Blackness Re-defined

Afrofuturism is greatly defined by an attempt to challenge the assumption created around blackness in the western context. Historically, various artistic and cultural manifestations produced by or connected to individuals of African origin have sought to develop a "black aesthetic." The phrase was used in the 1960s and 1970s to call attention to the visual arts movement that flourished among African American artists. This movement explored black identity and experience, questioned prevalent Eurocentric aesthetic standards, and promoted greater representation of black artists and perspectives in the art world. Since then, the idea of a black aesthetic has grown to include various artistic mediums, such as literature, music, fashion, and film. In general, this movement sought to celebrate black culture and history. Contemporary Afrofuturism continues this engagement with celebrating black cultural production but expands upon it by seeking to decontextualize the assumption about culture rooted in European knowledge frameworks. In this new context, Afrofuturist artists ask important questions and seek fundamental different ways to understand aesthetics. Their goal is less a definition defined in opposition to whiteness, but something more profound. I think they ask why the standard we know has meaning. They are musing on how an inherently oppressive structure linked to the experience of colonialism has shaped and continues to influence our collective ways of seeing.