Designing a new tradition Loïs Mailou Jones and the aesthetics of Blackness /
"A critical analysis of the art and career of African American painter Loïs Mailou Jones (1905-1998). Examines Jones's engagement with African and Afrodiasporic themes as well as the challenges she faced as a black woman artist"--
| Main Author: | VanDiver, Rebecca, 1982- |
|---|---|
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University Park, Pennsylvania :
The Pennsylvania State University Press,
[2020]
|
| Physical Description: |
xii, 241 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 27 cm. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: |
"A critical analysis of the art and career of African American painter Loïs Mailou Jones (1905-1998). Examines Jones's engagement with African and Afrodiasporic themes as well as the challenges she faced as a black woman artist"-- "In Designing a New Tradition, Rebecca VanDiver presents a fresh perspective on the art and career of Lo̐s Mailou Jones. Considering the importance of Africa for Jones's work and examining the broader roles played by class, gender, and politics in constructions of African American art histories as a whole, VanDiver makes a convincing case for Jones's lasting place in American art history. VanDiver repositions Jones's work within the canon of American art, situating the artist's production within the larger cultural and aesthetic debates of the twentieth century, including modernism, abstraction, the Harlem Renaissance, feminism, Ňgritude, and Pan-Africanism. In doing so, VanDiver reveals one of Jones's most significant contributions to American art: the development of a composite black aesthetic that negotiates African, American, and European artistic traditions to reflect the increasingly fragmented nature of twentieth-century black identity and diasporic experiences. Tracing Jones's aesthetic transformations along a biographical arc, VanDiver offers a new framework for thinking about the connection between America and Africa and the role of the African diaspora in the creation of African American artistic identity. Accessibly written and filled with fascinating anecdotes about Jones's life and career, her many acquaintances, and the challenges she faced as a black woman artist working in the twentieth century, this book makes a singular contribution to a new and expanded art-historical canon." -- Publisher's description. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-223) and index. Introduction : claiming middle ground -- Seeking success : school, society, and career aspirations -- Routes to roots : from Black Washington to Black Paris -- Diasporic directions : Haiti, collage, and composite aesthetics -- In and out : Africa and the academy -- Conclusion : composite naming practices and art histories. "A critical analysis of the art and career of African American painter Loïs Mailou Jones (1905-1998). Examines Jones's engagement with African and Afrodiasporic themes as well as the challenges she faced as a black woman artist"-- Provided by publisher. "In Designing a New Tradition, Rebecca VanDiver presents a fresh perspective on the art and career of Lo̐s Mailou Jones. Considering the importance of Africa for Jones's work and examining the broader roles played by class, gender, and politics in constructions of African American art histories as a whole, VanDiver makes a convincing case for Jones's lasting place in American art history. VanDiver repositions Jones's work within the canon of American art, situating the artist's production within the larger cultural and aesthetic debates of the twentieth century, including modernism, abstraction, the Harlem Renaissance, feminism, Ňgritude, and Pan-Africanism. In doing so, VanDiver reveals one of Jones's most significant contributions to American art: the development of a composite black aesthetic that negotiates African, American, and European artistic traditions to reflect the increasingly fragmented nature of twentieth-century black identity and diasporic experiences. Tracing Jones's aesthetic transformations along a biographical arc, VanDiver offers a new framework for thinking about the connection between America and Africa and the role of the African diaspora in the creation of African American artistic identity. Accessibly written and filled with fascinating anecdotes about Jones's life and career, her many acquaintances, and the challenges she faced as a black woman artist working in the twentieth century, this book makes a singular contribution to a new and expanded art-historical canon." -- Publisher's description. |
| Physical Description: |
xii, 241 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 27 cm. |
| Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-223) and index. |
| ISBN: |
9780271086040 0271086041 |