Afro-Surrealism
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Afro-Surrealism (also Afro-surrealism, AfroSurrealism) is a genre or school of art and literature. In 1974,
Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. He was the author of numerous b ...
used the term to describe the work of
Henry Dumas Henry Dumas (July 20, 1934 – May 23, 1968) was an American writer and poet. He has been called "an absolute genius" by Toni Morrison, who as a commissioning editor at Random House published posthumous collections both of his poetry, ''Play Ebo ...
. D. Scot Miller in 2009 wrote "The Afro-surreal Manifesto" in which he says: "Afro-Surrealism sees that all 'others' who create from their actual, lived experience are surrealist ...." The manifesto delineates Afro-Surrealism from
Surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
and Afro-Futurism. The manifesto lists ten tenets that Afro-Surrealism follows including how "Afro-Surrealists restore the cult of the past", and how "Afro-Surreal presupposes that beyond this visible world, there is an invisible world striving to manifest, and it is our job to uncover it". Afro-Surrealism, is practiced and embodied in music, photography, film, the visual arts and poetry. Notable practitioners and inspirations of Afro-Surrealism include
Ted Joans Theodore Joans (July 4, 1928 – April 25, 2003) was an American beatnik, surrealist, painter, filmmaker, collageist, jazz poet and jazz trumpeter who spent long periods of time in Paris while also traveling through Africa. His complex body of w ...
,
Bob Kaufman Robert Garnell Kaufman (April 18, 1925 – January 12, 1986) was an American Beat poet and surrealist as well as a jazz performance artist and satirist. In France, where his poetry had a large following, he was known as the Black America ...
,
Krista Franklin Krista Franklin is an American poet and visual artist, whose main artistic focus is collage. Her work, which addresses race, gender, and class issues, combines personal, pop-cultural, and historical imagery. Early life and education Franklin is ...
,
Aimé Césaire Aimé Fernand David Césaire (; ; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a French poet, author, and politician from Martinique. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word in French. He ...
,
Suzanne Césaire Suzanne Césaire (; ; née Roussi; 11 August 1915, Poterie des Trois-Ilets, Martinique – 16 May 1966, Yvelines) was a French writer, teacher, scholar, anti-colonial and feminist activist, and Surrealist. She co-founded the Martinique cultural j ...
,
Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor ( , , ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese politician, cultural theorist and poet who served as the first president of Senegal from 1960 to 1980. Ideologically an African socialist, Senghor was one ...
,
René Ménil René Ménil (1907, Gros-Morne, Martinique – 29 August 2004, Sainte-Luce, Martinique) was a French surrealist writer and philosopher who lived on the island of Martinique. Born and raised on the island of Martinique, Ménil was one of several o ...
,
Kool Keith Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), known professionally as Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer known for his surreal, abstract, and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both ...
, Terence Nance, Will Alexander,
Kara Walker Kara Elizabeth Walker (born November 26, 1969) is an American contemporary painter, silhouettist, printmaker, installation artist, filmmaker, and professor who explores Race (classification of human beings), race, gender, human sexuality, sexual ...
,
Samuel R. Delany Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ; born April 1, 1942) is an American writer and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays on science fiction, literature, sexual orientation, sexuality, and ...
, and
Romare Bearden Romare Bearden (, ) (September 2, 1911 – March 12, 1988) was an American artist, author, and songwriter. He worked with many types of media including cartoons, oils, and collages. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bearden grew up in New York C ...
.


