*A 1920’s nightclub in Paris, where dark and light-skinned people are pressed together in a sexy sway. An exclusive ‘Bronzeville’ neighborhood with a night time glow, showing the bustling streets of a Black commune. A horrifying and surreal scene, depicting the death of the Civil Rights Movement, with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. All of these moments and more have been captured in the varying expressions of an African American artist called Archibald Motley.
His style is very aesthetically pleasing and versatile as he is committed to portraying the diversities of African American culture. He is now known among the greats of the Harlem Renaissance because of his uniquely sharp and daring works of art. He, however, hasn’t reached the prominence of his peers like Zora Neale Hurston, Josephine Baker, and Langston Hughes.
His exhibition, the Jazz Age Modernist, opened in October. In it, he showcased different observations of the Black community. His perspectives weren’t arranged in strict chronologies but included a large range of subcultures and traditions.
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Motley’s own upbringing was in a Black neighborhood, and his work clearly portrays his ‘Negro Eyes’ which are jaded with a painful history. His work also portrays how he isn’t afraid to capture the bad along with the good of the community. All of it, however, reveals disenfranchisement from a very racist and segregated America.
Motley started his career from the School of Art Institute in Chicago. His very first series of paintings were portraits of famous figures of Black History. He even painted a portrait of his grandmother, a former slave who was now the matriarch and pride of the family. This portrait depicted his grandmother’s mistress hanging over her like a menacing slave owner.
Another thing you will notice in Motley’s works is his significant attempt at capturing a variety of skin tones. He himself is a blend of ethnicities and is therefore committed to representing “the whole gamut” of the Black community’s complexions.
Motley himself passed away in 1981, but his sadness has been brought forward through various works of art including his final work – Jazz Age Modernist. You should definitely check out his bold strokes capturing the history of Black America which doubles as a celebration of his career.
