of art and used new instruments to create this art.

Famous artists and their styles affected the Harlem Renaissance greatly. Ranging from [|Jacob Lawrence]'s combination of many styles, Augusta Savage's bronze sculptures, and Aaron Douglas's murals. Other famous artists are Charles Alston, Lois Mailou Jones, and Palmer Hayden. Most of these artists lived longer than the Harlem Renaissance itself, but the styles they used stuck with them. Some famous artist's style passed from one to another, and some taught other artists. For example, [|Jacob Lawrence] was mentored by Charles Alston, and went to an art school taught by Augusta Savage (Jacob Lawrence 1). A lot of art reflected the popular music of the day, like jazz and blues. Many paintings are very abstract and bluesy, just like the music.

media type="youtube" key="JAwRLwcI4ag" height="344" width="425" 

During the Harlem Renaissance, with the invention of more efficient cameras, photography became much more popular. Photography in the U.S. was an inspiration to all. Whether it was a picture of an airplane mechanic standing tall and proud with his buddies, or a quick snap shot of the greatest war hero holding his rifle. Pictures gave citizens hope in a time of crisis and need. A picture is worth a thousand words, and it can change the emotions of everyone. In the 1920's photography was used for newspapers and magazines. Photographers would go to baseball games and boxing bouts and try to catch a glimpse of the contender or player.  One of the most popular cameras on the market was the folding camera. A folding camera is a camera with a system where a door is pulled down on the camera which forms a lens bed. The lens board will then be pulled out to align the focus of the camera and locks the camera into position. Another popular camera was the box camera. The box camera was a large rectangular prism with a circular lens. Many companies made the both the folding camera and the box camera.(The Living Image Vintage Camera Museum 1)

 The Ideal photo from the 1920s was a plain black and white setting. The photo was  usually pasted onto paper in a dark room, where the film was put into water, and the image would be transferred over to a piece of paper. Photos where usually taken of stars or famous faces in the spot light. The Flash Bulb (1927) was made by General Electric. The flash bulb replaced dangerous flash power techniques. It was the first available flash bulb that was available to the public, and was very large and filled with foil. There was a oxygen atmosphere around the foil to increase burning of the foil. This caused a very bright light which was good for slow films and photography (1920s 1).



media type="youtube" key="OsifPwFH8dQ" width="425" height="350"

Other types of art, such as surrealism, were founded during the twenties. There were many famous artists that either made surrealist paintings or discovered the art of surrealism. For instance, the main person who discovered and created surrealistic art was Andre Brenton. Brenton started out as a poet, writing about war and strategies and psychology. Later on, he changed his profession to art and the meanings, and different types of arts. Brenton soon founded surrealism by writing a book about it. By taking strategies from other art that had already been founded, Brenton created surrealism. 

From Brenton's work and paintings, other artists were soon able to create surrealist paintings. Artists such as Joan Miro, Max Ernst, and Paul Nash, were famous followers of the surrealistic movement. Surrealists paintings were generally based on dreams.The paintings used familiar objects and painted or drew them in a way that looked mysterious or strange. The paintings were made to make people look at everyday objects or familiar items and see them in a new perspective. They were also made to make people feel different about the item like an apple wasn't just an apple but was a heart and in had a warm feeling to it. The paintings were meant to stir up the feelings in the back of people's mind.

A style very different from surrealism, but just as elegant, was Art Deco. Art Deco was an important influence on people of the time. Art Deco began in Europe in the early 1920’s and became popular in France and the USA. Art Deco has also been called ‘Jazz Modern’ and Style Modern “After the First World War people wanted a modern, functional style for their furniture, jewelry and decorative objects” (Fisher 1). What they got was Art Deco. Art Deco is an elegant style of decorative art that was popular from the 1920's to the 1930's. It was started as a reaction to the style of art, Art Nouveau, a style that was at its peak at the beginning of the 1900's. Art Deco is also related to the [|Precisionist art movement] (Art Deco 1). The Precisionist Art movement began in between the two world wars. It is slightly connected to the Art Deco movement. Art Deco was about wealth and prosperity while Precisionist art was about real people and real situations. This style of art showed sadness, but also a feeling that life goes on.(The Precisionist Movement 1) Art Deco is characterized by the use of symmetrical, geometrical shapes. Art Deco can be recognized by its use of bright colors. This style is reflected in the architecture of the Empire State Building and the New York's Chrysler Building. The name Art Deco comes from Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs Industriels et Modernes from the World’s Fair, which was held in Paris in 1925. ( Art Deco 1)This style was popular in Europe at the start of the twenties, and the style caught on in the United States around nineteen twenty-eight.

media type="youtube" key="GlPaSgnjuOI" height="344" width="425"

media type="custom" key="3068420"



"Aaron Douglas." __Wikipedia__. Wikipedia. 21 Jan 2009 .
 * **References**

"Art Deco." Hunt for. 2007. 21 Jan 2009 .

"art deco." __The free dictionary by Farlex__. 21 Jan 2009 

"Artists by Movement: Art Deco 1920's to 1930's." Artcyclopedia. 21 Jan 2009 <http://www.artcyclopedia.com/history/art-deco.html>.

"Augusta Savage." __North By South__ 21 Jan 2009 <http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/1998/intro/intro.htm>.

"Charles Alston." __Painter's Biographies__ (2000) 21 Jan 2009 <http://www.3d-dali.com/Artist-Biographies/Charles_Alston.html>.

"Contessa Nettel Cocarette." __The Classic Camera__. 1996. Cosmonet Group. 22 Jan 2009 <http://www.cosmonet.org/camera/cocarette_e.html>.

"Harlem Renaissance." __Wikipedia__. Wikipedia. 29 Jan 2009 < [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Renaissance]>.

"Jacob Lawrence." __Wikipedia__. Wikipedia. 21 Jan 2009 < [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Lawrence]>.

Kenney, Kim. "Art Deco." suite101.com. 15,Jan 2009. 21 Jan 2009 < [|http://americanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/art_deco]>.

"Living With Art." __Bermuda National Gallery__. 22 Jan 2009 < [|http://www.bermudanationalgallery.com/current-LWAFall07.html]>.

"The Precisionist Movement ." __The Art History Archive__. 25 Jan 2009 < [|http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/precisionism/]>.

Rau, Dana Meachen. __The Harlem Renaissance__. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Compass Point Books, 2006.

"1920's Art, Artists and Illustrators." 1920-30.com. 2005. 21 Jan 2009 < [|http://www.1920-30.com/art/]>. ||  ||   ||
 * [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/_/2009012400/i/bBL.gif width="8" height="8"]]media type="custom" key="3068634" |||| [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/_/2009012400/i/c.gif width="1" height="1"]] ||