Go Down Death 1934

Curator: Here we have Aaron Douglas’s “Go Down Death,” created in 1934. The artist, central to the Harlem Renaissance, rendered this powerful image using—likely, given the style—acrylic on canvas. What is your immediate reaction? Editor: Ethereal, almost ghostly. The figures seem to float against a muted, geometric backdrop. The limited color palette creates a solemn mood. Curator: Douglas's paintings, often interpreted in light of African and African-American folk traditions, reveal many hidden and re-purposed traditions through common images. The angularity, in this piece, however, also makes me consider its construction through WPA programs – there’s an element of accessibility achieved through these methods, that allow an easier mass production of artworks. Editor: Yes, the layering of geometric forms and stylized figures absolutely connects to broader movements of the era. I see those motifs—but the winged figure presiding over a prone one seems ripped straight from traditional iconography. It’s evocative of religious paintings but with a distinctly modern and diasporic twist. What do you think, why does this work utilize familiar symbols? Curator: Given his influences—from African sculpture to European modernism— the repeated figures could signify themes central to Black experience: resilience, resistance, and cultural continuity despite forced displacement. It is particularly fascinating because acrylic paint itself, still in relative infancy at this time, could easily have stood for "cheap, accessible to the masses", which is where you meet folk symbolism. Editor: Exactly, death becomes a conduit, connecting this life and the next, past and present. Consider the use of the color: pale shades, muted blues, and greys... even that adds to the feeling of transcendence, doesn't it? There’s so much emotional depth conveyed. Curator: True, the construction serves Douglas' goal well – allowing for mass production while still leaving room for complex iconography that tells layered folk stories and conveys spiritual nuance. In the grand scheme, material choices enhance the ability to touch on cultural history and folk traditions while engaging in what are primarily abstract artistic processes. Editor: "Go Down Death" truly epitomizes the power of art to visualize difficult themes with incredible dignity and to reflect historical themes that feel ever-relevant even now. Curator: Absolutely; and recognizing that construction is so deeply rooted in accessing Black Folk traditions of storytelling lets us read Aaron Douglas in full!