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Zora Neale Hurston and Harlem RenaissanceThe Harlem Renaissance refers to the flowering of African American cultural and intellectual life during the 1920s and 1930s. At that time, it was known as the “New Negro Movement”. It happened in Harlem which is a district neighborhood of New York City for black people. Harlem Renaissance encouraged black people to improve their level of literature. It had a profound impact on development of black peoples undertakings. In the end of 19 century, many black people who lived in South America went toward to North America. It is a golden period for black people. Because of many black people did not have skills to make a living, most of them can not adapt to these North cities. At this time, black people had to face to discrimination by white people and more and more serious apartheid. Black people were crowded out to Harlem which was to be the biggest agglomeration for black people. With the development of economy after the First World War, many educated black people and artists went to Harlem which leaded it to be the “cultural capital” for black people. Harlem Renaissance was a turning point in the history of black people and it has impact on them until the Second World War. This movement made entire world, especially white people have a new impression on black people. Many outstanding poets and writers emerged during this period. Among them, Zora Neale Hurston is an outstanding representative in Harlem Renaissance. Zora Neale Hurston was a folklorist, anthropologist and author. If people want to analyze the reason why Zora Neale Hurston became to be the representative writer in Harlem Renaissance, it is necessary to know her experience. Hurston was born in Notasulga, Alabama on January 7, 1891. She did not experience racial discrimination in her childhood. However, when she was nine years old, her mothers death ended her happy time. She had to leave her home and lived with her relatives. She began to know the hardship as a black girl. After she graduated from college, her thought was forming. Her heart and experiences urged her to write some literary which can inspire black people especially black women. One of Harlem Renaissances characteristics is that the literary works deny the image of “uncle Tom” and they want to set the new image of black people. During period of Harlem Renaissance, black women writers aim was to correct the image of black people, especially black women in the past literature. Zora Neale Hurston had the same creation purpose. She wanted to make white people or society have a right impression on black people, especially the black women through her novels. In early time, American white writer like to describe black women in their novels. There black women were often nanny and shameless which wrote to serve as a foil for white women. And in black writers novel, black woman is a foil for men. Hurston paid her attention to black peoples true life. She stated that as all human beings in the world, black people also have their emotions and spiritual world. She put her emphasis on describing feelings of black women, and she wanted to show their self consciousness development. Her novel was like a mirror which can show racialism and discriminatory of American society and she wanted to hope these novels to express her inner world. The representative is jenny, a black mix races woman in Hurstons novel Their Eyes were Watching God. She is a new image of black woman in literary works, which has independent thoughts and wants to find her self-value. She was beautiful, smart and full of rebellious spirit. As most of black women in real life, Jenny wants to pursue better life and rebels herself. Though Hurstons novel, people can recognize black womens new image. Although she also described nanny, she attempted to show their inner worlds and mental stress. Hurston was a tragic character in literary history. Like other women at that time, Hurston also involved into tendency of Harlem Renaissance. She was forgot by people, but her vivid novels and special perspective made more and more people get interested on her works. Her brilliant mind and novel did not attract people at that time. She was rejected by society and other people. After she passed away for several decades, Alice Walker took her works out of many novels in Harlem Renaissance and researched on them. People were attracted by Hurstons works again. Because of her life experience in Negro town and her major contribution on Negros folk culture, Hurston acquired researchers accept. As one of the most important writers in Harlem Renaissance, Hurston did not experience racial discrimination all her life, but she realized that black literature works should excavate spiritual connotation of black peoples folk culture such as, independent, freedom and enthusiasm. By writing her novel, Hurston used black peoples dialect, folk custom, folk songs, and religious rites and preaches to reveal black peoples spiritual world. Otherwise, Hurston attempted to find black womens way to rebel themselves on the perspective of a woman. Hurston considered that women can reveal black peoples folk culture in a perfect way, and if writers can combine black womens self-pursuit with their folk culture, the novel can research to the new development space. In her novel, black woman to be the leading character first time. Many black people, especially black women found themselves in book and wanted to fight for equal rights as white women. Hurstons thought and works revealed core spirit of the Harlem Renaissance and opened up a new perspective to show black womens living conditions. Her works made other people understand black peoples folk culture and what they suffered in real life which made contribution for them to fight for their equal right. ReferenceWintz, C. D. (1988).Black culture and the Harlem Renaissance. Houston: Rice University Press.Carby, H. (1991).The politics of fiction, anthropology, and the folk: Zora Neale Hurston.pp. 168-85.Huggins, Nathan.Harlem Renaissance. New York:Oxford University Press, 1973.ART of Harlem RenaissanceIn 1930s and 1920s, many black people inhabited a region called Harlem, New York. They paid attention to develop art such as dance, music, movie, painting, drama and Cabaret. All of these