The painting “The Ascend of Ethiopia” by Lois Mailou Jones tells a tale of Black Americans. As they took a long journey of in establishing their heritage, struggles and pain was the order of the day. The oil on canvas paint depicts African Americans as group that pride themselves on their achievement despite setbacks and many struggles in a judgmental society (Virtual Exhibition, 2013). This paper examines the details and the richness of the hues in the stunning painting by Jones. In particular, the analysis examines the depiction of slavery and struggles that led to the freedom of African Americans. The interpretive approach taken in analyzing the artwork will assist in understanding it from the painter’s viewpoint. In other words, the paper explores what Jones had in mind when she panted the artwork.
A closer examination of the painting shows how the painter gives an illusion of a three-dimensional space on a two dimensional medium. For example, Jones painted the pharaoh-like figure in the right lower corner of the painting using different brightness. For example, a brighter outline across the facial area gives the figure a three dimensional appearance. Similarly, Jones uses varying brightness to give the two pyramids a three dimensional look (Virtual Exhibition, 2013). Therefore, it is important to understand the importance of creating such an illusion in a two dimensional platform. The approach gives the painting a relief appearance, which is associated with reality. Therefore, the three dimension appearance can be interpreted as reality. It also gives the images portrayed in the paining life.
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The characters in the painting are two dimensional but Jones shows depth by illustrating a difference in size, starting with the Pharaoh which seems to represent the beginning. The beginning of Negro culture form Jones perspective, the images traversing from right to left like a spiral staircase ascending up. It is important to appreciate the fact that Pharaohs were very powerful individuals during ancient time. The image of a Pharaoh at the beginning of the ascending process shows the positions of Africans during the time. The Egyptian kingdom represents the early civilization of mankind by showing the superior position that Africa held then. Therefore, the image of the Pharaoh can be interpreted as a symbol of African civilization. It means that Africans were free and powerful enough before power started shifting elsewhere and they found themselves struggling to keep up with the ever-changing world and struggles.
The combination of Pharaoh and pyramids images can also be interpreted as slavery. From a historical perspective, it is believed that slaves were responsible for building the great pyramids in Egypt. Therefore, in this case, the pharaoh image is a symbol of slavery. The significance of the impact of slavery is reflected in the size of the image. It depicts the pharaoh looking at the slaves building the pyramids they have to climb. The size, position, and angle used depict the pharaohs’ omnipotence over slaves showing the dark history of being at the bottom of the social-class. Interestingly, dark images at this stage represent evil or death due to the brutality in which slave traders unleashed on African communities and sold them in the US. Therefore, the symbols of the faces and circles depicting the different aspects of the world show a representation of the turbulence affecting blacks.
Although the artwork was painted in the 20th Century, it represents the entire journey of the American Americans. Understanding this journey is important since it can help in interpreting the mystery in the painting. Here, it is important to link the history of the African American with the Renaissance period, which is adequately depicted in the painting. Renaissance was a period leading up to the civil rights movement that reflected cultural awareness. Prior to this epoch, black identity was still a rather novel subject due to the relatively free black community. Jones and other artists during this time were fortunate to reaping the benefits of an education even though it might not have been to the highest standards available, so they took it upon themselves in creating pieces of art if iconic images to relay their history. The Ascent of Ethiopia recognizes their history through the colors, strokes, depth perception, angles and symbols easy to recognize from all.
The use of different color provides crucial insights regarding the painting. In painting dark color can be interpreted as power, evil, mystery, or death. In this case, the darkness used in portraying the Pharaoh represents power. Jones uses a dark hue in the beginning, promotes a melancholic feeling relating to the dark times of slavery. As we move left the images get darker with the strokes loosely depicting a human figure meaning the loss of identity in those times for Negro culture. This shows how different the same can be used to express different meanings. The human-like figures look up as they climb, which is an indication of hope and willingness to fight and make it through the struggles.
