[Editor's Note: This post is part of a series, which I am going to group under the category "Young, Gifted, and Black @ Arena" so that you can read the whole thing easily. It is comprised of a series of posts by a cohort of young black participants in this year's Allen Lee Hughes Fellows program. We've asked them to share their experiences all year, and in particular to document their developing understanding of what they are calling "Black art" as lensed through the experience of their Fellowship season.]
by Raymond Caldwell, Allen Lee Hughes Community Engagement Fellow
“What comes forth from you as an artist cannot be controlled. But you have responsibilities as a global citizen. Your history dictates your duty. And by writing about black people, you are not limiting yourself. The experiences of African-Americans are as wide open as God's closet.” ~ August Wilson
As an actor/playwright/director I hold one tenant to be truth in terms of the art I create: the imagination is limitless, the more experiences one has, the greater the ability. The stage artist is one who can tap into these experiences and decipher his imaginations with child like curiosity and fearless playfulness. With that being said, when I think of my process as an artist, I’ve realized that I can only draw upon that which is within the realm of my own experiences. Thus I love working with children! The awareness and yet playfulness with which a child sees the world is inspiring. Have you ever tried asking a 6 year old to imagine something that is not within the realm of his or her experience? It’s impossible! They’ll look at you blankly and inform you that they don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!
So my art is deemed black art because being black is within the realm of my experiences, and plays a large part in who I am. Every character I create, every play that I write or direct is naturally infused with this “blackness.” This doesn’t define me, but it plays a major role in my life. And I must say that I am proud of that! I am part of a legacy of black artists, and it is because of THEIR art, that I can create MY art. August Wilson understood this, and thus wanted his work to be directed and performed by only black artists. At the root of the work is a cultural understanding or cultural experiences that no amount of research can ever contextualize. How do I explain to a person outside of my race what it was like the first time I was called the n-word. There are no words that can explain that feeling or that experience. You might sympathize with me or want to understand that feeling but at the core it is a cultural understanding, and can’t be intellectualized.
So when I do an all black production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, why is this play deemed black? It, after all, has no references to race directly. This argument has a profound historical answer that I use when teaching African American theatre history. Looking back to the plantation, there is no such thing as “art for arts sake.” Even looking to our origins in Africa, there is a paucity of art for arts sake ideas. The art is created for a purpose. In Africa the art is often deeply religious or a means of passing history. On the plantation it is a means of uplifting spirits and passing news among slaves. Theatre is a tool, and has been throughout the history of blacks in theatre. So Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf becomes about race because it wasn’t written for a black cast. The company that takes on such a project is in essence rebelling against the tradition of that production, and in the rebellion making a comment about race, possibly unknowingly. Those actors bring black sensibilities to these characters that are not present in the traditional production. The cultural dynamics change, while the lines stay the same.
So many argue, isn’t it time for us to create art for arts sake? I maintain that this can not happen until true equality rains supreme in America. My art will be deemed black art because of the white privilege that is infused within the American consciousness. White art after all is deemed simply art, while my art is black art. That’s white privilege, and not right, but a part of America today. And getting past white privilege is a whole other blog/book! But as an artist I can’t allow the label to stifle the art I want to create.
My art, when labeled black, allows me to be in the company of the great black artists on whose shoulders I stand and whose struggles I embrace. I am placed into a group of black men and women who created art that is powerful, focused, and serves many greater purposes. I am apart of a legacy, something bigger and greater than myself. My art has the protest, revolt, assertion, spirituality, and music of my forefathers, and for that I am grateful. So labeling my art, black art, is fine by me because of the company I keep when that label is affixed.
Black Artist
Why does mine have to be automatically stapled as black art? I’ve never been a really hard-hitting person on race and art honestly. Just a way of expression,not politics for myself. So my thoughts might not be as developed, but just a thought.
I was talking to my professor about my portfolio I’m submitting for my F.I.T. application and was telling him how all of my art had a theme- literally all of the people I drew or painted were African American, no other ethnicity. Usually when I begin a new piece, I never just purposely decided, “I’m going to draw/paint a black person and no other ethnicity.“Ha. It just came naturally,with not too much thought, it was never that crucial to me. I pointed out the fact that I did not want to be known as the artist that just does “black people” or whatever, nor be in a subcategory with artwork- I want to broaden my subjects more as well a stepping out of my limits with my art.
But at the same time- either I’m just not aware or informed enough on black artists- but its rare to find black art in my similar style that is not abstract or traditional style african art. Kehinde Wiley stepped out of that norm. I have never really put much thought with race and art- the double standards involved- but then again it can apply to alot. Ex: A white rapper.
For example, Basquiat use to question, “Why do I have to be titled a Black Artist, why can’t my art speak for itself?” But at the same time, most of his pieces were racially and politically charged. Then again, with the message behind it, his art was able to transcend to the masses. Don’t really know where I was going with that point. My thoughts are scatterbrained with this and its kind of tricky to explain.
I create my pieces because I like it and they mean something to me, but I feel my art does need some growth. And that’s not a bad thing either, its evolving in a sense. Right now I’m just at my “enlightening/recognition” stage. Shit,I don’t know. If not now, in time it will.
Posted by: Sharla Hammond | December 08, 2009 at 08:55 PM