Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Critic and theorist Alain Locke (1885-1954) was a foundational figure of the Harlem Renaissance who argued that changing self-perceptions among Black artists and writers would alter America's view of itself as a whole. Offering a new interpretation of Locke's influential writings, Kobena Mercer focuses on the importance of cross-cultural entanglement and positions the philosopher as an advocate for an Afromodern aesthetic that drew from both formal experiments in Europe and the iconic legacy of the African past. Mercer considers Locke's understudied 1940 picture book, The Negro in Art, a global history of the Black image, and argues for the significance of Black queer practices within the history of modernism. With this book--a deft blend of philosophy, cultural studies, and art history, enlivened with illustrations by artists including Richmond Barth , Aaron Douglas, and Lo s Mailou Jones--Mercer demonstrates that Locke envisioned modern art as a dynamic space where images and ideas would circulate widely, generating new hybrid forms from the fluid conditions of diaspora.
Synopsis
A fresh perspective on the influential critic, offering new ways of understanding the art of the Harlem Renaissance Critic and theorist Alain Locke (1885-1954) was a foundational figure of the Harlem Renaissance who argued that changing self-perceptions among Black artists and writers would alter America's view of itself as a whole. Offering a new interpretation of Locke's influential writings, Kobena Mercer focuses on the importance of cross-cultural entanglement and positions the philosopher as an advocate for an Afromodern aesthetic that drew from both formal experiments in Europe and the iconic legacy of the African past. Mercer considers Locke's understudied 1940 picture book, The Negro in Art, a global history of the Black image, and argues for the significance of Black queer practices within the history of modernism. With this book--a deft blend of philosophy, cultural studies, and art history, enlivened with illustrations by artists including Richmond Barth , Aaron Douglas, and Lo s Mailou Jones--Mercer demonstrates that Locke envisioned modern art as a dynamic space where images and ideas would circulate widely, generating new hybrid forms from the fluid conditions of diaspora.
Synopsis
A fresh perspective on the influential critic, offering new ways of understanding the art of the Harlem Renaissance Alain Locke (1885-1954), leading theorist of the Harlem Renaissance, maintained a lifelong commitment to the visual arts. Offering an in-depth study of Locke's writings and art world interventions, Kobena Mercer focuses on the importance of cross-cultural entanglement. This distinctive approach reveals Locke's vision of modern art as a dynamic space where images and ideas generate new forms under the fluid conditions of diaspora.
Positioning the philosopher as an advocate for an Afromodern aesthetic that drew from both formal experiments in Europe and the iconic legacy of the African past, Mercer shows how Aaron Douglas, Lo s Mailou Jones, and other New Negro artists acknowledged the diaspora's rupture with the ancestral past as a prelude to the rebirth of identity. In his 1940 picture book, The Negro in Art, Locke also explored the different ways black and white artists approached the black image. Mercer's reading highlights the global mobility of black images as they travel across national and ethnic frontiers. Finally, Mercer examines how Locke's investment in art was shaped by gay male aestheticism. Black male nudes, including works by Richmond Barth and Carl Van Vechten, thus reveal the significance of queer practices in modernism's cross-cultural genesis.
Synopsis
A fresh perspective on the influential critic, offering new ways of understanding the art of the Harlem Renaissance "Mercer's sumptuously illustrated study . . . succeeds in positioning Locke as an important philosophical voice in the 'not yet finalized story of Afro-modern art and culture.'"--Douglas Field, Times Literary Supplement
Alain Locke (1885-1954), leading theorist of the Harlem Renaissance, maintained a lifelong commitment to the visual arts. Offering an in-depth study of Locke's writings and art world interventions, Kobena Mercer focuses on the importance of cross-cultural entanglement. This distinctive approach reveals Locke's vision of modern art as a dynamic space where images and ideas generate new forms under the fluid conditions of diaspora.
Positioning the philosopher as an advocate for an Afromodern aesthetic that drew from both formal experiments in Europe and the iconic legacy of the African past, Mercer shows how Aaron Douglas, Lo s Mailou Jones, and other New Negro artists acknowledged the diaspora's rupture with the ancestral past as a prelude to the rebirth of identity. In his 1940 picture book, The Negro in Art, Locke also explored the different ways black and white artists approached the black image. Mercer's reading highlights the global mobility of black images as they travel across national and ethnic frontiers. Finally, Mercer examines how Locke's investment in art was shaped by gay male aestheticism. Black male nudes, including works by Richmond Barth and Carl Van Vechten, thus reveal the significance of queer practices in modernism's cross-cultural genesis.
Published in association with the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, Harvard University