ENGL 281 Lecture Notes - Lecture 37: Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, Edmonia Lewis, Hip Hop
http://scalar.usc.edu/works/harlem-renaissance/artists
African influence on Modern Art: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aima/hd_aima.htm
Role and function of art:
When Ida B Wells decides to point out that it could be possible for blacks and whites to fall in love
with one another, she lost the mantle of leadership she was given and was left down to Booker
Washington and Dubois
• DuBois tells us art should have a function to advance the black community
o Wanted to teach us that art could be a tool to advance race relations
• Hughes, however, says that art is created because it’s a part of human creativity; not all art
has to be political.
o We cannot blame DuBois for not seeing art in such a structured way, for he was
living in a difficult time and did not get a chance to actually experience the beauty of
the Harlem Renn.
o Master P: had his own recording studio. Was the dominant voice of hip hop culture
▪ The Wobble Wobble: using culture for their own advancement rather than
for the enlightenment of a culture
Edmonia Lewis:
first woman of African-
American and Native
American heritage to
achieve international
fame outside of the
United States
-very active in Italy
and prolific sculptor
Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, 1877-
1968
• Sculpted using Afrocentric themes: illustrated
the representation of life, nature, religion and nation
Symbolized the emergence of a new black
identity that prided itself in its African roots and
heritage
• Was active during the Gilded age, a time when
women were more active in the arts than men
Augusta Savage: 1892-1962
https://americanart.si.edu/artist/augusta-savage-4269
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