Slide Images for November 23

Separate But Equal: Genocide: AIDS

Howardena Pindell

1990-92

Rumble Young Man, Rumble (Version #2)

Byron Kim and Glenn Ligon

1993

Gold Nobody Knew Me #1

Glenn Ligon

2007

Gold When Black Wasn’t Beautiful #1

Glenn Ligon

2007

Beware

Michael Ray Charles

1994

(Forever Free) Servin’ With a Smile 

Michael Ray Charles

1993

Lifesaball (Forever Free)

Michael Ray Charles

1995

Mandala of the B-Bodhisattva II

Sanford Biggers

2000

Hip Hop Ni Sasagu
Sanford Biggers
2004

Lotus
Sanford Biggers
2008

Diagram of the Decks of a Slave Ship
1814

Equestrian Painting of the Duke of Lerma
Kehinde Wiley
2005

Ice T
Kehinde Wiley
2005

Napoleon Leading the Army Over the Alps
Kehinde Wiley
2005

The Two Sisters
Kehinde Wiley
2012

Howl
Wangechi Mutu
2006

Non je ne regrette rien (No, I do not regret anything)
Wangechi Mutu
2007

Clips from Key & Peel
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele
2011-2015

Terms of the Day for November 23

• Text - the words of speech written or printed in such a way as to be read and analyzed by literate individuals.
• Deconstructionism -  a form of semiotic analysis, derived mainly from French philosopher Jacques Derrida's 1967 work Of Grammatology. Derrida proposed the deconstruction of all texts where binary oppositions are used in the construction of meaning and values.
• Narrative - any account that presents connected events or images.  Since Modern Art rejected narrative in favor of abstraction, many Postmodern artists were newly attracted to it in the late 20th century.
• Counternarrative – a narrative which co-exists with, while contradicting, another established narrative.

Study Guide for the Final Exam

The final exam will be Monday, November 30, from 12:30-2:30 PM.  The exam will cover the entirety of Black Art: A Cultural History and this is how it will be constructed:

• 1 essay question comparing and contrasting two videos from class (worth 20 points).
• 25 vocabulary terms (match the term to its definition) (worth 1 point each).
• 40 multiple choice questions (worth 1 point each).
• 1 essay question focusing on conversations and/or lectures we've had in class (worth 15 points).

For the first essay question, we will watch two short clips that you have seen in class and then you will be asked to write a short compare & contrast essay.  The question will be phrased as follows:

• Identify the sources of the clips you have just seen (title, artist/director, and date).  Then compare and contrast these two video clips.  What is the historical/cultural/artistic importance of each video clip that was discussed in class or found in the book?  What similarities do you see in these two videos?  How do these two video clips relate to one another?

I will choose the two videos from the following six:

 Cakewalk

The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company

1903
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QifiyNm6jG4

 Sur un Air de Charleston 

Directed by Jean Renoir

1926
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AHlrjrsP2o

 Hattie McDaniel’s Oscar Acceptance Speech

Hattie McDaniel

1940
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7t4pTNZshA

 Foxy Brown

Jack Hill

1974

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVDvu28O3WU

In Living Color: Introducing Homie D. Clown
Damon Wayans
June 17, 1990
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QhuBIkPXn0

Bigger & Blacker

Chris Rock

1999

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3U4-mv5_08

The 25 vocabulary terms will be pulled directly from the "Terms Of The Day" lists I have given you at the beginning of each class period. Study these lists well enough to be able to match each term on the left side of the page with its particular definition on the right side of the page.

The 40 multiple choice questions come from both the class lectures and from the book. There will be a few questions on the test that we never addressed in class; they come directly from the book.  The questions in this section will range from those that test how well you understand the definitions of terms to questions about specific artworks that you have seen, to questions about the cultural, religious, and political environments that contributed to the work.

Let me give you four example questions (yes, these will be on the test just as you see them here):

By the early 1900s, many traditions of African American culture were becoming a part of popular culture.  Among these traditions were ragtime music, _______________, religious oration, and the “the cakewalk”.

A. Hip-Hop

B. Negro spirituals

C. Funk music

D. None of the above

The New Negro Arts Movement was inspired greatly by which New York civil rights activists who pressured young black artists to create a new "black aesthetic" that would serve to “uplift” the race
A. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X

B. Booker T. Washinton and Frederick Douglas

C. Susan B. Anthony and Helen Keller

D. W.E.B. DuBois and Alain Locke

Jeff Donaldson and Jae Jerrell were members of what organization which specifically took on the goal of creating a new revolutionary black aesthetic?

