The Harlem Renaissance was an important cultural event in African-American history. A great amount of work exists that showcases the talents of both visual and literary artists. Yet, unlike the literary artists, the Harlem visual artists have not been validated by modern art critics. Therefore, this study raises pertinent questions about the omission of these artists: (1) What are the reasons for exclusion of Harlem artists from major American modern art texts? (2) What criteria or standards contributes to modernism's absolutism? (3) Are the tools and assumptions of the modernist critique sufficient to define and evaluate Harlem Renaissance art? (4) If not, what critical, interpretative and theoretical approaches provide the most useful ways of defining that movement's art and its artists? / With reference to the first and second questions, this study will argue that the exclusion and depreciation of Harlem Renaissance art results from an unwillingness in art historical discourse to come to terms with "otherness." Also, certain aspects of primitivism, which received cult status in the 1920s, will be examined. / In addressing the third question, I will acknowledge the debt of African-American artists to European and American models. However, the choice of subjects and themes, iconography, and stylistic development were dictated by modes and ideologies specific to the black experience. / My methodology for exploring the fourth question will be based on apost-modernist critique. This post-modernist perspective will encompass post-structuralism, pluralism and multiculturalism. At the center of post-modernist methodology is protest. My argument will be aimed specifically at the absolutism of modernism. This argument for a pluralistic approach to art historical discourse will rest on "co-equality." Only through the existence of "co-equality" will these artists be properly validated in the history of art. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-09, Section: A, page: 3245. / Major Professor: Lauren Weingarden. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77001 |
| Contributors | Johnson, Eloise E. Warren., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 253 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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