Reclaiming Time, Space, and Expression

The theme of having to cover (one’s beliefs, skills, talents, fears) behind a smiling face was the legacy of being Black in America until the late second half of the twentieth century, when Civil Rights, integration in the schools, voting rights, and equal employment in hiring became law. At this same time, musical and performance ‘crossover’ began to influence first the younger generations, and then society as a whole.

For centuries, Black women in the U.S. have been viewed and portrayed as gospel singers, unwed mothers, heads of their families, sex symbols and facilitators of White people’s homes and children in the context of the larger society. Black women have struggled to find and create modes of experiential and emotional expression that represent their dignity, creativity, suffering, and beauty. This essay will discuss the broad chronology of their art in several genres, and compare a recent audiovisual work with literature, visual arts other examples of expression.

Among the many social and cultural phenomena of those times were the political impact of the Black Panthers, the resurgence of Southern blues and jazz, and the rise of both Cadillac Records (Chicago’s South Side) and Motown Studios in Detroit. While Black women artists had not yet fully come into their own, singers such as Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner were seen as leaders in the arts, fashion and social arenas. Although African American visual arts were not as well recognized as literature and the performing art fields, there has been an ongoing series of contributions from women artists depicting everything from the familiar, such as Clementine Hunter’s “Bowl of Zinnias” (Clementine Hunter 1933) to the more intricate and unique, such as “Moon Masque” (Lois Mailou Jones 1971). Such works were too often overlooked until private collectors and then academic and arts organizations began to recognize and seek these works.

It should be remembered that during this time, for many White Americans, the prevailing image of Black women was formed through ‘on location’ shots in National Geographic and other publications. A commentary on this is “…the first photographs of exposed breasts printed in color were published by National Geographic Magazine which was able to publish pictures…of “primitive tribes” without being accused of sexual exploitation…” (Colamina, Brennan & Kim 283)   Regardless of the sincerity with which the articles and pictures were framed, the pervasive aura of primitive and raw energy superseded the layouts that often also showed the important roles of women and other societies, as well as their fluent use of movement, colors and facial expressions and use of familiar items that were often hand-created.

The portrayal through far away and native tribes and countries added to the dichotomy experienced by Black women. While held in one view to be attractive and sexy, they were expected to dress, behave and generally conduct themselves in the ‘traditionally accepted ways’ of society, which ruled out many cultural forms of expression, at least in public venues. It wasn’t until Miriam Makeba and other artists were recognized and accepted by mainstream society that recognition and appreciation began to grow for musical, visual arts and performance styles that were distinctly different than those considered to be the norm. As the aesthetics and genres gained popularity, the respect for the artists began to grow. As noted in an article that will be referenced later, this transition to acceptance was not always smooth or universally endorsed by the Black community or other artists. The pressure created a phenomenon that is sometimes referred to as “hybridity or nomadity” (Elam & Kasner 218). It might be said that despite external and internal community struggles, artistic expression has survived.

As the dance and musical worlds began to look to Africa for cultural and artistic roots, Black women in the arts brought their own and often highly personalized styles to dance, music and the other arts. Often a combination of church choir participation, family tradition and popular and local trends, Black women in the arts offered means of organizing space, using their bodies and the space and objects/people around them and a depth of emotion that the larger world had yet to see in performance or gallery modes. While difficult to articulate these new qualities, an excellent description is provided in an article by a noted author: “Aesthetics then is more than a philosophy or theory of art and beauty; it is a way of inhabiting space…” (Hooks 65). The larger society was beginning to learn that the ‘typical American’ forms of expression, often rooted in British and Western European traditions, was not the only or the most artistic means of conveying art and emotion. In discussing the evolution of Black artistic aesthetics, this author quotes another writer and historian in noting that “His words of caution should be heeded by those who would revive a prescriptive black aesthetic that limits freedom and restricts artistic development” (69). In different words, Hooks is remarking on the human tendency for ‘the oppressed to become the oppressor’.

In Hooks’ article, she contrasts the sometimes warring goals of those who believe that art should be revolutionary, those who desire to separate politics from art, and those who believe that references to existing institutions is “assimilationist” (Hooks 70). She speaks of the desire to create and support work that “shares with an audience, particularly oppressed and marginalized groups, the sense of agency artistry offers, the empowerment” (71). And this notion brings us to a very recent multimedia work that has garnered several key awards. This is Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s Lemonade: a 2016 production that consists of 12 original songs – some performed with guest artists, and all portrayed over filmed scenes.

One of the key songs on this album is “Hold Up”, which has been analyzed by viewers and listeners since its release in April of 2016. The video opens with the word “Denial”, and the singer deep in water. This appears to be a dream sequence, and she sometimes has her eyes are closed, and other times she is watching the changing scenes around her and ‘herself’ sleeping as she moves through several water– filled rooms and hallways. At one point, a Bible floats through the water, perhaps as a warning that ‘sacred things’ (and possibly those that are sacred to her, and not necessarily others) are being abandoned.  She finally bursts through the doors of a large building while water gushes out and down the steps before her and in her wake. Wearing a bright yellow tiered dress, and striding as if she owned the street, she walks past several urban scenes and groups of people to be given a baseball bat by a young girl.

