Black History Month: Jonathan Harris
Welcome to the third full week of Black History Month! I have more inspiring visual and literary artists to share. Let’s talk about:
I think of Jonathan Harris as an artist who’s clearing space for other stories to be told, and ensuring the ones we have don’t get lost. In 2021, his painting “Critical Race Theory” went viral because of its clear-cut opposition to the erasure of Black history. Its fame and relevance has only grown since then. Some reasons to anticipate more from this artist:
His insistence on drawing a bright line between the past and the present
The directness of his work’s messaging, in spite of trolls who (still) try to redefine Critical Race Theory as proof of the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory
His use of symbols reminds me of official head-of-state oil portraits that contain objects hinting at the person’s status or personality.
And it doesn’t hurt that Beyoncé — in the midst of winning the most Grammy Awards ever — is spreading the word about his talent. If you’re in the Detroit area, you have [looks at watch] five more days to visit “Critical Condition.” If that means you have to stop reading and get a plane ticket, don’t let me distract you: you can always catch up on my blog post series tomorrow.
Summer thoughts
I may have gotten more vitamin D in the past month than I have in the past five years here in the Northwest. (We're not used to multiple, consecutive sunny days... it confuses us.) Just drinking in the sun, thinking about art.
My family was definitely immersed earlier this summer, when we were fortunate enough to visit the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay. The trip also got me thinking A LOT about museum etiquette: OMG don't get so close to the artwork/ 250-year-old paintings don't like flash photos/ how do you NOT know how to behave in a museum?!
Vincent van Gogh, "Self-Portrait," 1889
After a certain point I found myself playing a mental game of "find a European artwork that includes black people." Medieval and Renaissance-era artists did depict people of African descent occasionally, and not always as servants, possessions or "noble savages." But even those sculptures make me think: this is still a black body rendered in a couple tons of marble, by an artist who died more than a century ago.
Ernest Barrias, "The Alligator Hunters, or the Nubians," 1894
And it's worth remembering that most museums allow you to borrow their air conditioning for hours at a time. Depending on where you live, summer really is cooler at the museum.