Jeff Donaldson (artist)
Encyclopedia
Jeff Donaldson was a pioneering visual artist whose work helped define the Black Arts Movement
of the 1960s and 1970s. He was born in Pine Bluff, AR in 1932 receiving a BA in Studio Art from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
in 1954. Donaldson went on to complete his MFA at the Institute of Design of the Illinois Institute of Technology of Chicago in 1963. In 1974, Donaldson earned the degree of Ph.D. from Northwestern University
becoming the first African American to do so in the nation.
movement. Donaldson espoused themes of transAfricanism and African American liberation ideology with his work with the Organization of Black American Culture on The Wall of Respect , his founding of African American art collective AfriCobra , and his position as art museum head of Howard University
. Shown through the paintings Wives of Shango and A La Sango , Jeff Donaldson employed African mythology to add visual expression to the black power movement of the 1960s and 70's.
and American culture, Donaldson helped to create a uniquely black aesthetic. Images and ideas from African mythology were crucial to establishing paintings that were distinct from the parts of society he was rebelling against. Both Wives of Shango and A La Sango frame the message of the Black liberation movement with a powerful African protector in mind. For Donaldson getting a message out was central. In the case of these paintings the message was of Black Power and liberation.
Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts Movement or BAM is the artistic branch of the Black Power movement. It was started in Harlem by writer and activist Amiri Baraka...
of the 1960s and 1970s. He was born in Pine Bluff, AR in 1932 receiving a BA in Studio Art from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a historically black university located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1873, it is the oldest HBCU and the second oldest public institution in the state of Arkansas . UAPB is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
in 1954. Donaldson went on to complete his MFA at the Institute of Design of the Illinois Institute of Technology of Chicago in 1963. In 1974, Donaldson earned the degree of Ph.D. from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
becoming the first African American to do so in the nation.
Importance
He was a pivotal member of the Black PowerBlack Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
movement. Donaldson espoused themes of transAfricanism and African American liberation ideology with his work with the Organization of Black American Culture on The Wall of Respect , his founding of African American art collective AfriCobra , and his position as art museum head of Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
. Shown through the paintings Wives of Shango and A La Sango , Jeff Donaldson employed African mythology to add visual expression to the black power movement of the 1960s and 70's.
Themes
Jeff Donaldson filled his work with sociopolitical ideals. During the 1960s these ideals reflected those of the Black Power Movement. By mixing African icons with African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
and American culture, Donaldson helped to create a uniquely black aesthetic. Images and ideas from African mythology were crucial to establishing paintings that were distinct from the parts of society he was rebelling against. Both Wives of Shango and A La Sango frame the message of the Black liberation movement with a powerful African protector in mind. For Donaldson getting a message out was central. In the case of these paintings the message was of Black Power and liberation.