A. The Washington Color School

B. AfriCOBRA

C. Spiral

D. The Black Panthers

The best advice I can give you on how to study for this portion of the exam is to comb through all your notes you've taken in class, remind yourself of all the main concepts you've learned, familiarize yourself with all the "Terms Of The Day," and to make sure you have read the material in the book. Pay special attention to how each artwork serves as an example to illustrate a concept. Don't just depend on what I have told you in class. Yes, 80% of these questions will come directly from lecture. But you don't want to be thrown off by the questions that are based on the book alone.

The second essay topic focusing on conversations we had in class will require you to write a paragraph or two in response and will be chosen from the three topics listed below:

1. What is "double consciousness"?  Who was the Harlem Renaissance leader who developed the concept of double consciousness?  Name at least two works of art/music/film/performance (from any time period we have discussed) and tell how you see the concept of double consciousness displayed in those works.
2. When speaking of darkey iconography and stereotypes of African American women, what is the "Jezebel Archetype"?  Name three female artists/performers who have addressed the Jezebel Archetype in their work.  Remember that the "Hottentot Venus" was viewed as a Jezebel.  How did each woman appropriate the Jezebel Archetype and for what purpose?
3. Because Postmodern Art values pluralism, it varies widely across the globe.  However, there are some common themes seen in much of Postmodern Art.  From the list of characteristics of Postmodern Art that you were given in class, list three.  For each characteristic, name an artist and explain how his/her work demonstrates that characteristic and why he/she used it.

The best way to study for this essay is to carefully read each of these questions and think about what you might write in response.  Each of them is based on lectures or a group discussion from class, but they are phrased to make you think critically about certain concepts. This is meant to test how well you have been paying attention to the concepts you've been learning in this class. If you understand the topics and concepts we've been going over in class well enough to apply them to questions that were never directly asked in class, then you have made good use of your time in this class. Consult your notes and the book.  Maybe practice what you would write for each question.

Study hard, and good luck to everyone. If you have taken good notes, if you have read the chapters, and if you have spent some time really trying to understand the "Terms Of The Day" then this exam shouldn't be difficult for you.

Slide Images for November 20

School Daze

Spike Lee

1988

In Living Color: Introducing Homie D. Clown

Damon Wayans

June 17, 1990

Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood

Written by  Shawn & Marlon Wayans

Directed by Paris Barclay

1996

Scary Movie

Written by  Shawn & Marlon Wayans

Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans

2000

White Chicks

Written by  Keenen Ivory, Shawn & Marlon Wayans

Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans

2004

Bigger & Blacker

Chris Rock

1999

Terms of the Day for November 20

• In Living Color -  a sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994, created and written by and staring the Wayans brothers. The title of the series was inspired by the NBC announcement of broadcasts being presented "in living color" during the 1950s and 1960s, prior to mainstream color television. It also refers to the fact that most of the show's cast was predominantly African-American, unlike other sketch comedy shows whose casts were usually mostly white.
• Spike Lee Joints – a term which refers to the films of African American filmmaker Spike Lee.  These films often explore American race relations and the closing credits always end with the phrases "By Any Means Necessary", "Ya Dig" and "Sho Nuff".
• Bigger & Blacker - an album by Chris Rock, originally released on July 13, 1999, on the Dreamworks label. The album features live stand-up comedy tracks recorded for an HBO special at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and studio-recorded comic sketches.

Slide Images for November 18

 Brotherhood, Crossroads and Etcetera

Lyle Ashton Harris

1994

 Hottentot Venus 2000

Lyle Ashton Harris (with Reneé Cox)

1995

 Hot-en-tot 

Reneé Cox

1994

 The Liberation of Lady J. and Uncle B.

Reneé Cox

1998

 Black Chalkboards

Garry Simmons

1993

 Fertile Ground

Alison Saar

1993

 Lost and Found

Alison Saar

2003

Gone: An Historical Romance of a Civil War as it Occurred b'tween the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart

Kara Walker

1994

Terms of the Day for November 18

• Generation X - the generation born after the Western post-World War II baby boom, with birthdates from the early 1960s to the late 1970s.  This generation’s cultural outlook was influenced by several events, including the election of Ronald Reagan, Black Monday, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, the election of George H.W. Bush, the election of Bill Clinton and the United States 1990s economic boom.
• Installation Art - an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces.