From The Archives
The Black Aesthetic Revisted
You may access the full article published electronically in the Journal of Design Research by following the link on the right.
Paraphrased from Bennett, A. (2004). “Towards an Autochthnic Black Aesthetic for Graphic Design Pedagogy.” Journal of Design Research. 3.2. All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced or reprinted without permission from the publisher of the Journal of Design Research.
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This is fascinating. Has anyone else in academia given this any thought? I've already got my copy of Dr. Ron Eglash's book on order. (none of my local book stores carry it!) I'm looking forward to reading it.
I don't know if my experience as an African-American graphic design student at CCA would have necessarily been helped by a curriculum that acknowledged African systems of geometry and communication. The majority of my peers and instructors were Asian or Caucasian women, and we were all exposed to countless examples of good design, primarily from Europe and Japan and the United States. It never seemed to help anyone's self-esteem. In fact, a lot of us were very insecure about our work and were careful not to toot our own horns too loudly.
How good any of us felt about our work (or our ourselves) came from a combination of hard work, encouragement, fear, risk-taking, failure, and effort. I noticed that inspiration came from an amazingly diverse range of topics, some rooted in popular culture, some that were just plain wierd, and some that might be classified as "ethnic." As a student I saw amazing work inspired by everything from pornography to golf. Everyone had something, an obsession, a fetish, a personal "thing" that would in some way inform and influence their design in terms of content and execution. Couple that with a chance as spending a semester or two drooling all over that one instructor that made them enroll at the school in the first place and things just got better. We all needed mentors.
But then, for a handful of us, there was this nagging cultural voice that only got louder as the semesters went by. It was a voice had either been ignored or supressed in one way or another throughout the course of the program, hidden behind grids, good craft, and elegant typography, obscured by appropriateness and doing what we knew (or assumed) the instructor wanted to see. It's actually a really wimpy voice that whines like a cold, wet poodle at the back door. Sometimes it growls and snaps at people during a tough crit, but then it runs away, shivering in a dark, lonely corner crying, "You don't understand meee!"
It seems that a traditional approach to design education seeks to give students effective tools with which to communicate virtually any message through some combination of image, type, and form. This is what our teachers were taught and so that is what they teach. But should it be their job to teach us to have the courage to be ourselves and express ourselves through our work with informed vigor and enthusiasm. Should they be in the business of building our self-esteem with ethnographic subject matter that includes everyone's history and culture? What if I don't want to use my own cultural artifacts in my work? What if I like the ones that are already being taught?
Students have a responsibiity to come to class with at least some semblance of a backbone or grow one before they walk across that stage and grab that diploma. African-American students are no exception. This is not to say that the suggestions of Harris and Bennett are without merit. On the contrary, I am by the excited about the possibility of giving my own work a sophisticated layer of meaning my clients can understand and enjoy. The question of where and how to introduce Dr. Eglash's discoveries is a challenging one.
The article does, however, seem to ignore the much stronger social factors that determine whether or not African-Americans thrive in a given academic environment. How well prepared are they for the occasional nuisances that come with being the only black student in the program, or on campus in some cases (fitting in, making friends, fear, insecurity, stares, prejudice, etc.)? Can they handle it? If not, then the low self-esteem thing probably won't be changed by well-researched study on fractals. -
Eugene: Thank you for your very thoughtful response.
Research shows that “african fractals” is statistically significant in changing attitudes of African-American secondary students towards information technology. No longer is studying math and science “acting white.” I have not yet determined whether or not African-American secondary students have the same attitude towards the profession of design since graphic design is almost non-existent in K-12 curricula. For instance, I did not know that the profession of graphic design existed until later in my college experience. Harris notes in her article titled “Searching for a Black Aesthetic in American Graphic Design” that in 1971 when she entered design school [on the graduate level] there was only one other black student in attendance (125). In 1995 when I entered design school, there was only one other black student in my class, many Caucasian students, and one Indian student. Now, a decade later, as a design educator I see the same pattern in my classes. I’ve even had terms without any black students. Thus, I agree with Harris that the profession is still in need of racial diversity (125) especially on the level of leadership. While there are many reasons for the lack of racial diversity in the profession, one reason may be that black high school and college students don't know the contributions of blacks to the discipline of design (particularly in regard to its aesthetic traditions).
