Black Art and Artist: A Study of James Baldwin and Toni Morrison

Abstract

The research paper aims to deal with Black art and how the Black writers and artists have used it as a medium to shun the oppression and the atrocities faced by them in general and more particularly with the ideas, confrontations and experiences witnessed by James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. The objective of the paper is to examine art as a form of literature and not mere propaganda or an aesthetic practice, rather a voice that has been used by American Blacks for self-expression. Besides, art serves as a cultural medium that carries the shared experiences of a society. Black art as a form of literature has served as a powerful medium throughout history to express inequalities faced by Blacks in different parts of the globe. Moreover, Black art could be treated as a protest that has been used to understand the identity, resilience and resistance of Blacks in America. In the paper an attempt has been made to study Black art and the experiences of James Baldwin and Toni Morrison in the light of the texts titled The Mouth Full of Blood, The Fire Next Time, “James Baldwin’s Eulogy” and “The Habit of Art”. The paper begins with a brief introduction to Baldwin and Morrison and how both the writers were influenced by the literary careers of each other. Besides, the paper will also investigate how art and its various forms have played a significant role tin expressing anger, pain, protest and resilience.