Another interesting feature in the painting is the depiction of human-like images climbing up the stairs. The image shows them stepping out of darkness while looking up the sky for the iconic symbol of the Northern Star. Interestingly, the Civil War that helped in ending slavery is clearly depicted here. While the Northerners were against slavery, the Southerners supported it. Therefore, the Northern Star represents freedom, as African American slave used the iconic star to find their way towards freedom. As one can see in the painting the North Star is the light that illuminated their path to better pastures. After that one can see that blacks were depicted performing and learning about art, music, and drama. Being capable of reaching a more fulfilling lifestyle in which their lives are no longer dictated.
As the characters move up the stairs, they begin to ‘see the light’. The light represents a time of change. The light-green hue used reflects can be interpreted as a combination between enlightenment and growth. The green hue is used throughout the whole image, green is a symbolic color used to represent growth, which seems appropriate in the context of this painting. Therefore, it is the enlightenment represented by brightness that brings about the growth allowing the African Americans to come out of their dark history of slavery and brutality.
Finally, at the top right is the modern culture, which encompasses a mixture of colors green, yellow, blue and black. Aside from the obvious words and illustrations, the colors represent a time of transition and turmoil. It shows that African Americans have undergone through a lot before reaching at the top. The top, in this case, is represented by musical signs, which resembles the actual events in the US, where African American musicians took the airwaves and showcases their unmatched prowess as far as at and music is concerned. The painting speaks volumes regarding the role of African Americans in dominating the global music industry during the late 20th Century.
According to Karenga (n.d.), all art is collective and it represents the values of the people. Jones used musical instruments such as a piano and multiple musical symbols to bring out the theme of music. Interestingly, the theme of music and entertainment is covered in in the entire section portraying the position of African Americans in the modern society. It is amazing how music has become a medium for communicating to audience about cultures, attitudes, social evils, historical injustices among other sociocultural themes. Therefore, the aspect of music shows the use of the art to tell the story of African Americans. It does not represent a single theme but a wide range of themes that musicians cover while entertaining and information the society. In this painting, it is clear that Jones was keen on showing how African Americans could freely talk about their issues freely. For example, the music produced in the 20th Century reflected the cultural tension, especially during the 1940s and 70's. For example, in earlier weeks when talking about blues the tone and rhythm were simple and clear, there was discontent with ethnic prejudice. As the title "blues" music entails, one was blue, sad, powerless, unappreciated. Then as the 40's and 50's came around Jazz took a new tone like Billi Holidays "Strange Fruit", she was not powerless she was upset, like she was brewing. The 40's were an interesting time; blacks wanted to fight back against oppression but had no clue how. Ironically, WWII came about, posing higher threats to the American way of life. Blacks, whites, Latinos, Native Americans all were encouraged to fight and support a superordinate goal that is to preserve American Society. This increase in cooperation instilled confidence that brought about Jazz music, leading up to the civil rights movement. These occurrences are summarized by the details presented in Jones painting.
In summary, Jones succeeded in telling the history of an entire ethnic group just a single artwork. Amazingly, the artists used relatable symbols and depictions making it easier for her audience to follow and understand every tiny detail. Although African Americans have a history of more than four centuries, Jones succeeded in summarizing it in just one painting. From an artist’s perspective, there is no better way to describe the history of community than showing where they came from, their current condition, and where they are going. From the painting, it is clear that African Americans have come a very long way in securing their freedom. Most importantly, their journey to freedom has not been easy and they still have to keep up the fight for freedom. On the same note, Jones presents present and future where African Americans can freely express their feelings through art. With music, talking about various sociocultural aspect of life is now possible.
References
Karenga, R. (n.d.). On Black Art: Documents from the Black Arts Movement. Retrieved December 8, 2018, from http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/blackarts/documents.htm
Virtual Exhibition. (2013, April 23). Lois Mailou Jones. Retrieved December 8, 2018, from https://art257virtualexhibitionyb.wordpress.com/lois-mailou-jones