Influence

D. Scot Miller penned "The Afro-surreal Manifesto" for ''
The San Francisco Bay Guardian The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. Parts of the paper were relaunched online in February 2016. History The ''Bay Guar ...
'' in May, 2009. Until that time, the term "Afro-surreal Expressionism" was used solely by Amiri Baraka to describe the writings of Henry Dumas. Later that year, Miller spoke with Baraka about extending the term by shortening the description. It was agreed by the two of them that "Afro-surreal" without the "expressionism" would allow further exploration of the term. Afro-surrealism may have some similar origins to
surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
in the mid-1920s, in that an aspect of it
Négritude ''Négritude'' (from French "nègre" and "-itude" to denote a condition that can be translated as "Blackness") is a framework of critique and literary theory, mainly developed by francophone intellectuals, writers, and politicians in the Africa ...
came after
André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...
wrote the
Surrealist Manifesto The Surrealist Manifesto refers to several publications by Yvan Goll and André Breton, leaders of rival Surrealism, surrealist groups. Goll and Breton both published manifestos in October 1924 titled ''Manifeste du surréalisme''. Breton wrote ...
, but as Leopold Senghor points out in Miller's manifesto, "European Surrealism is empirical. African Surrealism is mystical and metaphorical." Afro-Surrealism is directly connected to black history, experience, and aesthetics, particularly as affected by
Western culture Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...
. British-Nigerian short story writer
Irenosen Okojie Irenosen Iseghohi Okojie FRSL is a Nigerian-born novelist and short-story writer working in London, England. Her stories incorporate speculative elements and also make use of her West African heritage. Her first novel, '' Butterfly Fish'' won ...
describes the genre: Afro-Surrealism more specifically incorporates aspects of the
Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the ti ...
,
Négritude ''Négritude'' (from French "nègre" and "-itude" to denote a condition that can be translated as "Blackness") is a framework of critique and literary theory, mainly developed by francophone intellectuals, writers, and politicians in the Africa ...
, and Black Radical Imagination as described by Robin D. G. Kelley in his book ''Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination'', and further with his Afro-surreal historical anthology, ''Black, Brown, & Beige: Surrealist Writings from Africa and the Diaspora'' (2009). Aspects of Afro-Surrealism can be traced to Martiniquan Suzanne Césaire's discussion of the "revolutionary impetus of surrealism" in the 1940s.
Suzanne Césaire Suzanne Césaire (; ; née Roussi; 11 August 1915, Poterie des Trois-Ilets, Martinique – 16 May 1966, Yvelines) was a French writer, teacher, scholar, anti-colonial and feminist activist, and Surrealist. She co-founded the Martinique cultural j ...
, a surrealist thinker and partner of
Aimé Césaire Aimé Fernand David Césaire (; ; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a French poet, author, and politician from Martinique. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word in French. He ...
, was an important figure in the history of the Afro-surreal aesthetic. Her quest for "The Marvelous" over the "miserablism" expressed in the usual arts of protest inspired the Tropiques surrealist group, and especially
René Ménil René Ménil (1907, Gros-Morne, Martinique – 29 August 2004, Sainte-Luce, Martinique) was a French surrealist writer and philosopher who lived on the island of Martinique. Born and raised on the island of Martinique, Ménil was one of several o ...
. Ménil says in "Introduction to the Marvelous" (1930s): Suzanne Césaire's proclamation, "Be in permanent readiness for The Marvelous", quickly became a credo of the movement; the word "marvelous" has since become recontextualized with regard to contemporary black arts and interventions. In his 1956 essay for ''
Présence Africaine ''Présence Africaine'' (French for ''African Presence'') is a pan-African quarterly cultural, political, and literary magazine, published in Paris, France, and founded by Alioune Diop in 1947. In 1949, ''Présence Africaine'' expanded to include ...
,'' Haitian novelist
Jacques Stephen Alexis Jacques Stephen Alexis (22 April 1922 – c. 22 April 1961) was a Haitian communist novelist, poet, and activist. He is best known for his novel ''Compère Général Soleil'' (1955). Biography Alexis was born in Gonaïves, the son of journali ...
wrote: "What, then, is the Marvellous, except the imagery in which a people wraps its experience, reflects its conception of the world and of life, its faith, its hope, its confidence in man, in a great justice, and the explanation which it finds for the forces antagonistic to progress?" In his work, Alexis is seen to have an acute sense of reality that is not unlike that of traditional surrealism, and his coining of the term "Marvelous Realism" reflects his influence by the earlier works of the Négritude/Black Surrealist Movement.


Development

The term "Afro-surreal Expressionism" was coined by
Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. He was the author of numerous b ...
in his 1974 essay on Black Arts Movement avant-garde writer
Henry Dumas Henry Dumas (July 20, 1934 – May 23, 1968) was an American writer and poet. He has been called "an absolute genius" by Toni Morrison, who as a commissioning editor at Random House published posthumous collections both of his poetry, ''Play Ebo ...
. Baraka notes that Dumas is able to write about ancient mysteries that were simultaneously relevant to the present day. Comparing Dumas' writing to "Toni Morrison's wild, emotional 'places'," Baraka writes that " th utilize high poetic description—language of exquisite metaphorical elegance, even as narrative precision". But, for Baraka, this "language ''tells'' as well as decorates":
The world of ''Ark of Bones'', for instance, shares a black mythological lyricism, strange yet ''ethnically'' familiar! Africa, the southern U.S., black life and custom are motif, mood and light, rhythm, and implied history.
Dumas, therefore, was—"despite his mythological elegance and deep signification"—still "part of the wave of African American writers at the forefront of the '60s Black Arts Movement". Precisely because of its strangeness and its deformation of reality, Dumas work bears a deep political truth: "The very broken quality, almost to abstraction, is a function of change and transition."


