Infographic of Aaron Douglas
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X1Ty9j63l_WxXKokTthl_tdr1YMGmVgVQ4b5uOR32nY/edit?usp=sharing
Summary
For this assignment I have chosen to depict the work of Aaron Douglas in a Canva timeline. Through this timeline Aaron Douglas’s work can be seen not as individual pieces but as a collective database of how Aaron Douglas frequently creates pieces that relate to specific events and eras in history.
This is a key reason why I started with Aaron Douglas’s 1944 artwork “Noah’s Ark”. This is because Noah’s ark which I set pre the birth of Christ, occurs before any modern-day events and is an ancient biblical story. The next piece which I depict is Aaron Douglas’s 1924 piece, “Sahdji (Tribal Woman)”, which had a clear indicator that it took place before slavery was introduced in Western Africa. This is because the only thing that was depicted is a woman dancing in tribal garb in a very primitive setting. This is followed by Douglas’s 1934 piece “Aspects of Negro Life: The Negro in an African Setting" which depicts a more developed group of people holding spears and participating in another tribal dance but because these individuals are wearing what appears to be jewelry or armor, which is why I set them further down in the timeline. Next I chose Aaron Douglas’s 1936, “Into Bondage” because it depicts the first enslavement in Africa with people in chains being forced out of their homes and onto mysterious ships. For the fifth entry into the timeline is Aaron Douglas’s 1934, "Aspects of Negro Life: From Slavery Through Reconstruction", which represents the beginning of the escape from enslavement. This is in conjunction with the sixth entry from 1931, “Harriet Tubman” which depicts the process of enslavement to freedom in a timeline fashion. Next is Douglas’s 1936, “Aspirations” which depicts the aspirations of African Americans after slavery to build their own paradise because even after they were freed from their chains they still did not experience the same rights as other individuals. In our 8th entry, Douglas’s 1944 piece "Building More Stately Mansions" depicts the industrial revolution and contains some of the most historically significant building projects throughout history such as an Egyptian Sphynx, nodding at the aspirations and wants of the African American people. This is followed by Douglas’s 1928 artwork “Charleston” which shows the splendors and advancement in culture and music that was occurring before the great depression. Finally, Douglas’s 1939 “Judgement Day” depicts the future of humanities fate using religion. Due to the fact that it hasn’t happened, yet I have set it in the future, and I believe it displays Douglas’s thought that when we all die, we will be judged the same by our creator, not by the color of our skin but by the accomplishments we have contributed to the world.
In short, Douglas pieces seem to fit within each other to tell a narrative and describe human’s experience with life, religion, and enslavement. This can be seen starting from religious times with Noah’s Ark, then on to the tribal system, to the Golden Age, to the invention of large sail ships, the advent of slavery in the United States, to freedom, and then the future.