HomeArts:  Art Featuring African American Culture

African American Artists and Their Art

African American art is becoming quite popular across the country, especially as more people are becoming interested in multicultural aspects of life, instead of only the familiar and long established. African American art is artistic and beautiful and usually focuses on themes that may be ignored in other works of art or by other artists. For this reason, people interested in art that is unique and uncommon, yet still stunning and thought-provoking, should investigate the possibilities of African American art. There are a variety of styles, a number of artists, and a genuine emotion and energy involved in this art.

African American Art: Famous Artists

African American art is experiencing more popularity than in past years because there has lately been an increasing interest in multiculturalism and embracing the differences and similarities among all groups of people. African American art is often created by black artists who have a strong, invested interest in showcasing aspects of their people and culture of which they are especially proud. In past times, the main subject of African American art has been showing the primary perception of black people, or how the dominant group wanted to believe African Americans were. Many African American art pieces have a spiritual or religious focus or theme, and others portray specific historical scenes or events. They frequently depict daily apects of African life.

There are many African American artists that have really had an influence in the art scene, and finding unique treasures is easy. It is common to find entire galleries or art shows dedicated to African American art, and these places and events can be enlightening, powerful and life-changing due to intensity and emotion with which many of the pieces are created. Akili Ron Anderson is one exceptional African American artist who creates beautiful art pieces focusing on black subjects. Two of his most famous works, "Jesus as a Young Man" and "Crucifixion," are religious in nature and feature deep dark colors, like vivid blacks, intense blues, dark browns, etc.

Adriene Cruz is another talented artist whose primary art is in the form of beautiful quilts, many of which depict scenes of African ancestry and background. Louis Delsarte is a thriving artist who is currently undertaking a project producing a series of pieces about black musicians, but many of his other art works, like "Ascension," revolve around religious themes and feature a vivid use of color. Another black artist who frequently paints religious subjects is Valerie J. Maynard. Maynard's work tends to be more abstract and less defined in nature, but it is moving, colorful, and energetic.

Arts Articles

More Arts Info