Response To Palmer Hayden

Response To Palmer Hayden

In the article Labored Stereotypes: Palmer Hayden’s The Janitor Who Paints, John Ott presents the reaction to a controversial painting by Hayden that was changed to present its African - American subjects in a manner less representational of the caricatured “Jim Crow” style. As one who appreciates the wit and intelligence of irony, I enjoyed reading about how Hayden’s choice of style created an unease in both black and white audiences, further spurning the debate over what was constituted as proper representation of the “New Negro” aesthetic in 20th century American culture.
  Ott ‘s claim is that the original style of The Janitor Who Paints was a characterization meant to make a satirical statement.   My view of art has always been that the product is a reflection of the artists’ emotions when involved in the creation of a piece. Hayden’s statement that he created the painting as a protest toward his colleague’s (Boykin) lack of recognition as an artist can easily conjure up a picture of frustration and cynicism as his composition took shape.   It seems that in an effort to showcase his feeling that the world only saw himself and his peers as perpetual “laborers”, he created a piece that drew more attention to the deeper perspective of the common African-American citizen of the day.
  It is discouraging that Hayden eventually chose to reproduce The Janitor Who Paints in a less controversial fashion. Whether he did so as a reaction to criticism or by request of his patrons remains unclear. Perhaps Hayden saw changing Janitor as a single sacrifice for an entire body of work to follow.
  Although Hayden’s fellow peers and critics were also able to see the satire in his work, their disapproval of his tactics and dismissal of his style as “naïve” served only to stifle his perspective.   It seems their criticisms would only limit the opportunity for African-American artistry to represent all points-of-view – no matter how...