What is Black Art?

What is Black Art?

Some artists have been resistant to being labeled Black artists. They have been known to publicly state that they just want to be considered artists. Jean-Michel Basquiat was one such artist at a time when being called a Black artist wasn’t necessarily a compliment. He famously said, "I am not a black artist. I am an artist." At times, calling an artist a Black artist was meant to categorize artists without any real consideration of their art.

For an artist like Basquiat, although he didn’t want to be considered as simply a Black artist, he did create Black Art. Some of Basquiat’s art like Hollywood Africans and Slave Auction really speaks to the Black experience and to Black history. It would be difficult to say that these artworks were not examples of Black Art.

Slave Auction, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982

In the past, an artwork that was called Black Art might have simply been called that to identify an artwork made by a Black artist with no real consideration about the subject matter, style, or themes in the work. Without considering the ethos of an artwork the term Black Art is rather pejorative. Lumping all art by Black artist together and labeling it Black Art is a misnomer for many artworks; this would be true for Robert S. Duncanson and Edward Mitchell Bannister, Black artists who were creating landscapes and portraits of abolitionists when slavery was still an institution.

Landscape with a Rainbow, Robert S. Duncanson, 1859

But there is something to gain in the creation of the category “Black Art.” The idea of Black Art truly began during the Harlem Renaissance, and the Black Arts Movement strengthened the ideology. Because of these movements, today Black artists have the agency to create art that speaks to themes about the Black experience without the term Black Art simply referring to their racial identity.

Artists like Norman Lewis and Alma Thomas who created abstract paintings, did not always intend for their art to speak to the Black experience, and this might be true for many artists. Thomas focused on beauty in making her art, stating, “The use of color in my paintings is of paramount importance to me. Through color I have sought to concentrate on beauty and happiness in my painting rather than on man's inhumanity to man.” And Lewis has said, “I wanted to be above criticism, so that my work didn’t have to be discussed in terms of the fact that I’m black.” Calling the oeuvre of their work Black Art would be a mistake.

Autumn Leaves Fluttering in the Breeze, Alma Thomas, 1973

Evening Rendezvous, Norman Lewis, 1962

There’s something empowering about identifying an artwork as Black Art, though. It points out that the artwork is about the many nuances of Blackness. Black Art comes in many varieties. It can be joyful like Derrick Adams or sardonic like Kara Walker. The vastness of the spectrum shows the multiplicity of Black life. Black people are not a monolith, and their artwork shouldn’t show one side of life either.

Untitled, Kara Walker, 1996

By labeling an artwork Black Art, it clues the viewer into what they should be thinking about and considering when looking at the art. Also, lumping all Black Art together would be lazy curating. Just because artworks speak to the Black experience doesn’t mean they should automatically belong in the same exhibition. Artists get upset when there is no type of consideration about the level of thoughtfulness or technical skill they have given their art.

The term Black Art is a way of identifying that an artwork is about the Black experience. Common themes in Black Art include the transatlantic slave trade, slavery and colonialism throughout the African diaspora, racism and segregation, and urban and rural life through a Black lens. Black Art is not only for Black people; it also serves as a window for others into the world of Black life.

Floater 94, Derrick Adams 2020

And just because an artwork is made by a Black person doesn’t mean that their work is Black Art. Blackness is not the only topic Black people can make art about, and they should feel free to create art that speaks to their interests. But Black Art is art about those things that are inherently about the experiences of Black people, and it deserves to be named as such.