In one of his writings James Porter, the famous founder of African American art criticism, the writer of the texts on history of African American art makes a point saying: “Their art is that of the common people, not simply because they themselves belong to the masses, but also because their ideas typify the form-world of a social group not used to aesthetic contemplation.” What is meant by Porter in this case that the art, developed by African American artists is dedicated for the working social class and derives from the depth of it. And when speaking of people, to whom this art may be interesting and by whom it may be understood and appreciated, Porter speaks of working people not necessarily of African American descent.
The majority of African American artists in Porter’s times used to be struggling their way through social inequality. This is why their comprehension was close to such of their intended audience, of the working people whose tastes to art were not influenced by aesthetic contemplations. Porter considers modern art of African American artists to be an aspect of American art and certainly sees it within the framework of American art. It both influences nd isinfluenced by the rest of American art. This reflects, in a way, the structure of the society itself, and, just as all the groups in the society are interconnected even if some of them are more isolated from the others, still the connections exist and they cannot be neither neglected nor overlooked.
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"Modern Negro Art".
Thus, modern negro art, as it is being referred to by Porter, is the art which belongs to masses, derives and thrives to them. African American artists are interested in simplistic themes, simply because the very essence of their lives is such that does not give them much time or leisure to reflect upon more complex things, to get deeper into aesthetic exerces. The same refers to the common public, those, who are, so to speak, a perfect match for the art by modern negro artists. These are the people, who have got aesthetic needs, but their life style is such that does not give them much opportunity to dedicate significant amount of time to exploring arts, studying it and developing their aesthetic state, bringing it up to the level, where abstract matters would become interesting to them.
They are interested in the matters, which are well understood for a working perso. They are interested in what an educated and versed connoisseur of art would find “down-to-earth”. However they are not. They bring up important social and existential problems, the problems which, in the final score, lie in the base of all the pieces of art. However, the realization of these themes is not as complicated and as fine, and thus many art experts deny the relation of these pieces of art to actual art. Still, this is a wrongful approach. It is just an aspect of art, a layer of art, a kind of art, so to speak, which possesses its own characteristic features, which carries its own function, which targets its audience and educates some of them, while conducting debates with the others.
The idea of Porter is easier understood through examples. For instance, Robert Duncanson is, certainly,one of the artists to whom Porter refers when speaking of modern Negro Art. Porter many times refers to the work of Duncanson. Duncanson is seen by many critics as an artist, who tightly incorporates the theme of race into his works. Among the brightest works by Duncanson one should underline the 1853 painting “Uncle Tom and Little Eva”. This is a painting which depicts the slave and the daughter of the slave owner Eva, who are depicted in a very beautiful landscape. Duncanson is famous for painting landscapes. And in this particular case he explores the idea of humanity liberating from the horrible hell of slavery through beauty, love and sacrifice. This idea is certainly well understood by any working person, by the people whose hard work has always been taken advantage over by those, who, slavery or not, have always been able to find mechanisms to exploit the work of others.
Another bright example to illustrate the statement by Porter is the entire work of famous Duke Ellington. Duke Ellington was certainly coming from the heart of the working class, he knew everything about their problems and his music, though it served as a base for the entire Jazz tradition and an inspiration for a number of white artists, was simplistic. This can be seen through any of his songs, including “I let a Song Go out of My Heart”, composed in 1937. Duke Ellington consciously remained to be a down-to-earth person, not allowing his fame and the art ttake his human essence away from him and him from the social background to which it belonged and whose thoughts and feelings he skillfully expressed.
