How the undying spirit of Black Americans shone through their sufferings in the form of art:
an examination and curation of pieces by Dominique Nanquil
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1. During World War I there was a great migration north by southern African Americans.
A sea of migrants floods the frame, merging into each other with their geometric clothes and hats. The composition is busy and full of colors and shapes, overlapping each other to create a sense of hurry and anticipation. Interestingly, the migrants’ faces are left blank, yet still convey a slight sense of dread and anxiety. According to the painting’s description provided by the MoMA,
"Images of train stations, railroad cars, waiting rooms, and passengers weighed down by bags recur throughout the Migration Series; as they do so they provide a metric marker of time.”
This first panel sets the hopeful overscoring of the series, and provides the common motif of the deluge of migrants.
6. The trains were crowded with migrants.
Rows of small faces line the train, huddled together and facing forward. Some are sleeping, a woman is breastfeeding her child, and a suitcase lies open on the floor. The space between the people creates a sense of disconnectedness, despite knowing that they are all on their way to freedom. Lawrence claims that these train cars, filled to the brim, are proof of the migrants’ pioneering spirit.
“That’s what migration is. You think in terms of people on the move, people moving from one situation to another,” he says. This piece calls to mind the travels made by the three characters of The Warmth of Other Suns, on their arduous journey to the North. It is particularly reminiscent of George Starling’s experience, and his role as a baggage loader on northbound trains. This is a glimpse at what his countless trips on the rails could have looked like.
10. They were very poor.
As a departure from the previous panels, this composition is sparse and restricted to only a few colors. The negative space here emphasizes the bareness of the walls and the table, creating the sense that something is missing. The man and woman look down at their meager tableware, completing the painting with a tone of sadness; coupled with the bleak, matter-of-fact title, “They were very poor.” The description comments, “The quiet restraint of this panel provides a pause in the flow of Lawrence’s series, a counterpoint to the bustle of color and form in the many images of travelers.” This panel is a reminder that hardships did not disappear once families settled in the North; in fact, it shows that even the basic necessities, like food and furniture, were not easy to acquire.