A Harlem Speakeasy

blog.jongraynewyork.com

         I really liked this painting from the moment I saw it because of how different it was from all the other artwork I had looked at. I found the same painting in color but because it was in black and white, it stood out. The painting was able to bring out certain things that color often hides and had a very different feel than the usual bright colored paintings.  At first I had thought it was just a fun painting of a man and a women dancing in a club, but as I studied it more I picked up on images and ideas the artist was trying to portray to the audience.

          In most speakeasy's during the 1920's, African Americans served and waited on whites, but in this painting it is the black men and women who are enjoying themselves. They dance and drink and seem to float throughout the painting in a confusing contorted way. Their bodies almost seem disconnected to everything around them, and the landscape of the image looks as though it were spinning.

         Throughout this painting, various HR themes are evident but the one that sticks out the most to me is racism. Even though they appear to be having fun; if you look closer and study the painting you notice the faces. Both the man and the woman have large lighter colored lips drawn on their faces. Also in the background, the image of the racist comedians who imitated blacks is shown. The black paint and abnormally large lips was a way to make fun of African Americans during that time period. This "idea" or "image" of blacks is offensive but was constantly seen in cartoons, comics, comedy clubs and all over television. Often white people painted their faces black, drew large lips and danced around acting stupid and making fun of African Americans. The artist of the painting was conveying to the audience that, yes things are changing during the Harlem Renaissance, but blacks are still seen as inferior and made fun of as a joke. This painting might have been a wake up call for our society to not be fooled by the fun and games of the renaissance. They needed to keep fighting for equal rights because underneath it all, there was still the racism, oppression, and discrimination.