Alain Locke's Theory of Black American Art

Abstract: The paper explores Alain Locke's views on Black American art. I look at what he thought constitutes Black American art and what he took good Black American art to achieve. As for the former, I examine two ways of looking at Black American art: (1) as defined by artists' expression of the emotional state or inner lives of Black Americans, and (2) as defined by certain formal qualities of the work itself. I show that Locke melded these two positions together in a unique way. In my discussion of what Locke took good Black American art to achieve, I engage (1) with his general theory of value, (2) with his thinking on aesthetic and artistic values more specifically, (3) with his metaphysics of race, before addressing his thoughts on what constitutes Black American art simpliciter , and on what it achieves when it is good art.