Joe Overstreet was a painter during the 1950s and early 1960s. Majorly, he worked and lived in New York City, America. The painter belongs to the abstract expressionist movement. The new Jemima 1964 is one of the most famous works that he did. Through this particular painting, the artist employed varied formal elements and principles of art. Form and content are the most commonly used elements in The new Jemima 1964, 1970.
Basically, he used form and content to showcase the interest that he had in contemporary social issues. For instance, in this particular painting, he transformed the image of submissive Aunt Jemima which was then negatively perceived into an admirable figure. The artist was a strong believer of the black arts movement which was popularly known for promoting black pride.
Therefore, his mastery in art and painting, in particular, he chose to incorporate items within the painting that will make aunt Jemima seem powered. The aspect of empowering black women is what made his choose portray Aunt Jemima using a machine gun while pancakes are seen all over the air like bullets. It can thus be asserted that the artist used the element of content in his art to bring out the message of an empowered black woman so that people should not continue to look down upon the blacks.
On the other hand, form has been employed in how the artist used three dimensions in space. The image has been painted using acrylic on fabric over plywood. The artist used form to make the image attractive and differentiate from one object to another. Form was also used to reveal the lights and shadows within the image.
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