African American Abstractionism in Animation

 African American Abstractionism in Animation


Artist Mark Steven Greenfield investigates the use of Black characters in animation and sets them against  abstract patterns representing the Antebellum Period.


By Leone Fernandez

April 18, 2021



Mark Greenfield, Blamo (2012), pen and ink on duralar, acrylic, 28 x 62 inches


In an online presentation for the California State University, Fullerton (February 26,2021), artist Mark Steven Greensfield went over his background as an artist. He explained the significance of his works in unpacking   conscious and subconscious responses to race . 


Greenfield is no stranger to the creation of art and exhibitions that challenge the image of African Americans in the US. As a young artist , his work was rejected from galleries for being “too ethnic,” an euphemism for “too black.” When he was the head of the Watts Carlton Art Department, he welcomed the exhibition “War” (2001) by Alex Donnis. The works showcased both the gang members of East Los Angeles and the police. He was forced to take down the exhibition, after the haggling of old ladies who did not like the way that their sons were being portrayed. 


|  "If art doesn't bother you, it's not doing its job"



Greenfield’s goal with the creation of this project was to address the conscious or subconscious stereotypes regarding African Americans, who were depicted pejoratively in early animation. In his works, he  re-appropriates these appropriated figures and by doing so he neutralizes its effects. By using Blackface characters as an abstraction of representation of Black stereotypes, Greenfield is able to highlight the image that accompanies the African American Imagery. His intent is to discard the deep rooted images of the culture and image of African Americans embedded in the American psyche. He hopes that facing the taboo head on, you will clear up the stigma of talking about black stereotypes and how we can move past them. 


Mark Greenfield, Mr. Scarecrow and the Contradiction  (2012), pen and ink on duralar, acrylic, 28 x 56 inches

 

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