The future-past

Unlike Afro-Futurism which speculates on possibilities in the future, Afro-surrealism, as Miller describes, is about the present. "Rather than speculate on the coming of the four horseman, Afrosurrealists understand that they rode through too long ago. Through Afro-surrealism, artists expose this form of the future past that is right now."


The everyday lived experience

According to Terri Francis: "Afro-surrealism is art with skin on it where the texture of the object tells its story, how it weathered burial below consciousness, and how it emerged somewhat mysteriously from oceans of forgotten memories and discarded keepsakes. This photograph figures Afro-surrealism as bluesy, kinky-spooky." Irensonen Okojie wrote of the genre's flexibility have a relationship to life's breadth:


Present day realism

In the manifesto from which present day Afro-surrealism is based, writer D. Scot Miller states in a response to Afrofuturism: "Afro-Futurism is a diaspora intellectual and artistic movement that turns to science, technology, and science fiction to speculate on black possibilities in the future. Afro-Surrealism is about the present. There is no need for tomorrow's-tongue speculation about the future. Concentration camps, bombed-out cities, famines, and enforced sterilization have already happened. To the Afro-Surrealist, the Tasers are here. The Four Horsemen rode through too long ago to recall. What is the future? The future has been around so long it is now the past." As "The Afro-Surreal Manifesto" and Afro-futurism come to the forefront in artistic, commercial and academic circles, the struggle between the specific and "the scent" of present-day manifestations of black absurdity has come with it, posing interesting challenges to both movements. For Afrofuturists, this challenge has been met by inserting Afrocentric elements into its growing pantheon, the intention being to centralize Afrofuturist focus back on the continent of Africa to enhance its specificity. For the Afro-surrealists, the focus has been set at the "here and now" of contemporary Black arts and situations in the Americas, Antilles, and beyond, searching for the nuanced "scent" of those current manifestations.


Examples of Afro-surrealist works


''Beloved'', Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically accl ...
's '' Beloved: A Novel'' remains an important milestone for Afro-surrealists. Here, Morrison imagines a narrative of a formerly enslaved woman grieving the death of her baby daughter, Beloved. With no trace of a past, Beloved reappears on the steps of her mother's home, confused and looking for her mother. Following this moment, the novel crafts a haunting tale of a woman seeking to understand the sudden reappearance of her daughter and the scars left behind from slavery. In ''Beloved'', Morrison attempts to come to grip with the legacies left by slavery, challenging the notion that these exist only in the past. From the epigraph, "Sixty Million and more", Morrison presupposes there is no way to count those affected from slavery and additionally, that the number is ever-growing into the present. In her award-winning novel, Morrison expands on the idea of the past, attempting to demonstrate the past is ever present.


''Zong!'', M. Nourbese Philip and Setaey Adamu Boateng

In ''
Zong! ''Zong!'' is a 2008 book-length poem by Canadian writer M. NourbeSe Philip. The work was first published in the U.S. by Wesleyan University Press Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown ...
'', M. Nourbese Philip crafts a counter-narrative surrounding the events of the ''Zong'' massacre. Utilizing the words from the legal decision to build her poetry, Philip rejects the idea of an archival past. Instead, Philip looks to the present moment to understand how to read this legal decision and understand the case. Following the footsteps of Morrison's ''Beloved'', Philip presupposes the notion of a past that is not past allowing these past artifacts to haunt the present moment. Rather than organize the fragments, Philip allows the fragments to tell themselves. This is not to say that Philip gives the fragments voices, but instead gives them space. The space in the poem allows Philip's audience to hear the silence of these voices, to truly understand the missing narratives form the past and the role that has on the present.


''Atlanta'', Donald Glover

''Atlanta'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by
Donald Glover Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his musical stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. While he studied at New York University and after working in Derrick ...
that premiered on September 6, 2016, on FX. The series centers on college dropout and music manager Earnest "Earn" Marks (played by Glover) and rapper Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry) as they navigate a strange, seemingly otherworldly version of the Atlanta rap scene, examining racism, whiteness, existentialism and modern African-American culture through Afro-Surrealism. It also stars
LaKeith Stanfield LaKeith Lee Stanfield (born August 12, 1991) is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in '' Short Term 12'' (2013), for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. He received further recognition for his roles in the fil ...
and
Zazie Beetz Zazie Olivia Beetz ( ; ; born June 1, 1991) is a German-American actress. She is known for her role in the FX (TV channel), FX comedy-drama series ''Atlanta (TV series), Atlanta'' (2016–2022), for which she received a nomination for the Primet ...
.


