There Is Beauty In The Struggle: Vincent van Gogh and The Melanated Experience
Vincent van Gogh is one of the most celebrated artists in history. He left a mark in the art world through his colorful and vibrant paintings that evoke emotion from audiences around the world. Despite being hailed as this artistic genius, he dealt with struggles that fueled some of the most iconic works of art. While grappling with mental health challenges, poverty, and personal hardships he found the inspiration to create and share his talents with the world. However, his journey resonates with individuals from all walks of life, including those within the melanated community. There is a lesson to be learned about creating through adversity and how historically, the Black community has found the strength to create even through hardship.
Van Gogh's journey as an artist was deeply impacted by his mental health issues, including anxiety and depression. Despite these internal struggles, he found a purpose in painting. His art became an outlet, therapy, a place where he could let out his emotions and leave it all on the canvas.
"Starry Night", his most famous painting, was created during one of the hardest times in the artist's life. The vibrant colors and bold brushstrokes reflect the swirling chaos within his mind and lets you into the intensity of his emotions. "Starry Night" is a testament to there being beauty in the struggle. As a community, we can draw parallels to van Gogh’s experience and the art we have created through societal challenges.
The connection is particularly evident in the African American tradition of headwraps. As part of the slave dress code, slave masters would provide extra handkerchiefs to female slaves to be used as head coverings as it was a sign of poverty and subordination (The Clothes Make The Man, The Woman, and The Slave, n.d.). In certain regions of the South, legislation even mandated black women to wear their hair bound to reinforce a level of control over slaves. However, as time passed it went beyond being a means of control and subordination to their slave masters. The head-wrap became a shared item among female slaves and they created a sense of community around wrapping their hair. Headwraping also gave the women a sense of individuality, as each woman could experiment and tie her head-scarf in a way that reflected her unique style.
In the present day, headwraping among African American women is still prevalent. Black women will experiment with different textures, patterns, and wrap styles to showcase their fashion sense. While headwraping is only one of the many times we have created beauty out of pain, the resilience, self-discovery, and creation of something beautiful can be a lesson to us all.
Like van Gogh and the art of head wrapping, allowing our authentic selves to shine through our work not only provides an outlet for our emotions but teaches us that beauty can be found even in the most challenging moments of our lives. Everything is art, and even our adversity can be a powerful form of creating.=
References
Educational Broadcasting Corporation. (n.d.). Slavery and the making of america . the slave experience: Men, ... Thirteen PBS. https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/slavery/experience/gender/feature6.html
Freitas, B. (2020, August 15). “Starry night” and bipolar disorder. Medium. https://biafreitas.medium.com/starry-night-and-bipolar-disorder-49b50b721b90
Kostamo, M. (2024, January 20). The Starry Night - A Bipolar Journey into recovery. Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries. https://sanctuarymentalhealth.org/2021/03/04/the-starry-night/#:~:text=Van%20Gogh%20expresses%20the%20night,due%20to%20a%20bipolar%20condition.
Wolf P. Creativity and chronic disease. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). West J Med. 2001 Nov;175(5):348. doi: 10.1136/ewjm.175.5.348. PMID: 11694494; PMCID: PMC1071623.
