Black Artists in Their Own Words

Art historian Farrington (African-American Art) rounds up letters, interviews, speeches, and other primary accounts from 20th- and 21st-century Black artists for this valuable compendium. The selections highlight “that, as yet, there exists no utopia wherein Black artists can simply be artists.” The volume begins with Alain Locke’s 1925 essay on a “Black aesthetic,” a style inspired by contemporary Black culture and African traditions that focuses on “ennobling Black subject matter.” It then unpacks how that aesthetic has been cultivated—and challenged—by artists involved in the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movement, Afrocentrism, Post-Black Art, and more. The texts range far and wide, from sculptor Nancy Elizabeth Prophet’s diary detailing a life of poverty in 1920s and ’30s Paris to a critique of Kara Walker’s art, which found mainstream popularity via controversial depictions of Black subjects, including girls being sexually abused. The wide-ranging selection makes accessible the thoughts of artists whose work has gone underrecognized, particularly with pieces like Prophet’s handwritten diary, which was transcribed especially for this book. The result is a keen and insightful window into a rich artistic legacy. (Sept.)