Monday, November 29, 2010

Stuggle In The South




Joe Jones was Born on April 7th, 1909. He grew up in St. Louis Missouri and went to school there. At age 15 he quit school and started painting houses. At 27 he moved to New York City and lived there for the remainder of his life. His first appearance was a a painting called "Wheat". Some of his early paintings were very Midwest regionalistic. Later in life Jones became interested in delicate lines, and low toned colors. Some of his other famous works include "American Justice" and "House Painter". Joe Jones Died on April 12th, 1963 at the Age 54 years old.


This painting shows the definition of lynching. Two white men are getting ready to hang an African American from a tree. One of the men has his fingers dug into the African Americans eye and skull. The African Americans wife and son are standing to the right and she is shaking her fist at the men. There is a house on fire in the background that assumingly belongs to the black family. It's after the civil war because the black family have their own land. They are sharecroppers who grow cotton which is visible in the middle of the painting. It shows the violence that continued to happen to blacks even though they were free. One of the white men's faces is completely distorted. The female looks extraordinarily strong.
-Archetypes-
Tree- Represents life, but in this painting it represents death because the African American is getting hung from it.
Fire- Represents pain because that's all that a fire brings.
Innocent-child/youth- The child in this looks scared and does not understand what is going on. Meaning that not all things are meant to be understood in life.
Villains/Evil Figure- (The two white guys) They are lynching the African American male, they represent death and destruction.


BY:
David Biggs, Dan Cockrill, Jordan Duggan

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