Dox Thrash's Visceral Portraits of African-Americans

Greetings to all my inked up comrades, and welcome to 2015! This year promises to bring you a lot of new articles on artists, exhibitions and books on our favorite subject - prints! I enjoy hearing your comments on these articles and welcome hearing from you about any new printshops, upcoming workshops, and retreats.

To start the year off, we will look at the work of Dox Thrash (1893-1965), an African-American printmaker originally from Griffin, Georgia, who migrated north as part of the Great Migration. He settled in Chicago and then Philadelphia, producing work on the subject of African-American life. His work is largely recognized as portraying a positive view of African-Americans,promoting the idea of strong characters and bold portraits.

Thrash left home at the age of fifteen in search of work up north as part of the Great Migration (African American). He initially got work with a circus, then he moved to Chicago, and got a job as an elevator operator. He studied art, first through correspondence courses and then at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he completed his studies in 1923. During WWI, Thrash joined the army and fought in the Buffalo Soldiers brigade, where he suffered shell shock, but did not suffer any permanent after affects. In 1925, he settled in Philadelphia and took a job working as a janitor. Once in Philadelphia, he decided to study printmaking at the Graphic Sketch Club, now the Fleisher Art Memorial. In his free time, he continued his art and gained recognition for a poster he designed for the 2nd Annual National Negro Music Festival. He also joined the Tra Club of Philadelphia. He was an important member of Philadelphia’s Fine Print Workshop, a division of the Work Projects Administration’s Federal Arts Project, from 1937-1942, and his career flourished with this support.

Thrash mentored many young African American artists. Forty years after his death, Thrash was posthumously honored in Philadelphia with an exhibition called, “Dox Thrash: An African-American Master Printmaker Rediscovered”.

Thrash' view of the south included old cabins with a nostalgic view of his youth. Families living, working and playing around the homestead. laundry onthe line, the family bound together out of survival and out of necessity to survive as a unit. Some of his work depicted the horrific lynching common in the south prior to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, but some also present a solemn, even romantic view of man communing with his environment. These prints have the feel of 19th century French paintings and the works of Corot.

Thrash focused on subjects from the city, memories of his early life in rural Georgia, and nudes and portraits. Narrative, sentiment and African-American experience are the key elements of Thrash’s work; his innovative techniques are important only in so far as they dramatically express his subjects.There are several prints showing scenes of rustic cabins in idyllic landscapes. One print, titled "Sunday Morning", shows a woman dressed up and striding along in profile. (The subject of this print has been theorized as being Thrash’s mother walking to church.)

It was the strength of his African Americans portraits that Thrash emphasized over and over, reflecting his African American audience back at themselves, hinting at the psychological expense of attempting to conform to pre-existing white norms while presenting a new vision of the group as strong, positive role models overcoming their past and adversities.

Thrash's style is soft, dark and evokes passion. His line is classically structural and his tones softly Romantic, but the depth of his passion for his fellow man is evident in every rough, coarsely drawn line. His body of prints, which number over 100, are worth a look and can be seen in Ittmann's book which is listed below.

Thrash working in his studio.

Ittmann, John. Dox Thrash: An African-American Master Printmaker Rediscovered. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art; Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 2001.

Printmaking's Call to Patriotism

Throughout history governments have prevailed upon public sympathy to create any number of  campaigns enlisting recruits to fight for a "Cause". In honor of the United States' Memorial Day on Monday, May 28th, (the day we officially recognize the blood and sacrifice of our courageous men and women for our military's efforts ), I spent some time looking for 'patriotic' prints. While I could have gone further back in time to show a range of lithographs and etchings commemorating historical battles, or portraits of victorious generals, I was more captivated by the range of propaganda prints/posters that were used to engage the public's participation in war. 

During WWI & WWII, the United States  waged a massive public relations blitz with tens of thousands of war posters, often seen in libraries, post offices, gas stations, schools and even churches;  in big cities and small towns. The extent to which these mass-produced images recruited men and women not only for the various military branches, but extended into the everyday lives of those left at home were, in some cases, surprisingly comprehensive about 'pro-patriotic' personal grooming products, how to  be thrifty to feed one's family, and supporting the effort with war bonds. The degree that these images delved into American home life speaks to the US government's levels of  'sanctioned' patriotism,  but it also addresses that era's public obedience and adherence to its governing authority. (It's a concept not as readily shared today for numerous incidents of our government's and politicians' predilection for abusing the public's trust starting with Nixon, and the wars in Vietnam, Central America and Iraq).

