The trickster, the griot, and the goddess : optimal consciousness in the works of Ntozake Shange, Kara Walker and India. Arie.
Tiffany Caesar
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the creative works of Ntozake Shange, Kara Walker, and India.Arie illustrate optimal consciousness, an Afrocentric framework proposed by Linda James Myers, by meeting three criteria: authenticity, the fusion of sacred and secular, and positive interpersonal relationships. The framework holds that the artist's role is to provide art that raises the consciousness of the people. |
Abstract
The creative expressions of three black women artists--Ntozake Shange, Kara Walker, and India. Arie--are explored using optimal consciousness-an Afrocentric framework by Linda James Myers. This concept advocates that the role of the artist is to provide art that raises the consciousness of the people. An illustration of optimal consciousness will be demonstrated in their works by using the following criteria presented in the theory: authenticity, the fusion of sacred and secular, and positive interpersonal relationships. The creative works utilized for this analysis are Shange's choreopoem For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf, Walker's silhouette narrative Gone, An Historical Romance of Civil War as it Occurred Between the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart, and Arie's song "Video."