I don’t know whether or not the experience of black design majors can be helped with the inclusion of interdisciplinary theory and research (e.g. ethnomathematics and African Fractals). I believe though that educators may be able to ease their “feelings that they are not completely welcome in the profession (Harris, p.125)” if they objectively expose them to interdisciplinary theory married to research. I am very excited about the upcoming Design Education conference that promises to address the issue of “research in graphic design education.”
I know what it feels like to be one of many black students in an all black school as well as the only black design major in a class. Within the latter academic setting, I know what it was like to have questions about my heritage culture (that pertained to design) that I now know were not adequately addressed by my predominantly white design instructors—especially since my thesis paper was not critically evaluated. I was told that only my visual work mattered. I can recall a specific critique about one of my projects about a cultural game I played as a child. I left the critique having that “you don’t understand meee!” feeling you so eloquently describe above. Perhaps, I didn’t visually articulate my ideas clearly enough for my critics or maybe they didn’t appreciate that piece because they really didn’t understand me—from a cultural perspective. I don’t mean to imply that design educators also need to be African-American historians (or even mathematicians!). I believe though that graphic design educators should collectively require their students to engage in research as it is known by other design disciplines. In personal communication with Dr. Eglash, he says that “the essence of research is empirical inquiry, which leads to truth. Research democratizes truth.”
Indeed, the inclusion of “African Fractals” may not make a bit of difference in the self-esteem of black design students. However, the possibility that it could makes it worthy of empirical testing by graphic design educators and students.
Work Cited:
Harris, S.(1998). "Searching For a Black Aesthetic in American Graphic Design." The Education of a Graphic Designer. ed. S. Heller, pp. 125-129. Allworth Press, New York. -
I wonder how many of us have memories of student projects that we eventually changed or abandoned because our instructors or peers didn't understand them, or because we couldn't figure out how best to explain them in order to get the right combination of encouragement and guidance. I remember mine. It began as an idea for experimental book that combined funk music, time travel, and the arts and crafts movement. Of course it made perfect sense to me,..at the time...sort of. Anyway, it ended up as something very different. My instructor did her best (thanks Michelle!) to see me through the process.
So much of my design education seemed to be about finding the right language (visual and verbal) for my peers and instructors to understand what I wanted to do or make. Sometimes I had the added challenge of trying to educate my instructors and peers while simultaneously trying to apply what I was already having a tough time learning. It wore me out. I think I eventually gave in to the "I'm just going to make it simple and pretty" syndrome and gave up on trying to make challenging connections in my work.
It would be nice to have a gallery/blog of abandoned ideas, false starts, and compromised concepts that relate to the exploration of the Black aesthetic in design (unless something like this already exists). Might this end up being a repository of bad ideas and lousy work? Maybe. But I'm sure a lot of us out there have plenty of successes and failures to share that students and instructors could learn from. In a week or so I hope to have something along these lines at my site www.afroid.com which has been little more than a splash page since I bought the domain back in '02. This could be fun!
I'll start a new thread in the discussion section when I have something to show.
Thanks so much Audrey! We are very lucky to have you in the AIGA and contributing to this journal. -
This topic is always fascinating to me.
As a student from Africa years ago, it was easy to tap into my "roots" for inspiration, and my classmates and teachers always found it fascinating. But, at the end of the day, when I gave myself a very critical review, I knew that my work had to be toned down to suit the audience in specific geographic, cultural or psycological locations. We are all familiar with the saying, "when in Rome, act like a Roman." It boiled down to who, what, why, when, where, and of course, how. To me, it all seemed very important.
I also think that those who grew up in Africa before being transplanted have a very different cultural views and concerns than those who were born on the North American continent. Where there are general commonalities, the approach always appeared a bit different. Although I find merit in the article, I do think however, that the inspiration to promote, preserve or project Africaness in any form must come from within each student, and the audience must be right. -
It is very interesting to see dialogue about African American designers. To a certain extent I question if there is an ability for the African American designer to express him/herself?
