The Artist’s Dream

Modernism ushered in a period of the fading out of passionate intensity and the realization that it is art, not the self, that can save us. Art was seen as an individual experience by consciously allowing the audience to be involved in the interpretation of it (Norton). One key event that promoted this artistic thought was the Harlem Renaissance; Harlem was a place where everybody was optimistically excited about each other’s art. Because of the fragile economy of the city, art was being created in a vigorous manner.

The most notable artist to come out of the Harlem Renaissance was Langston Hughes; he believed that art is a necessary outlet for passion. As an African American, he did not think they were making “negro art”, rather that they should be free to write what comes naturally (Norton). His poem “I, Too” exemplifies his belief that the American Dream applied to the minorities too. Referring to himself as the “darker brother”, the speaker believes in a hope that shines through the poem when he speaks of a better tomorrow (Hughes 2). Although the optimism engrained in the poem is admired, it questions the reality of the dream Hughes writes of. The negro experience of this time period leading up to today has proved to be a difficult one, challenging the plausibility of the American Dream being expressed through art free of subjectivity and prejudice.