Art in Crisis: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Struggle for African American Identity and Memory

by Amy Helene Kirschke

Overview

The Crisis was an integral element of the struggle to combat racism in America. As editor of the magazine (1910–1934), W. E. B. Du Bois addressed the important issues facing African Americans. He used the journal as a means of racial uplift, celebrating the joys and hopes of African American culture and life, and as a tool to address the injustices black Americans experienced—the sorrows of persistent discrimination and racial terror, and especially the crime of lynching. The written word was not sufficient. Visual imagery was central to bringing his message to the homes of readers and emphasizing the importance of the cause. Art was integral to his political program. Art in Crisis: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Struggle for African American Identity and Memory reveals how W. E. B. Du Bois created a "visual vocabulary" to define a new collective memory and historical identity for African Americans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253218131
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	01/23/2007
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Amy Helene Kirschke is Associate Professor of Art and Art History and African American Studies at the University of North Carolina–Wilmington. She is author of Aaron Douglas: Art, Race, and the Harlem Renaissance.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. W. E. B. Du Bois and African American Memory and Identity
2. A History of Black Political Cartoons and Illustrations: The Artists
3. The "Crime" of Blackness: Lynching Imagery in The Crisis
4. Theories of Art, Patronage, and Audience
5. Images of Africa and the Diaspora
6. Art, Political Commentary, and Forging a Common Identity
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

"An important contribution to the study of African American art as well as to our understanding of the Harlem Renaissance, W.E.B. Du Bois, African American politics, and African American journalism. Very little work has been done on African American periodical art [or] on Du Bois's use of images. This alone makes this a valuable book."

Cary D. Wintz

An important contribution to the study of African American art as well as to our understanding of the Harlem Renaissance, W.E.B. Du Bois, African American politics, and African American journalism. Very little work has been done on African American periodical art [or] on Du Bois's use of images. This alone makes this a valuable book.

David Levering Lewis

"Amy Kirschke's Art in Crisis is a fine, significant book, long overdue. It reminds us again of the power of illustrations from Daumier to Du Bois to expose cant and corruption and to promote honesty and justice."--(David Levering Lewis, University Professor, NYU, and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning two-volume biography of W.E.B. Du Bois)

Cary D. Wintz]]>

An important contribution to the study of African American art as well as to our understanding of the Harlem Renaissance, W.E.B. Du Bois, African American politics, and African American journalism. Very little work has been done on African American periodical art [or] on Du Bois's use of images. This alone makes this a valuable book.

volume biography of W.E.B. Du Bois

Amy Kirschke's Art in Crisis is a fine, significant book, long overdue. It reminds us again of the power of illustrations from Daumier to Du Bois to expose cant and corruption and to promote honesty and justice. —David Levering Lewis, UniversityProfessor, NYU, and author of the Pulitzer Prize—winning tw

Editorial Reviews

"[T]he paramount value of Kirschke's laudable acoomplishment is that she has simultaneously added to the Du Boisian mystique, while providing a new understanding and appreciation for his role in shaping the manner in which African Americans viewed themselves and were perceived by others.Vol. 94.1 Fall 2009"—Randall O. Westbrook, Fairleigh-Dickinson University

". . . valuable. It supplies a concise account of Du Bois's inclusion of art during his editorship of the magazine. It focuses us on the abundance and high quality of the art included and begins the important job of remembering and documenting the work of black artists now too often forgotten. . . . Art in Crisis makes readily accessible to a wide range of readers a rich sampling of work from The Crisis's formative period.Vol.42.2 (rec'd April 2009)"—Elizabeth Ammons, Tufts University

"As the first book to examine Du Bois's use of imagery to create racial pride and convey moral outrage, Art in Crisis offers important insights into the history of visual journalism as well as the contributions of one of the twentieth—century's most significant black periodicals. . ."—Jhistory

". . . a reminder of the usage and power of visual images to shape ideas and instill self—worth and opinions in American society. . . . Recommended. General readers; lower—division undergraduates through faculty."—Choice

"Amy Kirschke's Art in Crisis is a fine, significant book, long overdue. It reminds us again of the power of illustrations from Daumier to Du Bois to expose cant and corruption and to promote honesty and justice. —David Levering Lewis, University Professor, NYU, and author of the Pulitzer Prize—winning tw"—volume biography of W.E.B. Du Bois

"An important contribution to the study of African American art as well as to our understanding of the Harlem Renaissance, W.E.B. Du Bois, African American politics, and African American journalism. Very little work has been done on African American periodical art [or] on Du Bois's use of images. This alone makes this a valuable book."—Cary D. Wintz, author of Black Culture and the Harlem Renaissance

From the Publisher

[T]he paramount value of Kirschke's laudable acoomplishment is that she has simultaneously added to the Du Boisian mystique, while providing a new understanding and appreciation for his role in shaping the manner in which African Americans viewed themselves and were perceived by others.Vol. 94.1 Fall 2009

Fairleigh-Dickinson University - Randall O. Westbrook

As the first book to examine Du Bois's use of imagery to create racial pride and convey moral outrage, Art in Crisis offers important insights into the history of visual journalism as well as the contributions of one of the twentieth—century's most significant black periodicals. . .

Jhistory

. . . a reminder of the usage and power of visual images to shape ideas and instill self—worth and opinions in American society. . . . Recommended. General readers; lower—division undergraduates through faculty.

Choice

. . . valuable. It supplies a concise account of Du Bois's inclusion of art during his editorship of the magazine. It focuses us on the abundance and high quality of the art included and begins the important job of remembering and documenting the work of black artists now too often forgotten. . . . Art in Crisis makes readily accessible to a wide range of readers a rich sampling of work from The Crisis's formative period.Vol.42.2 (rec'd April 2009)

Tufts University - Elizabeth Ammons

"An important contribution to the study of African American art as well as to our understanding of the Harlem Renaissance, W.E.B. Du Bois, African American politics, and African American journalism. Very little work has been done on African American periodical art [or] on Du Bois's use of images. This alone makes this a valuable book." —Cary D. Wintz, author of Black Culture and the Harlem Renaissance

Cary D. Wintz

"[T]he paramount value of Kirschke's laudable acoomplishment is that she has simultaneously added to the Du Boisian mystique, while providing a new understanding and appreciation for his role in shaping the manner in which African Americans viewed themselves and were perceived by others." —Randall O. Westbrook, Fairleigh-Dickinson University, Journal of African American History, Vol. 94.1 Fall 2009

— Randall O. Westbrook, Fairleigh-Dickinson University

Journal of African American History

"... valuable. It supplies a concise account of Du Bois's inclusion of art during his editorship of the magazine. It focuses us on the abundance and high quality of the art included and begins the important job of remembering and documenting the work of black artists now too often forgotten.... Art in Crisis makes readily accessible to a wide range of readers a rich sampling of work from The Crisis's formative period." —Elizabeth Ammons, Tufts University, AFRICAN AMERICAN REVIEW, Vol.42.2 (rec'd April 2009)

— Elizabeth Ammons, Tufts University

African American Review

. . . . [O]ffers important insights into the history of visual journalism as well as the contributions of one of the twentieth-century's most significant black periodicals.
—Linda Lumsden, Department of Journalism, University of Arizona

H-NET (J-History)