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Nightlife by Archibald Motley
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Nightlife
By Archibald Motley
Created by: Alexis Rodriguez
Archibald Motley
Who is Archibald Motley?
- Born in New Orleans in 1891
- Raised in Chicago
- One of the first black people to attend the Art Institute of Chicago
- Known as a "Jazz Age Modernist"
Harlem Renaissance
"The cultural flowering of African art, music, and literature."
Style
of
Art
Other Examples of Harlem Renaissance art
"Jeunesse" by Palmer Hayden
1927
"Hot Rhythm" by Archibald Motley
1961
"Jazz
Age
Modernist"
Nightlife
Nightlife
Created in 1943
General Information
General Information
- Medium: Oil Canvas
- 36 x 47 3/4
- Setting: Bronzeville, Chicago
- During WW2
- Colors: Red-violet tones
Formal Analysis
- Nightlife was used to portray the culture of African Americans
- Motley depicted African Americans different shades to show the blend of ethnicities
- Motley used geometric shapes and diagonal lines to create a sense of lively motion
- Motley also used artificial lighting to create a visual rhythm
Iconography
- Although Nightlife was created during WW2, Motley did not set the painting during this era
- There is a clock that points to 1 am which can be interpreted that the people there do not care how late it is
- The Jukebox in the paining also symbolizes music being played in the painting
Historical Analysis
Archibald Motley created images of African Americans to showcase their culture. In the image, Motley used jazz as the genre of music. Jazz was a big influence during the Harlem Renaissance period. How Archibald Motley describes his art work is, "An expression of the numerous shades and colors which exist in such great variety among African Americans in Chicago."
Historical Analysis
Bibliographies
Harris, Michael D. Colored Pictures : Race and Visual Representation. University of North
Carolina Press, 2003.
Mooney, Amy M, and Archibald John Motley. Archibald J. Motley Jr. Pomegranate, 2004.
“Nightlife, 1943.” The Art Institute of Chicago, www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/117266.
“The Art Institute of Chicago.” A Sunday on La Grande Jatte-1884 The Art Institute of Chicago, archive.artic.edu/africanamerican/nightlife/.
Warren, Lynne, et al. Art in Chicago, 1945-1995. Thames and Hudson, 1996.
Wolfskill, Phoebe. Archibald Motley Jr. and Racial Reinvention : The Old Negro in New Negro Art. University of Illinois Press, 2017. INSERT-MISSING-DATABASE-NAME,
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