When I was in graduate school from 1998 - 2001, my heart was set on expressing my view(African American) of life. My thesis was an African American experience, "Funktion and Dysfunktion: Messages and Expressions of Black Popular Culture". I want to commend the University of Tennessee, Knoxville School of Art for giving me that chance! I have been teaching at various college since 2001, and I very seldomly see a opening for the young African American student to design from their emotional point of view. Actually quite frankly I have not see in yet? -
I am a current undergrad at U-M Flint and I am a art major. My concentration is graphic design. I haven't got to were I want to be as a art student understanding visual art. So, I haven't learn how to put my talent into the computer using photoshop or illustration(etc.). I am not suprised that the ones before me, you all, had to go through some rough times. But, I think I might have a ingenious idea of combining art with music. Hip-hop is that music and I feel this is the time for blacks to push for education equality. I am fortunant to be up north getting a education versus the very prejudice south. I plan to use this artistic talent of mine in any way possible to get successful.
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I am a third year graphic design student, and a white American, I am sorry to say that I haven't much considered the comparatively different experience Black Americans have, in my classes and in the design world today. Many of my classmates, myself included, in trying to communicate a certain assignment, pften get tripped up when personal aesthetics and direction are misunderstood, and we may end up simply poking around to figure out what "the teacher really wants." This is the temptation, and although it may lead to a satisfactory critique, it can be detrimental to our need to build up our personal or cultural styles and become confident in our own tastes and inherent abilities. I suppose that when it comes to African Americans in design, I have been ignorant to the fact that this might easily be tougher for them to work out, as their cultural heritage is significantly different and they currently do not have as much representation in design. Their aesthetics are so important, especially considering African Americans make up such a large population of the States, and there is a growing need for effective communication and understanding among them. I'm not sure the answer would be for more racial diversity in faculties, but maybe more of a need among faculty and student body alike to be exposed to this issue, and to the diversities around us. Reading articles such as this opens my eyes to something I honestly haven't thought much about, and it is my assumption that other White American designers are also unaware, or perhaps just don't think about it much. I am sure that this leads to confusion and struggles with finding a job, and it is my hope that design schools will begin to consider these needs, sooner rather than later, and that Black Americans will be able to gain confidence in their aesthetics and skills, through fair instruction and opportunities for future careers.
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Hetepu ! Peace be unto you.
My Dearest Afrikan brothers and sisters who live in America,
You will not have have to wait much longer for an
Pan Afrikan centered visual art design aesthetic.
I have developed a Pan Afrikan Visual Art Design Aesthetic for all Afrikan people. I have named it,
KA.T EM AKHU HEMUT 'Spirit Works of the Ancestral Crafts Persons.' The name is derived from the Metu Neter vocabulary of Ancient Kemet/Egypt.
This design aesthetic has taken me more that 25 years to conceptualize, research and reconstruct.
The book will be published in the very near future.
This design aesthetic bases its ideology on the primacy of Nile Valley Civilizations and is a compilation of spiritual and artistic design components from around the Afrikan continent and in the diaspora. There are 7 Foundations of Design Order and 7 Beginnings/parts of Design.
Included are 7 spiritual laws and artistic criteria that are spiritual, social and aesthetic based on an Afrikan worldview. Included are rituals of artistic installation and healing that returns the arts to its original intent which is spiritual healing.
I have felt as many Afrikan/American students in the 'Fine Arts' the frustration that Afrikan design aesthetics has not been taught in a holistic way in our academies, nor has their been wide access to this type of information.
AFRI-COBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) and other groups have developed a design aesthetic but they have not been made available to the public schools or the academies to teach our young Afrikan American art students 'the culture'
KA.T EM AKHU HEMUT is here and will be available soon.
This project began because of articles written like the one Ms. Audrey Bennett has written.
It is a very timely article.
Seitu Ankhmaa Meneb Shemsakhu Amenwahsu
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