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Black History Month
The Importance of Modern Black Artists in the Canon of Collective HistoryBlack History Month exists far outside the celebration of Black Americans. It dreams of holistic and collective respect for Black culture in and out of the United States. It honors black innovation, art, expression, and tradition globally.
In the US, likely out of a desire for political correctness or politeness, it isn't uncommon to use "African American" and “Black” interchangeably. However, when talking about art, it’s worth noting that there exists a lack of nuance when discussing race on an American and global scale. It decontextualizes complex individual experiences while disinheriting those who excelled, and those who have propelled history forward, out of their commemoration.
In a desire to appreciate the full scope of Black artists as they critique the past, present, and future canon of history, it is imperative we acknowledge the breadth of contributions found in the celebration of Black Art and Culture.
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Musah SwallahOrange Juice, 2021Acrylic on Canvas101.6 x 76.2 cmAs Black History Month spotlights Black voices and creators, it is imperative to acknowledge artists like Musah Swallah, who work as modern art historians. Arguably one of the most difficult aspects of portraiture comes through in the grounding of a soul within the work. It takes the pouring of one's self and the baring of it to the world for there be such a profound sense of persona on a two-dimensional surface.
As an artist who, almost literally, records a subject’s living aura in his work, Swallah's art proves vital to the conversation, usurping simple notions of inclusion to not only rewrite the canon of modernity, but reevaluate history’s account of experience in the African diaspora.
Swallah records the faces of the people of today while transcending the confines of portraiture we’ve grown familiar with. The surface nature of portraiture is to imitate the likeness of an individual, to portray and communicate physicality—the essence, the true substance within, is made up of so much more. Artists like Musah Swallah find the creation of portrait work a means of presenting identity and assuming a space of self-expression. His paintings, sculptures, and mixed media works render stories that chronicle the life of African identity, cultural values, and daily life in our current world.
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Musah SwallahLip Stick, 2021Acrylic on Canvas101.6 x 76.2 cm
The eyes of his subjects are powerful and captivating, carrying intense emotion without foregoing inclusion of character and story. The figures in Swallah’s portraits present commentary on the diversity of African and American cultures through color, joy, and most notably, a distinct pride in being Black.
Swallah’s portraits mirror the artist’s own embracing of natural hair as part of identity. Across centuries, especially in Black communities, the expression of beauty and style has long been communicated through hairstyles. However, for the Black American identity, there exists a caveat in the form of social oppression, abuse, and racial discrimintaion in correlation with hair. Swallah works to set the foundation for the architecture of change, reformation, and healing.
Artists sit at the precipice of culture and the purveyors of change. Musah Swallah's painting can be seen as a societal medicine of sorts, a space of his own creation made to share with his audience as they journey through self-expression. Where modern words fail, Swallah's playful color palette and intentional movement challenge what history has long presented as far as contemporary African identity is concerned. This type of work lends itself to a better future, one of informed, expressive identity and the euphoria of self-acceptance, a future where humans have become more humane.
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Learn more about Musah
