A Work of Art

The age of the “Black Power” movement is one that made its mark in the history of our nation. This work of art ” Soul of a Nation” displays the contribution that Black artists made from the peak of the civil rights movement. When you first look at this photo, you see nine African American men holding one fist in the air. You also see that the background has the word “Unite.” These little background details make the whole photo very important. This photo was used to show that social justice movements affected the artist and their work.

The civil rights movement is something that we have learned about through our history classes at school. It aimed to provide African Americans with the same human rights that whites had. The detail that appeals to me the most is the facial expression on all of the men. The look on their faces gives me the perception that they are serious about what they are advocating for, which is unity. They were tired of racist violence and wanted equality and unity, not discrimination. Many other artists used art to display the rights and freedom that they wanted. Everything in this photo speaks to me because of the message that I get from it. The message I get from this is that change will come. By them fighting for unity, it brought about change. The theme that this work of art portrays to us is black self-determination. See, back then, African Americans had to be determined and work hard to make things happen for them.

Many artists make works of art with a meaning behind them. Until you take a more in-depth look at it, you may never know what the message is that the artist wants you to grasp. Without analyzing this photo, paying attention to every detail, I would not have gotten the message that the author intended on me getting.