Barkley Hendricks, 1972 painting the “The New London Niggah”, depicts an unnamed African American man looking off in the distance engulfed by a turquoise blue background. Notice his skin color is a rich copper color with distinct light and dark spots throughout. The man has dark, obsidian colored hair that is evenly trimmed. Notice how the artist uses oil on linen canvas technique to give the piece a soft glow and accentuates the man and his physique. Hendrick’s utilizes the appears to be an older gentleman and his beard scraggles in a wild frenzy. He sports a weathered white t-shirt that is tinted a slight yellow. The slightly dirty shirt could illude that the man could be of low income working a blue collar job. On the right breast of
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This clash of light brown and yellow indicates that at one point the man’s shirt rang with a jubilant, clean white. This detail complemented with the man’s age and the background signifies that as the man continues on with life, he continues to get dirty, essentially wearing the “layers” of his past with him as he looks to the future. The fading etches of the word Yale stick out in comparison to the man’s weathering shirt, Afro-American race, and aging physiognomy. Yale University is known worldwide as the pinnacle of higher education and scholarly innovation. However, the reality is for so many African Americans attending an institution like this is nothing more than a facade. The man wearing this Yale t shirt indicates that maybe, in the past, he dreamed of attending the institution, but it never came true for him because of the color of his skin or socioeconomic status indicated by his shirt. This piece and its unique title, “The New London Niggah”, offers a view into what life was like for African American males in the 1970’s living in New England. The word “nigger” has had a longstanding controversy in American society. It’s juxtaposition contrasts the overall effect of the piece. By presenting a racial slur in the title it cuts through the peacefulness. of the piece and alludes to how racism in the modern era destroys peacefulness and any chance of creating a perfect utopia. Hendricks art contains elements of realism and postmodernism, which represents life in his era. Hendrick’s simplicitistic style invigorates viewers and helps them be engaged into his artwork. Richard Powell stated that Hendricks
This clash of light brown and yellow indicates that at one point the man’s shirt rang with a jubilant, clean white. This detail complemented with the man’s age and the background signifies that as the man continues on with life, he continues to get dirty, essentially wearing the “layers” of his past with him as he looks to the future. The fading etches of the word Yale stick out in comparison to the man’s weathering shirt, Afro-American race, and aging physiognomy. Yale University is known worldwide as the pinnacle of higher education and scholarly innovation. However, the reality is for so many African Americans attending an institution like this is nothing more than a facade. The man wearing this Yale t shirt indicates that maybe, in the past, he dreamed of attending the institution, but it never came true for him because of the color of his skin or socioeconomic status indicated by his shirt. This piece and its unique title, “The New London Niggah”, offers a view into what life was like for African American males in the 1970’s living in New England. The word “nigger” has had a longstanding controversy in American society. It’s juxtaposition contrasts the overall effect of the piece. By presenting a racial slur in the title it cuts through the peacefulness. of the piece and alludes to how racism in the modern era destroys peacefulness and any chance of creating a perfect utopia. Hendricks art contains elements of realism and postmodernism, which represents life in his era. Hendrick’s simplicitistic style invigorates viewers and helps them be engaged into his artwork. Richard Powell stated that Hendricks