Race and faith linked in artwork

To mark Black History Month in February, The College of Saint Rose in Albany presented a lecture last week on religious themes in 20th-century African-American art.

Julie Caro, a visiting professor of art history, gave the talk, titled "Lord I Fashion Dark Gods Too." She focused especially on the work of two contemporary artists: Allan Rohan Crite of Boston and Jean Lacy of Dallas.

"Mr. Rohan Crite began painting in the 1930s," she told The Evangelist. An Episcopalian, he incorporated many Christian themes into his work, including the crucifixion, Stations of the Cross and biblical figures, all painted with an African-American vision.

"Most of his work was done for Black churches and Christian publications, including Catholic, as illustrated spirituals," she said. "He used standard Catholic literature and iconography as a basis for the themes in his works," which meant drawing a black physiognomy and painting his figures with black skin. He is particularly noted for his depictions of Jesus and Mary in this manner.

Lynching

Jean Lacy painted a series of windows that are in St. Luke's Community Methodist Church in Dallas.

Ms. Caro noted that the artist combined "imagery from African-American literature and art with Black history from slavery through the Civil Rights movement. She used this in combination with traditional, biblical narratives to create a comprehensive religious image that was Christian with an African-American sensibility.

"Jean Lacy blended the themes of the crucifixion with those of the lynching of African-Americans, a practice that occurred in the 1930s throughout many southern U.S. communities. At that time, a concern developed among the art community regarding this practice. Because of public pressure on Congress to pass legislation to outlaw lynching, many art exhibitions of that time included this theme, particularly throughout the Black community.

"This particular artist is noted for some of that work. One window in the Dallas church depicts a black-skinned Jesus hanging on the cross and a white lynching rope draping the crucifix on which He hangs. The rope replaces the white garment found in more traditional paintings of the crucifixion."

Identifying with Christ

She noted that this type of art "tried to represent a more personal vision that was coming out of the general desire of the African-American community of the time, who longed to identify with the suffering of Jesus and express their own faith in a personal way."

Ms. Caro added that the art of Ms. Lacy extends a hopeful message because it also uses the imagery of Christ's resurrection, which represents "a theme of triumph over pain," a theme that African-Americans have embraced since the time of slavery.

"This theme in African-American art is also represented biblically by the Exodus of the Jewish people from their bondage in slavery" to the Egyptians, she said.

The slide lecture included the works of a range of African-American artists from the early 1900s through the '90s.

"These artists approached the traditional biblical themes using a unique Black perspective in their art," she explained.

(A resident of Hudson, Julie Caro is teaching a Survey of Western Art at The College of Saint Rose. She has also taught at Union College in Schenectady. A doctoral candidate in art history at the University of Texas at Austin, she is available for lectures. Call 337-4926.)

(02-13-03) [[In-content Ad]]