Date of Award
May 2019
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
African American Studies
Advisor(s)
Joan L. Bryant
Keywords
art history, Atlanta, black art, black artists, post-blackness
Subject Categories
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Historically, black visual art has held significance beyond its surface value as a source of beauty or entertainment. Black art has a long tradition of connections to activism. Black art advocates promoted the idea that art should be wielded as a tool for black advancement. However, in recent years, cultural theorists have declared that black art history has developed beyond this point and entered an era of post-blackness. Against this backdrop, I analyze the creative practices of contemporary black visual artists in Atlanta, GA to explore the varied ways that their art is a locus for activism and sociopolitical commentary. Their artistry is the basis for my interrogation of the question, what is this present moment in black art history, and what are the features of contemporary black artistic production?
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Stultz, Spencer Laurielle Annancia, "Aesthetic Liberation: Contemporary Black Visual Art and Typologies of Activism in Atlanta" (2019). Theses - ALL. 297.
https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/297
