Jazz Age Modernism: Archibald Motley in Context
Thurs, Oct 15, 2015
4–5:30 pm
Archibald J. Motley Jr. (1891–1981), Gettin’ Religion, 1948. Oil on canvas, 40 × 48.375 in. (101.6 × 122.9 cm). Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois © Valerie Gerrard Browne
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This course examines Archibald Motley’s dynamic depictions of modern life in Chicago, Paris and Mexico within the political and artistic context of the Harlem Renaissance and the Jazz Age. In particular, we will focus on Motley’s singular use of color, the influence of expressionism and social realism on his work and his representations of black subjectivity, while considering his paintings in relation to the work of his American and international peers. The course will take place in the classroom, as well as the new Whitney’s eighth floor galleries, and the second session will be held in conversation with artist Barkley Hendricks.
Lori Cole is an assistant professor/faculty fellow in the Draper Program at New York University where she teaches modern and contemporary art history. A former Joan Tisch Teaching Fellow at the Whitney, she received her PhD in Comparative Literature from New York University and taught art history as a postdoctoral fellow at Brandeis University from 2012 to 2014. Her current research focuses on modern art and print culture across the Americas.
Two–part course: October 15 and 22
4–5:30 pm
For general inquiries and information related to the course, please email courses@whitney.org.