Initially gazing around her with an assessing expression, she uses the bat to clip off the top of a hydrant, allowing children to enjoy the water spray. Beginning to smile, with occasional expressions of fierce intensity, she smashes car windows, a shop window and a video camera in front of a building while in the background, there are visual and sound effects ranging from smoke to pyrotechnic explosions. At the same time, the lyrics speak of love, frustration and her desire to be seen and treated specially (Beyoncé “Hold Up”). At times almost dancing, she moves with enhanced purpose down the street while swinging the bat and gauging her next target.

Her stance and swing as she wields the bat are powerful and full of intention, and her sporadic smile informs those watching that she is enjoying herself with dark glee. She talks about “being walked all over lately” (“Hold Up”) yet indicates that she is not going to slow her pace or give up in the name of love. At times, her face shows anger and even fury as she dents a car top with the bat. In the last frames of the video, she looks straight at the camera with a challenging expression and the bat first cocked, and then swings directly at the camera. She drops the bat, and a child comes to take it and also look into the camera.

To return to the concepts discussed and explained by Hooks in “An Aesthetic of Blackness: Strange and Oppositional”, Beyoncé uses settings, the spaces within them and her face and body to convey what appears to be various stages of awareness, recognition, determination and powerful destruction. Her choice of a very feminine dress and her changing facial expression enable her to exhibit her lush body while both cavorting and wielding the bat with practiced skill. There is no question that she will continue on her chosen path without interruption, and in this way, she creates an aesthetic of empowerment and self-direction in a series of actions that would be considered by many to be antisocial (oppositional). While not knowing the exact meaning of this or any work, it seems doubtful that Beyoncé is sanctioning or encouraging the destruction of public or private property. It is more likely that her message is that when things are beyond one’s ability to control, one should make a statement in the biggest and clearest way possible.

For those who look to Beyoncé for entertainment, for fashion ideas and for the politics of the battles that rage among couples, this work is one that encourages the admission of emotions, and then the willingness to act and live beyond the pull of the softer feelings. For women who have felt frustrated and dismissed in their own relationships or marriages, “Hold Up” can be seen as a means of freeing one’s self to take power regardless of how the relationship works out. As an artistic work, it echoes Hooks “We must not deny the way aesthetics serves as the foundation for emerging visions” (Hooks 71).  Using her body and voice to both express pain and to relieve her sense of past dishonor by a man, “Hold Up” allows Beyoncé to possibly merge reality and fantasy into a story in which she has control of her body, her environment and the condition of objects that frustrate and infuriate her.

While Hooks’ comments on politics tend to be focused on those within the community and those in the larger society, Beyoncé’s Lemonade creates an aesthetic that speaks to women who feel unappreciated and without the physical or vocal capacity to change their worlds. Her clear determination and her dedication to showing strength at the same time she speaks of being confused and upset serve to remove constraints that have in the past limited women from fully expressing themselves, especially in ways that include physical power.

Lemonade is a reminder to the man alluded to in the song that Beyoncé has value beyond his ability to see or appreciate. This claiming of self-worth, with the background of constant love and devotion serve to offer a comprehensive vision and experience of a woman who loves and wants to be loved, but who will not lose herself in the process of determining who she is and what she wants and deserves. The album references loss, pain, and suffering, but it also reinforces the concept of self-salvation, rather than depending solely on another for satisfaction.

Works Cited

Colomina, Beatriz, et al. Cold War Hothouses: Inventing Postwar Culture, from Cockpit to Playboy. Chronicle Books, 2012.

Elam, Harry J, and David Krasner. "Black Salome - Exoticism, Dance and Racial Myths." African-American Performance and Theater History: A Critical Reader, Oxford UP, 2001, p. 218.

Hooks, Bell. Lenox Avenue: A Journal of Interarts Inquiry, Vol. 1 (1995), An Aesthetic of Blackness: Strange and Oppositional. Center for Black Music Research - Columbia College Chicago, 1995, Columbia College Chicago.

Hunter, Clementine. Bowl of Zinnias. Privately owned, Anonymous. Cane River Art Corporation, 1939, www.clementinehunterartist.com/. Accessed 4 Aug. 2017.www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/498991. Accessed 31 July 2017.

Jones, Lois M. Moon Masque. 1971. Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C. Smithsonian American Art Museum, americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=76334. Accessed 4 Aug. 2017.

Knowles-Carter, Beyoncé. "Beyoncé - Lemonade Lyrics and Tracklist." Genius, 26 Apr. 2016, genius.com/albums/Beyoncé/Lemonade.