''Sorry to Bother You'', Boots Riley

''
Sorry to Bother You ''Sorry to Bother You'' is a 2018 American science fiction black comedy film written and directed by musician Boots Riley in his directorial debut. It stars LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, ...
'' is a 2018 American surrealist,
urban fantasy Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy, placing supernatural elements in a contemporary urban area, urban-affected setting. The combination provides the writer with a platform for classic fantasy tropes, quixotic plot-elements, and unusual charac ...
,
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
, black-comedy film written and directed by
Boots Riley Raymond Lawrence "Boots" Riley (born April 1, 1971) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, rapper, and communist activist. He is the lead vocalist of The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club. He made his feature-film directorial ...
, in his directorial debut. It stars
LaKeith Stanfield LaKeith Lee Stanfield (born August 12, 1991) is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in '' Short Term 12'' (2013), for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. He received further recognition for his roles in the fil ...
,
Tessa Thompson Tessa Lynne Thompson (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress. She began her professional acting career with the List of Theatre Communications Group member theatres, Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica ...
, Jermaine Fowler,
Omari Hardwick Omari Latif Hardwick (born January 9, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring role as James St. Patrick / Ghost, the protagonist of Starz's ''Power'' and his role as Vanderohe in Zack Snyder's ''Army of the Dead'' (2021). He is also kn ...
,
Terry Crews Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former professional American football, football player. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/The CW Television Network, CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which air ...
,
Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His acting roles include Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–2023) as adult ...
,
David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and director. Cross is best known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series '' Mr. Show with Bob and David'' (1995–1998), his role as Ian Hawk ...
,
Danny Glover Danny Glover ( ; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, producer, and political activist. Over his career he has received List of awards and nominations received by Danny Glover, numerous accolades including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian A ...
,
Steven Yeun Sang-yeop Yeun (; born December 21, 1983), known professionally as Steven Yeun ( ), is an American actor. His accolades include two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Br ...
, and
Armie Hammer Armand Douglas Hammer (born August 28, 1986) is an American actor. He began his acting career with guest appearances in several television series. His first leading role was as Billy Graham in the 2008 film '' Billy: The Early Years'' and Hamme ...
. The film follows a young black telemarketer who adopts a " white accent" to succeed at his job. Swept into a corporate conspiracy, he must choose between profit and joining his activist friends to organize labor.


''Random Acts of Flyness'', Terence Nance

'' Random Acts of Flyness'' (2018–present) is a late night sketch comedy series created by American artist Terence Nance for
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
.


''Lemonade,'' Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

Beyonce's award-winning album 'Lemonade' utilizes distinct references, narratives, and imagery originating from black American culture to convey the socio-historical experiences of black women within the U.S. social milieu. Throughout the album, capricious changes between musical genres highlight the fickleness of public perception towards women of the
African Diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from List of ethnic groups of Africa, people from Africa. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the native West Africa, West and Central Africans who were ...
while the application of code-switching and colloquialisms in Beyonce's lyricism aim to illustrate the prevalence of
respectability politics Respectability politics, or the politics of respectability, is a political strategy wherein members of a marginalized community will consciously abandon or punish controversial aspects of their cultural-political identity as a method of assimi ...
which has been a major tenant of racial socialization. Popular sources and scholastic platforms both utilize ''Lemonade'' in the sociological discourse about how generations of black American women have experienced
misogynoir ''Misogynoir'' is a term referring to the combined force of anti-black racism and misogyny directed towards black women. The term was coined by black feminist writer Moya Bailey in 2008 to address misogyny directed toward black Trans woman, transg ...
.


''Harriet'', Kasi Lemmons

Kasi Lemmons Kasi Lemmons (; born Karen Lemmons, February 24, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter, and actress. She made her directorial debut with ''Eve's Bayou'' (1997), followed by ''The Caveman's Valentine'' (2001), ''Talk to Me (2007 film), ...
is a black American female film director and screenwriter who led the 2019 motion picture ''
Harriet Harriet(t) may refer to: * Harriet (name), a female name ''(includes list of people with the name)'' Places *Harriet, Queensland, rural locality in Australia * Harriet, Arkansas, unincorporated community in the United States * Harriett, Texas, ...
'' which showcases the life of historical figure, Harriet Tubman. In this Hollywood rendition, Tubman experiences frequent visions from divinity that guide her when initially escaping enslavement, freeing other enslaved peers via the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...
, and formulating plans as the leader of a government-sanctioned military raid. These 'divine visions' reimagine Tubman's real-life proneness to seizures due to a severe head injury from her early teenage years. The reinterpretation of a physical disability as a "superpower" exemplifies the African-American community's application of religious belief as a means of problem-solving, perseverance, and optimism amidst their institutionalized mistreatment throughout the era of U.S. Slavery.


References

{{reflist African-American culture African-American art American contemporary art American literary movements Postcolonialism African-American poetry Africana philosophy