Art on the Frontline: Mandate for a People´s Culture
Two Works Series Vol. 2
By Angela Y. Davis. Edited by Amber Husain. Art by Tschabalala Self.
Angela Davis’ iconic 1985 essay on the role of art in social and racial liberation, illustrated by painter Tschabalala Self
In her stirring and influential essay “Art on the Frontline,” American scholar and activist icon Angela Y. Davis (born 1944) asked, “how do we collectively acknowledge our popular cultural legacy and communicate it to the masses of people, most of whom have been denied access to the social spaces reserved for arts and culture?” Originally published in Political Affairs, a radical Marxist magazine, in 1985, the essay calls into question the role of art in the pursuit of social and racial liberation, and asserts the inequities exacerbated by the art world. Looking to the cultural and artistic forms born of Afro-American struggles, Davis insists that we attempt to understand, reclaim and glean insight from this history in preparing a political offensive against the racial oppression endemic to capitalism. Working in the context of 2020’s racial uprising some 35 years later, New York–based painter Tschabalala Self (born 1990) responds to Davis’ words with new, characteristically vibrant and provocative collaged works on paper. Her three series emerge collectively as something greater than their parts, suggesting a joyfulness in their ebbs and flows. Angela Davis (born 1944) is an American political activist and educator, most recently a professor at the Department of History of Consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is known internationally for her commitment to prison abolition and racial justice. Her books include Are Prisons Obsolete? (2003), Women, Culture and Politics (1989) and Angela Davis: An Autobiography (1974).
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“Progressive and revolutionary art is inconceivable outside of the context of political movements for radical change,” Angela Davis wrote in her influential 1985 essay, Art on the Frontline. “…If cultural workers utilize their talents on an ever-increasing scale to accomplish the task of awakening and sensitizing people to the need for a further mass challenge to the ultraright, the prospects for strengthening and further uniting the antimonopoly movement, bringing together labor, Afro-Americans, women and peace activists will greatly increase. As that movement wins victories, existing artists will draw inspiration from the creative energy of this process, and new artists will emerge as a result. If we are able to set this dynamic in motion, we will begin to move securely in the direction of economic, racial and sexual emancipation—indeed, toward the ultimate goal of socialism—and we will be able to anticipate a peaceful future, free of the threat of nuclear war.” The complete text of this remarkable essay is now available in a new edition from Walther König and Afterall Books, with responsive artworks by Tschabalala Self, one of which is reproduced here. continue to blog
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FORMAT: Pbk, 6 x 8.25 in. / 64 pgs / 36 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $18.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $24.5 ISBN: 9783960989011 PUBLISHER: Walther König, Köln/Afterall Books AVAILABLE: 7/20/2021 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA LA AU/NZ AFR
Art on the Frontline: Mandate for a People´s Culture Two Works Series Vol. 2
Angela Davis’ iconic 1985 essay on the role of art in social and racial liberation, illustrated by painter Tschabalala Self
Published by Walther König, Köln/Afterall Books. By Angela Y. Davis. Edited by Amber Husain. Art by Tschabalala Self.
In her stirring and influential essay “Art on the Frontline,” American scholar and activist icon Angela Y. Davis (born 1944) asked, “how do we collectively acknowledge our popular cultural legacy and communicate it to the masses of people, most of whom have been denied access to the social spaces reserved for arts and culture?”
Originally published in Political Affairs, a radical Marxist magazine, in 1985, the essay calls into question the role of art in the pursuit of social and racial liberation, and asserts the inequities exacerbated by the art world. Looking to the cultural and artistic forms born of Afro-American struggles, Davis insists that we attempt to understand, reclaim and glean insight from this history in preparing a political offensive against the racial oppression endemic to capitalism.
Working in the context of 2020’s racial uprising some 35 years later, New York–based painter Tschabalala Self (born 1990) responds to Davis’ words with new, characteristically vibrant and provocative collaged works on paper. Her three series emerge collectively as something greater than their parts, suggesting a joyfulness in their ebbs and flows.
Angela Davis (born 1944) is an American political activist and educator, most recently a professor at the Department of History of Consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is known internationally for her commitment to prison abolition and racial justice. Her books include Are Prisons Obsolete? (2003), Women, Culture and Politics (1989) and Angela Davis: An Autobiography (1974).
