Lois Jones
The Ascent of Ethiopia, 1932, oil on canvas
As I started this blog, I wanted to find an artist whose work caught my eye and made an interesting story. But I found Lois Jones and her story was so inspiring there was no way I couldn’t write about her. Not only does this painting catch my eye, but the story behind her has so much influence on African Americans.
I find Lois Jones a HUGE influence on African Americans because her love and passion for the arts kept her driven and able to fight the discrimination against her work. She grew up in a family that wasn’t well off and her mother was a hairdresser that would go to the homes of rich white people. Jones would go with her mother and while she was at these houses she would admire the art on the walls. She then started experimenting with water colors and flourished from there. Lois Jones then was the first African American that attended the School of the Museum of Fine Art, Boston at a time when racial prejudice and discrimination were unavoidable. Her courage to continue with her art even though some people wouldn’t even look at it because of her color is amazing. Sometimes, she would give her work to her white friends to enter into exhibitions that way people could look at it without judging. Lois Jones was the first African American to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Fine Art.
This painting is really interesting because it starts in the bottom right corner and goes up around to the left side and ends in the top right hand corner telling the story of how African Americans got to America. The eye is first drawn to the man wearing the blue and black headdress which symbolizes Jones culture. He is watching over other African Americans working to be able to live the life they dream of. Each section of the story is positioned higher than the last and to me this seems to represent that they are that much closer to their goal. The two people next to the headdress are carrying pots on their head showing their hard work in Africa and the slumped backs make them look sad and overworked. The second man looks as if he is praying to his God to ask for guidance and a helping hand before he comes to America. Above him, there are two people holding hands and the man’s arm is held out as if they are treading into unknown territory and aren’t sure of where things are. This could be their arrival to America and they aren’t sure where to go from here. Lastly, in the top right corner, this shows them settled in and the culture that they were known to bring to America during the Harlem Renaissance. African Americans were known to embrace all forms of art: music, dance, film and theatre. Aaron Douglas, an artist who was work exemplified the ‘New Negro’ philosophy said, “…Our problem is to conceive, develop, and establish an art era. Not white art painting black…let’s bare our arms and plunge them deep through laughter, through pain, through sorrow, through hope, through disappointment, into the very depths of the souls of our people and drag forth material crude, rough, neglected. Then let’s sing it, dance it, write it, paint it. Let’s do the impossible. Let’s create something transcendentally material, mystically objective. Earthy. Spiritually earthy. Dynamic.” I think Lois Jones work exemplifies this well.
http://www.robinurton.com/history/Harlem.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/lois-mailou-jones