I do not know the names of the artists who created these images, and really that's not the motivation for writing this article. Instead, the following bombardment of chest-puffingly proud images is so we, too, can feel the 'swell of patriotism' that people must have felt when first seeing them. The messages are quite inspiring, serious, conceptually inventive, and sometimes humorous, but in general they call us to come together as a unified front, to help in any way we can to win the fight, to keep up the morale of our troops, keep out a diligent eye for spies and pray that our side will be victorious over the enemy. 

The lines of what was perceived as Good vs. Evil were maybe more clearly drawn back then, but still, the government's call to service was multi-layered and multi-generational. The results you will see below, did their job and unified the country to service for a common good. Propaganda like that rarely works in today's world. Our jaded experiences with our government's prolonged war efforts mandate that we have some kind of updated awe-inspiring "Be all you can Be" pre-movie trailer, or some advertising blip before enjoying our Maroon Five Youtube video. 

The concept of political posters is maybe old-fashioned, and reminds us of our parents' and grand-parents' era. It's from a time we still consider  innocent; where a man's word was to be trusted, and a handshake and a slap on the back while saying "Thank You for your Service" was sincerely expressed and made people weep. Wouldn't we all like to be able to erase a little of this generation's ignorance of anything other than Youtube videos and Ipods, and wouldn't we like to be able to trust a politician's word, and believe in a common good? It may come back in some nostalgic way. (Some believe it started to in 2008.....) 

It does come back, a little, when seeing these prints, these vestiges of our past when we could choke up while singing the National Anthem, drink powdered milk (which sucked), car-pool, raise our own food and can it, recycle books for the troops to have something to read, and conserve our electricity by turning off the lights and going to bed at a 'reasonable' hour.  What a time it must have been to live in, and what a shame this current generation can't appreciate the sacrifices EVERYONE, not just the soldiers, had to and were
 willing to make for the 'Cause'. 

One can only hope some spark of that nostalgic patriotism kicks in on Memorial Day, when the family prepares for its first of the summertime cookouts. It's a place where everybody's taste in clothing goes out the door for the day and revolves around some red, white and blue garment, emblazoned with the US flag, and old veterans bring out their military caps and polish their dust-covered medals. And kids wave their little kid-sized American flags and suck on those red, white and blue rocket cooler pops, and everyone heads into town to set up their chairs along Main Street America (just like we saw in 'True Lives') to wait patiently for the Memorial Day parade where the floats and beauty queens cruise by. And maybe a tug of patriotism will catch our breath as everyone follows the high school marching band, like children skipping to the tune of a pied piper, to the local cemetery; where a sea of US flag-strewn wreaths have been reverently laid to rest upon all the soldiers' graves. And maybe it will kick in only when a military drill team, in their crisp, clean sparkling-buttoned uniforms and glass-like polished shoes, gives it's ear-splitting 21 gun salute to their fallen brethren. Or maybe the solemnity of it all will hit us after one of the town's ministers calls for a moment's silence to ponder the tomb of Unknown Soldier, whoever he/she was, and make us wonder how that person's family will Ever be able to get closure. Maybe it won't become real for some of us until we look at the old family albums of relatives who served in the military; whose surviving mothers and fathers wipe tears from their eyes as they speak softly how their son or daughter used to run in the cornfields with their dog, or was the captain of the high school football team. But truly, it has to kick in when the families of the military;  the grandparents, parents, spouses, siblings, children and friends sit close to the phone or the computer all day hoping THE five minute call or skype message with their loved one can be stretched out just a little longer.....

Memorial Day brings out the stories of the fallen, and those currently serving around the globe. Its never been easy for anyone who has a family member or friend in the service. Some piece of us is missing when they aren't around, and the home-comings are all to short, but we understand it's been a part of our heritage, and it is part of our culture.  The best we can do is pray for their safety and look forward to the day they come back to us, and back to their own lives.

Thanks to all the men and women of the military. You are remembered and will not be forgotten.......