It was like stepping into wonderland as I entered into this West Harlem museum. The exhibits shown were whimsical,
interesting, and fantastic. At first glance, the museum seemed to be small, not impressive, and a bit boring; but to recall the old saying ‘one should never judge a book by its cover’. Once I took in all the exhibitions had to offer, I left with a grin on my face.

Alma Thomas
March on Washington, 1964
Acrylic on canvas, 31 × 39 in.
Courtesy Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
Image Credit: Studio Museum of Harlem

The first floor of the museum focused on the artworks and abstractions of Alma Thomas, this part of the museum or exhibition is named Alma Thomas. The reason why the exhibition was named after her, was because the first floor was only Alma Thomas’ artwork, no one else. Ms. Thomas uses her abstract paintings to examine,“the evolution of an artist who creates a highly personal style that expanded upon traditional Abstract Expressionist and Washington Color School practices through experimentations with abstraction, color, line and pattern” (Studio Museum of Harlem, 2016). Alma Thomas in most of her artworks uses many types of acrylic paint, or style, to expose viewers to the different periods in her career in the arts. An intriguing artwork by Thomas is the painting, the March on Washington, 1964, which was made from acrylic on canvas. Thomas reflects upon the period of time when many African Americans fought for their civil rights and gathered in the streets of Washington D.C., to protest for their equality and rights. Thomas used the same type of color, blue, to make out the protesting figures, while the sky as well is just a lighter blue. From my perspective, this artwork establishes a firm view that African Americans, even to 1964, had to actively protest, fight, and instigate to fight for their humanity being violated by discrimination and racism being practiced by many White-Americans at the time. The usage of blue and light blue acrylic paint could represent the mood at the time being grim and serious. Aside from this one piece of art, many of Thomas’ artworks were just as spectacular and different from March on Washington, 1964.

John Jennings
A CAGE IN HARLEM, 2016
Image Credit: Studio Museum in Harlem

The Alma Thomas exhibition was not the only interesting part of the museum, but there was also other artwork that had taken my surprise. Which was the Cage in Harlem, a 2016 artwork by John Jennings. This artwork can be located on the first floor of the museum, on the wall before the door of the first exhibition, Alma Thomas. Luke Cage is a Marvel comic-book character and a Black superhero of the 70s, who represented Black power against the struggle of racism, and discrimination many African Americans in the 70s face. According to John Jennings, in an interview with the Studio Museum of Harlem, he exclaimed that Luke Cage, when he yelled out his catchphrase Sweet Christmas! (which are the words outlined on his face in the artwork), it “struck fear into his enemies, but served to give many young Black people as a type of getaway from the struggle of racism and discrimination at the time” (Jennings, 2016). The artwork depicts the character of Luke Cage, displayed in his costume from the ’70s, having his facial features replaced with the words Sweet Christmas, his common catchphrase at the time, and in today’s comics as well. The colors used in the art are very bright and vibrant, which is ironic coming from the period of struggle the artwork represents.
The Studio Museum of Harlem is a must-see for any who would like to see the history of the Black struggle and Harlem, while also enjoying the view of the unique pieces of artworks that pave the blank, white walls of a museum that showcases the eras from which many African Americans struggled to beat, while also attempting to gain their own equal rights to live in America, a country at the time that was more like a prison for many, than the free and equal country that it was always promoted as.

Works Cited
“Alma Thomas.” Studio Museum Harlem. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2016.
http://www.studiomuseum.org/exhibition/alma-thomas
“Harlem Postcards Summer 2016.” SMH Studio Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 July 2016.
http://www.studiomuseum.org/exhibition/harlem-postcards-summer-2016-alannis-alba-john-jennings-miatta-kawinzi-nontsikelelo-mutit