Essay On Amandla

Amandla is a piece by Hank Willis Thomas that was created in 2014 out of silicone, fiberglass and metal finish. This artwork was originally located in the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York but is currently placed in the Savannah College of Art and Design Museum in Savannah, Georgia. The three-dimensional piece consists of a yellow wooden window and part of an arm going through it with the hand shaped as a fist. Amandla is in addition a part of an entire collection of artworks called ‘’FREEDOM isn’t always beautiful’. If the viewer relies on the piece and on the collection as a whole, it is a richer experience towards understanding the narrative and makes it much more relevant for what the artist is trying to emanate.

This composition narrates the story related to Amandla, commonly known as a word that means power and represents the African American community and organizations calling for resistance during the Apartheid, which was a discriminatory system towards a race approximately from the 1950’s to the 1990’s. Within the piece we are able to notice several principles of design that are used in order to enhance the artist’s intended narrative. The position in which the arm is placed within the
plane is very interesting since it is in the top right corner, ultimately becoming the clear focal point for the viewer, where we notice first this emphasized part and then start recognizing the rest of the piece. The direction the hand is going is upwards, this may be intended by the artist to further represent the hopefulness and strengthen the motif of power and resistance. The piece is asymmetrical, yet is perceived as balanced due to its simplicity, which further allows the viewer to move fluidly and harmoniously within the work. The three-dimensionality strengthens the meaning behind the narrative since we are able to see the concrete window and its texture and stiffness, consequently transmitting the struggle of African Americans at the time and metaphorically showing the difficulty to cross the barrier between segregation and acceptance within a society. Nevertheless, the fist shows the hope and resilience regardless of this very difficult period. On another hand, the three-dimensionality also adds up to the texture of it, which is both physical and visual. The arms look smooth, but still look realistic, while the window has rugs and stains that create visual texture.

The choice of colors is very interesting and theme-oriented, the white shirt could represent peace and purity, with which they peacefully marched for their human rights; the color yellow in the window is very cold and de-saturated, which could be to avoid the viewer from getting distracted since this is the great majority of the composition; lastly, the lack of transparency in the window can be to show how the Apartheid system hid their problems and ignored African American’s call for their rights.
Altogether, the colors in the piece are vital for their warmth and liveliness, which contributes to a successful composition that shows detail and enables us to not only appreciate the interaction between the three dimensional figures but also the story intended to be
told.

I chose this piece because it carries a very symbolic message that conveys the importance of race equality for this particular group of people, shown in the great amount of detail and effort invested. The representational use of color and scale allows us to understand this period and adds greater value to the piece as a historically relevant one.