forms of art were affected by traditional culture of Africa. This movement was called Harlem Renaissance and that time, it was also called New Negro Movement which was named from Alain Lockes book The New Negro. This book aimed to inspire black artists to absorb nutrition from Africa traditional culture which can reactivate their creativity. Harlem Renaissance had a profound impact on culture (literature, drama, music, visual art, dance) and also in the realm of social thought (sociology, historiography, philosophy), artists and intellectuals found new ways to explore the historical experiences of black American and the contemporary experiences of black life. Not as most paper often regards the literary as the point in Harlem Renaissance, this paper is on the art in Harlem Renaissance.The painting and sculpture in this period has a unique charm. It had influence on many black artists. There were many famous black painters and sculptors in this period. Most of them got great achievement on developing black peoples cultural awaking. Aaron Douglas, Augusta Savage, William H Johnson, Palmer Heiden, Sargeant Johnson and so on became to be the representatives of black artists. Some of them even earned good reputation at home and aboard, which was closely bound up with older generation of black intellectuals promotion and support. At that time, as the representatives of out standing black intellectuals, Dubois, Charles Johnson and Alain Locke regarded visual arts from black peoples perspective as the vital part for Harlem Renaissance. Meanwhile, black intellectuals strived to cultivate young black visual artists, which promoted development of Harlem Renaissance. For example, Johnson encouraged Aaron Douglas to develop visual arts who was honored as “The Father of African-Americans Art”. He had created murals on public buildings and also produced illustrations and covers for Crisis and Opportunity, which were two main magazines in Harlem Renaissance. As the patron of visual arts, Dubois delegated black artists make illustrations. In Lockes book, he told young black people to learn from European artists on their visual arts. In the end of nineteen century, the theme of black visual artists works embodied mainly more general things but not theme on race. Painter Henry Ossawa Tanner and sculptor Meta Warrick Fuller were the representatives among these black visual artists. Not same as the older generation, these artists wanted to get new inspiration by observing Africa arts, experiencing Africa-Americans life and used them as main theme on their works. Many of them attempted to use European Modernism art tracts to describe Negros life in city or in the country. Some outstanding black artists deserved peoples attention at that time, such as Aaron Douglas, Richmond Barthes and so on. They devoted themselves to analyze “New Negro” visual artists style and achievements in Harlem Renaissance. Under Lockes visual arts and supervisor Winold Reisses influence, Aaron Douglas wanted to show root of nation by depicting Negros. Aaron Douglas who this paper refers to above, was the representatives visual artists and painters in Harlem Renaissance. He has a great impact on other black artists in following years. He had a special painting style and his paintings were accepted by common people. As it refers above, Douglas made illustrations for canons New Negro and Fire in period of Harlem Renaissance. His eight illustrations on Gods Trombone mix elements of Africa art together which can show the charm and noble of Africa culture. These eight pictures provided visual supplement for visual art. The theme of his works was also the content which other black writers and artists wanted to describe or define in their works. Thus, many people hold that these illustrations embody the visual arts. Aaron Douglas described Afro-Americans life, history and spiritual characters by drawing pictures. Same as Aaron Douglas, sculptor Richmond Balter also considered that he was also influenced by Africa nationalists. The themes of his sculptures were not only emphasizing on ethic but also on primitiveness. For example, Flute Boy (1928), it embodies a free and naive nude sculptures; Arica Dancer (1933), it shows a naked Negro women dancer; Wild Benga (1935), it reveals a masculinity woman dancer; his Blackberry Woman also embodies the influence of Africa arts to him. Many artists created outstanding dramas during this time, such as George Gershwin wrote drama Porgy and Bess which aroused controversy by Afro-Americans and white people at that time. These excellent dramas and operas lead more and more black common people and black intellectuals attempted to think about their right in this society and their traditional culture in homeland. To sum up, Harlem Renaissance was a period which prompted development of black literature and arts. In this period, many black intellectuals were cultivated and they were “New Negro” writers, poet, and dramatist, performing artist, musician and visual artists. On the one hand, these “New Negro” artists and writers realized the fact of ethnic prejudice and attempted to response to older generation black intellectuals. They wanted to use this form to enhance Negros confidence and fight for racial equality. These artists were usually encouraged by national consciousness and devoted themselves to eliminate and overturn peoples negative, stiff cultural image on Afro-American by their art works. On the other hand, these writers and artists carried on individualism in process of creating their art works. They refused every artificial standard and insisted to adopt more individual art attitude. If people want to do research on Harlem Renaissance, it is necessary to analyze these black artists and their beautiful works. They made great contribution for development of visual art, sculpture, painting, literature and so one in period of Harlem Renaissance.ReferenceAmos, Shawn, compiler.Rhapsodies in Black: Words and Music of the Harlem Renaissance. Los Angeles: Rhino Records, 2000(4).Perry, Jeffrey B.Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Harlem Radicalism, 18831918.New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. Wintz, Cary D.Black Culture and the Harlem Renaissance.Houston: Rice University Press, 1988.
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