Tyler Rapp

Julie Hicks

LBST 1105-H72 (Visual Arts)

October 10, 2015

Harvey B. Gantt Center Response

The Harvey B. Gantt Center in Uptown Charlotte was surely a memorable experience.

The scenery outside of the exhibit—with the surrounding skyscrapers, moving cars, and street art

—made the experience a great one from start to finish. Moving inside, the elongated structure of

the building was unique and made it externally stand out from others. Natural light flooded the

interior as well, making the overall vibe so swell. Also, interestingly enough, the stairway’s

pattern mimics that of stairs from an old elementary school in historic Charlotte. The stairs from

this school went straight up in a cool fashion that echoed the message of “you will always rise

up.” I loved how the Gantt Center preserved this history and recreated the staircase in their art

center.

Furthermore, the Gantt Center goes back a long ways with rich history. Two women

initially began the exhibit in 1974 in a small building in Charlotte. I love how two women started

such a fantastic thing in the 1970s, when women were still not as proactive in society because of

the overarching patriarchy. However, these two women managed to do it and, once it became

bigger, moved the Gantt Center to a church, followed by the current building it is in today. The

progression of the center is quite amazing; such a small thing turned into something massive.

In the past, Charlotte was divided into four wards. The Gantt Center rests in the Second

Ward, which was historically an African-American section of town, known as the Brooklyn

Neighborhood. Within this area, structures known as “shotgun houses” existed (which were long,

big, white houses). By others in Charlotte, this area was known as “the slums.” Over time, the

Second Ward’s houses were destroyed and the city assimilated more. The Gantt Center, however,

was placed in the Second Ward to honor the past and the history of African-Americans.

Moreover, as we embarked on the tour of the gallery, our first stop was in a room in

which we had to discuss a piece that stuck out to us the most for whatever reason. The work I

chose was Three Women of America (produced in 1990) by Elizabeth Catlett. A little bit of

background about Catlett: she was an artist who fought for human rights—specifically those of

African-Americans—throughout her life and through her art work. At one point, she moved to

Mexico (where she found her husband). However, when she initially tired to return to America,

she could not do so because of what she stood for. Eventually, she was able to come back in, and

she continued to fight for what she believed in.

Three Women of America was the piece in this particular exhibit I chose because of a few

reasons, mostly that of aesthetics. It grabbed my attention first by its immense use of color in

comparison to the other art pieces in this section. The color difference—value and contrast—

between the skin of the women is essential to the piece to hint at the diversity that the art is

conveying. I love how emphasis is particularly placed in the middle on the African-American

woman. This amplifies the message of equality in specific to African-Americas during this time

period. Last, the unity in the picture is, in my opinion, the most important aesthetic element

because it goes way beyond what the eye can see. The unity is not only clear in the colors and

convergence of the women, but in the message of how people of any race and ethnicity can be

friends and family.

Personally, this picture immediately makes me think about my relationships with people

of a different race than myself. Being a part of the Levine Scholars Program screams the

messages that this picture does. Within the program, there are so many various races, ethnicities,

religions, and more. Everyone has their own features, yet everyone also has tons of similarities.

This picture reminds me of the cohesiveness of the scholars in that we always manage to come

together despite our vast differences. For a specific example that more strictly pertains to the art

piece, there are those of European, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Egyptian, Canadian, Colombian, India,

Palestinian, and Siberian (and more) descent just among the fifteen freshmen. We all have a

unique past with our family tree and have so many dissimilar life experiences, but we always

figure out a way to thrive off our differences and come together, just like how the photo

represents.

Additionally, this piece culturally relates to the hot topic of racism in the country. While

some people may believe that racism is dead, it is definitely still prevalent in many aspects and

with many races. In particular, racism towards African-Americans is still rampant: from police

brutality to meager name calling in schools, the prejudice is still alive and active. This photo

shows a perfect world where everyone comes together and accepts each other for who they are.

However, it seems apparent that we—as a human society—still have a while until that

successfully occurs. While a lot of racism has seemed to subsided from what it was, it is still

negatively affecting the lives of many. Hopefully the trend will continue and racism will become

nonexistent—just like the way Three Women of America displays.

Furthermore, the second piece I chose was Priestess by Wadsworth Jarrell, produced in

1988. It is important to note that Jarrell was a co-founder of the organization known as

AFRICOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists), which was created in the 1960s. The

point of this group was to make art (with extremely vibrant colors) containing messages about

racism. Red was a prominent color used by the group because of red’s connotation in the world:

love, anger, passion, blood. With Priestess in particular, I was immediately drawn to it because

of its abstract vibe combined with the interesting use of color and instruments. (Note that the

above image is only a snippet of the whole piece.) Aesthetically, colors were spot on. Each and

every color one could think of was splattered onto the canvas in some fashion. There were dark

and light colors displayed in perfect contrast around the piece that made it so energetic and alive

feeling. Also, just like the AFRICOBRA aimed for, the red in the photo was poignant and drew

me in. Additionally, the unique use of shapes and lines throughout the piece eluded to a sense of

movement around the art. The random patterns created led my eyes to and from various places in

the picture. Last, the little use of negative space made it oddly unified. The abstract people,

instruments, and patterns takes up so much room—positive space—on the mural that leaves little

open area. This creates a unique sense of discombobulated concordance because all of the

randomness of the piece comes together in a similar approach.

From a personal point of view, I love how this piece has people of all sorts of colors—

black, white, purple, blue—connected by music. In high school, I was on the drumline, which

was the first time in my life (sad to say) that I had close African-American friends. Through

drumming, we grew to become the best of friends. Regardless of our differences in our “real

lives,” we learned to be one in marching band to be the best drumline we could be. This pertains

to the picture in that all of the various “colored” individuals that make up the art work are unified

through instrumentation and music. In relation, I gained two great friends that I normally would

not have been introduced to via the art of music.

In our society, music is a huge part of life that is pretty constant among all cultures and

races. In America specifically, a motley mix of music exists: classical, rap, hip-hop, pop, metal,

alternative, rock—the list goes on and on. Each of these types of music is listened to be all types

of people (despite the fact that there are stereotypes of listeners among each). I love how one can

go to a hip-hop/rap concert and see all types of people just like one can go to a rock concert and

see all types of people. Culturally, music is a vital component of life that does—and will

continue to—bring together everyone forever.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Harvey B. Gantt Center. The art displayed

there was so beautiful and powerful in its meanings. Three Women of America and Priestess both

possess such deep messages that go way beyond the surface—the artists’ lives, the time period,

and more affect the pieces in tremendous ways. I am so glad I got the chance to experience the

art at the Gantt Center and explore them even more. I cannot wait for more future art expos!