Hidden Heritage. The roots of Black American painting - ACE210.8

Newspaper photographers. Photograph of Archibald Motley, 1891-1981. Driskell’s VO says his one-man show in 1928 "undoubtedly legitimised the primitive style". Black Belt (1934), and others while Driskell talks about the "fat man" in these pictures as an image of social isolation. Extract from St Louis Blues (1929). Langston Hughes’s Juke Box Love Song read over another painting; poem continues over more of St Louis Blues. The painting with music from film played over. More paintings by Motley with Driskell describing his work over. St Louis Blues – Bessie Smith – intercut with cabaret painting. Driskell lecture. Contemporary scene of young black woman, with black and white film and Brown Girl (After the Bath) (1931). Douglas’s mural, Song of a Tower. Driskell describes it as "the black man at the centre of industry, on the wheel of industry, helping to build the cities of America". Photograph of Aaron Douglas, lecture continues, describing his style as "geometric symbolism". The Black Image in White America. Photograph of the unveiling of the mural series which was very influential on the next generation of black artists. Engraving. Cover of copy of Spark – Organ of the Vanguard. Driskell leaves Columbia University and drives off. His VO continues, talking about continuing racial discrimination until the 1960s when black people became "Free at last". Credits