Introduction to Black Hue-manity 101: Imagining Blackness Then and Now

1410 Indiana Avenue,Indianapolis IN 46202

08 November, 2021

Description

A multimedia analysis of the change in aesthetic depictions of African people and blackness from the early Classical period to the present. This presentation and exhibit analyze the dramatic and systematic shift in European/Euro American [White] attitudes toward and perceptions of African people and blackness from the early classical historical period to the Enlightenment (Middle Ages). We utilize primary sources to examine how European writers, poets, artists, philosophers, and religious patriarchs viewed, wrote about, and depicted blackness and Black bodies during both historical periods. The presentation and exhibit attempt to distill shifting internal/external causal factors that have influenced how blackness was (re)presented in European art, architecture, religious imagery, and iconography. Finally, the exhibit synthesizes how pejorative and racialized constructions and attitudes toward Blacks and blackness occupy and animate contemporary social and political imagination. We examine how this formidable flaw functions as a key ingredient and central organizing principle of Western thought from the Enlightenment period to modern times. Participants are offered an opportunity to explore the past from a fresh perspective. The presentation is designed to foster conversation, collaboration, creativity, and the open exchange of knowledge. Exhibit open between Nov. 8-11 Live Event occurs on Nov. 10 (featuring Manon Voice & Rob Dixon) Exhibit: 5p-8pLecture: 6:00p-7:00pm==================================== Engage in a multimedia analysis of the change in aesthetic depictions of African people and blackness by European writers and artists from the Early Classical period to the Enlightenment and the present. A partnership between the IUPUI School of Education, Herron School of Art + Design, and the Galleries at Herron. The exhibit is open between Nov. 8-11. Address inquires to 317-278-1108 or [email protected]. Visit www.spiritandplace.org for additional information about this event and the 2021 Spirit & Place Festival.