Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow AfriCOBRA: Repeat one shape at even intervals so the eye keeps circling the surface.
- Type
- Set in AfriCOBRA's manner (Bend the words along the figures so the slogan becomes structure, not caption.), and let Harlem Renaissance's lettering (Letterspaced light capitals for headings, quiet settings for text meant to be read.) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in AfriCOBRA's material (Set near fluorescent saturated colors side by side, holding print flatness.); bring in exactly one thing from Harlem Renaissance (Prints and drawn illustration, few inks, the paper doing the shadow work.).
- Colour
- Build on #f0c632, #d8452c, #315c79 and admit one accent from #d7bc83, #8a4937, #24201e.
Where they fight
- Both belong to Black Arts Movement, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
Caution
- AfriCOBRA Copying only the intensity of color while dropping the community's words and faces stylizes the look and loses the purpose, which was affirmation.
- Harlem Renaissance Borrowing it as jazz age decoration drops the point, which was Black people representing themselves, and leaves a period flavored ornament.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from AfriCOBRA (Style, 1968–) and its accent from Harlem Renaissance (Style, 1920s–1930s). Structural cues: Kool-Aid colors; Rhythmic repetition; Letters and figures; Afrocentric imagery. Accent cues, used sparingly: Black self-representation; The jazz age; Magazines and publishing; Modern figures. Composition: Repeat one shape at even intervals so the eye keeps circling the surface.. Type and lettering: Bend the words along the figures so the slogan becomes structure, not caption.. Let one material quality come from the second style: Prints and drawn illustration, few inks, the paper doing the shadow work.. Mood: Exhilaration, Rebellion, Intimacy, Luxury. Color: build on #f0c632, #d8452c, #315c79 with a single accent drawn from #d7bc83, #8a4937, #24201e. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- AfriCOBRA 1968– / Style / Black Arts Movement
Visualizes Black communal affirmation and political consciousness through blazing color, rhythm, lettering and Africa-centered images.
- Harlem Renaissance 1920s–1930s / Style / Black Arts Movement
A cultural movement that rebuilt Black self-representation and modernity in the words and images of Black people themselves, working through literature, music, theater, publishing and art.
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