Can Your Art Overcome Issues of Social Justice?
By: Froyle Davies
Tags: Equality, BlackLivesMatter, History, Art, Life

Toward abstraction

Lewis’ move toward abstraction opened up a world of wispy brushstrokes and lyrical lines. His style was energetic, and he became proficient with portraying the movement of sound and the impression of musicians without figurative representation. He implied the presence of forms rather than describing literal objects. But this departure from the social realist style of art put him at odds with the Black Arts movement of his time.

Norman Lewis did not fit into any of the art establishments, black or white. His work was ignored by the White, Post War, American Art community because he was black, but the African-American art dealers and gallery owners dismissed his art because he was too abstract. They believed art needed to be representational to achieve social change. He struggled to attain collectors and museum shows, even though he had won awards with his artwork. Lewis mostly supported himself and his family through teaching, and with taxi driving.

However, he did not give up, and although frustrated with the unfair treatment that plagued him, Lewis continued to create paintings to inspire thought and to capture the human experience. Lewis found inspiration in a variety of sources, ranging from music and nature, to Chinese, Japanese and African art. He was also influenced by the paintings of the Wassily Kandinsky and Vincent van Gogh.

“The goal of the artist must be aesthetic development, and in a universal sense, to make in his own way some contribution to culture” — Norman Lewis

Norman Lewis with his abstract art, 1950, © Estate of Norman W. Lewis.

Although Lewis’ paintings became completely abstract in style, he never gave up his desire to affect social change through the power of art. In the last two decades of his life, Lewis fused the plight of black struggle with abstract painting.

He was a founding member of Spiral, a group of artists and writers who met regularly to discuss the issues of racial equality and supported the Civil Rights movement. He decided that protesting would be more likely to see change happen than painting. In 1969, Lewis co-founded Cinque Gallery, which was devoted to gathering recognition for young minority artists.

In 1979, Norman Lewis died unexpectedly at the age of 70. He left behind a body of work including paintings, drawings and murals. Lewis had been represented by the Willard Gallery, and he had shows at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art and in the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 1955, his painting “Migrating Birds” (1953) won the Popular Prize at the Carnegie International Exhibition; being the first African-American ever to win the award.

Norman Lewis, Migrating Birds, 1953. © Estate of Norman W. Lewis and Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York.

Lewis received many awards and good reviews, but his work did not sell nearly as well as the other Abstract Expressionists that he exhibited with, such as Mark Tobey or Mark Rothko. He was not included in important publications for Abstract Expressionism of the time and for some years he had fallen completely from view.

For Lewis, a lack of recognition, little fame and no fortune did not prevent him from continuously developing his artistic pursuit. He understood the value of leaving a legacy and was determined to create art that would inspire humanity toward social change.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

The ignition for change

During Lewis’ lifetime, he did not see evidence that using art to show people the plight of the black minority could change society’s attitude. But eventually, change has come, and he would have been impressed by the current world events. The powerful visual image of the George Floyd arrest and subsequent death from police brutality erupted a global outcry. Caught on camera, and distributed through modern-day mass media, the visual impact of the atrocity was witnessed by thousands of people instantly. Protests began in many nations that saw millions of people rally together for equality.

This moment now marks 77 years since Lewis first created his painting depicting the issue of police brutality. The passage of time, the history of continual injustice and the powerful visual image, all collided to be the powder keg that ignited a global response. The protests have led to numerous legislative proposals on all levels, to combat police misconduct, brutality and racism in the United States.

Photo by Mercedes Mehling on Unsplash

Art can be a vehicle to inspire change, but it requires artists willing to share their voice and to keep creating regardless of popular opinion. Sometimes it involves the sacrifice of fame and fortune, and sometimes it takes until the next generation to see fruit from the labour. Social change requires many people to rally together with a united vision, and although one man’s artwork alone may not be the catalyst, it is always a good place to start.