On November 13, 2018 I visited the Museum of Modern Art and walked through the artwork exhibit of one of the most recognized African American artists, Charles White. Before I walked into the museum I did a little bit of research about Charles White. He had noticed that American history had left out African Americans and their influence on the country. As a result, Charles White wanted to paint that picture and all his paintings depict strength within the African American community. When I walked in the exhibit, his paintings and murals caught my attention. His characters in the painting depicted strength and power.

 

His first mural was painted at the age of 21 and the way it was painted was meant to follow the strokes of paint. The mural seemed to move in a direction from left to right to that’s exactly how I examined the mural. On the far left-hand side was a formally enslaved woman who seemed to be an activist as there was a line of hundreds of African Americans following her lead. As I moved to the center of the painting I noticed preacher and educator, Booker T Washington. He was leaning forward giving a helping hand to the enslaved African Americans. Before I continued to the far right of the mural, I couldn’t help but notice the powerful limbs of the African Americans. Charles White painted big and hulk-like hands depicting power within the African American people. On the far right were African American musicians and teachers showing knowledge. I took a step back and realized that the painting was chronologically ordered. African Americans were poor and enslaved, then they became activists, and finally became educated. The one thing that did not change however were the distinct features portraying power.

 

As I walked around the exhibit, another painting that caught my attention was the one that showed an African American man dressed as a Communist Lieutenant. Charles White painted this in 1944 which was before the United States tensions with the Soviet Union. Charles White didn’t necessarily support the ideologies of communist but rather the idea that the Communism accepted and tolerated other races and religions. The painting showed an African American with power and status. But more importantly, one concept that did not change was the rigid hands and body. The African American man and woman both had distinct muscles which is Charles White’s common theme. Charles White’s work depicts the African-American history in the United States, socio-economic struggles, human relationship.