Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance
X Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance(1994) Harlem has experienced lows and highs over the past century. Against the Odds was one of these glorious highs. In addition to music, the period of the 1920s and 1930s was a period of extraordinary creativity by African-American visual artists. Initially this was met by rejection by mainstream museums and galleries. In what today might seem as a patronizing white mood, a white elite did provide exposure to some of these artists. This excellent documentary provides keen insights into the conflicts of that period and the impact of the Great Depression on this Harlem renaissance.
This film is based on a memorable Newark Museum exhibit of many artistic works as well as rare archival film from that era. The commentary by Clem Price and others provides a bitter sweet memory of what has been hailed, by David Levering Lewis and others, as the Harlem Renaissance.
