Bar and Grill 1941

Curator: Well, isn't this something? It reminds me of a half-remembered dream—all these faces huddled together under that yellow sky. Editor: We're looking at Jacob Lawrence's "Bar and Grill" from 1941, a tempera on paper work, and I’m struck by how the geometry interacts with the social space represented here. I agree, it feels like a dreamscape—a specific one, perhaps a disquieting Harlem Renaissance dream. Curator: The perspective is tilted, playful. And all that muted color gives it this beautifully flattened affect, as if these are figures recalled from memory. Jacob Lawrence doesn’t seem interested in getting hung up on realism, that’s for sure. The fan seems really off center, now that I see it again. Is it the focal point? Editor: I think it is a very smart interpretation! Given the title, I interpret it in relation to a bar interior, an establishment in Harlem and other predominantly black communities offering more than alcohol: it's a stage where people could mingle, express themselves, seek respite, exchange ideas, mourn injustices. What interests me is the almost staged composition of it, highlighting the gendered aspect of who populates these public spaces. It brings forth ideas of social structures and hierarchies in these establishments. Curator: I see that for sure. I think there is this sort of melancholic note struck here by the somber blacks and browns surrounding this almost fever-pitched yellow light. But I love that it seems like the viewer is implicated; we see it from eye-level. We could just as easily be the barman. What do you reckon that fella on the left is reading? Editor: That use of color—that intense, almost oppressive yellow—is brilliant for capturing a kind of stifling atmosphere, isn't it? The one holding the paper is almost cornering us, implicating the viewer to engage with what is about to unfold. There are some elements of social realism, a quiet observation of everyday urban life mixed with something almost mythical and removed. Curator: There's that dance of art! He gives us just enough, a little key, but then dares us to make up the rest. "Bar and Grill"...what more can you ask of an image, really? Editor: Indeed. And when looking closer at "Bar and Grill", one understands Lawrence's awareness of the politics and tensions of its era; it becomes this powerful encapsulation of history, representation, and, indeed, an enduring call to critical awareness.