Envisioning an Antiracist Future in the Arts: The Arabella Freeman Series
Beginnings
As an African American harpist, producer and academic, I have an interest in the intersections of the creative process and social history, particularly those stories that haven’t been told or captured mainstream attention.
Over the last decade, I have had the opportunity to get to know Harkness as my sister-in-law and as a fellow artist. We have shared many conversations about our respective experiences in the creative and performing arts and our attempts to leverage our works to identify and break down societal barriers.
When she asked me to contribute some words inspired by her newest body of work, Prisoners from the Front: The Arabella Freeman Series, I immediately replied in the affirmative and began studying the collection of paintings in this ongoing episodic project that were created from 2018-2023.
Prisoners from the Front: The Arabella Freeman Series, was originally conceived as part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Copyist Program where Harkness transformed one of Winslow Homer’s iconic Civil War era paintings, Prisoners from the Front, 1866 into her own rendition, Prisoners from the Front (1866), Commissioned by Arabella Freeman, 2019.
I got to witness this transformation in real time, as I visited Harkness at the Museum during the Program. She would later share that her decision to change the race of one of the figures to a Black Union soldier was in part based on seeing me and the Winslow Homer painting together. With that tweak, the series was off and running.
“With that as a genesis, I began to realize that changing the race of one character wasn’t such a simple tweak…how would this be possible, given the history and laws put into place to prevent Black wealth, freedom, and citizenship? My questions generated more questions. I read, I wrote, I painted, trying to make sense of the world as it was in order to paint it as I wanted it to be. This series presents an alternative narrative centered around an enduring relationship between Homer’s protagonist, Union General Barlow, and a fictitious, free Virginia landowning African-American family, the Freemans.”1 - Hilary Harkness
After spending more time with the paintings and the intricate details contained within that create a strong sense of momentum and invite curiosity on the part of the viewer; like Harkness, I too had questions:
“How does Harkness’s fictional narrative capture the polarizing and at times painful realities of our contemporary society?” “Furthermore, by pulling back the veil, exposing a society wrought by an endemic of racism, does Harkness ultimately envision a more just nation, or one whose fate is doomed by its sins?”
Harkness dabbles with the possibility of the latter, but after more conversations with her, it’s become clear to me that she sees her work as championing the former. In 2022, PBS | Channel Thirteen asked me to write an article describing the current state of affairs in classical music. The resulting piece, “Envisioning an Antiracist Future in Classical Music” presents multiple strategies performers, administrators, and educators use in order to create more equitable and welcoming spaces. I decided to apply this lens to Harkness’s work and confirmed that through dialogue, a thorough understanding of history, and by faith, Harkness envisions an antiracist future not just for art, but for all of us.
Dialogue
Most of us are comfortable with what we already know. We subscribe to news outlets that affirm our beliefs, maintain relationships with friends who share our views. But I’ve always been of the mindset that learning, or that “aha” moment often comes with a bit of discomfort. So it requires humility to reach across the aisle. And while it might be uncomfortable to listen, with listening comes understanding, and with understanding comes empathy. In developing Prisoners from the Front, Harkness shared that she first engaged with a number of passersby from a variety of backgrounds while painting as a participant in the Copyist Program at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. After that experience and as she continued to paint subsequent works in the series, she incorporated check-ins with friends of different backgrounds, as well as family, particularly those from her wife, my sister Ara’s side (We are predominantly African American, while Harkness is white) as a part of her practice to develop the series.
History
One of the most striking aspects of Harkness’s work is how carefully she researches her potential subjects and their surroundings. Art doesn’t necessarily have to take on historical subjects, but if it seeks to challenge the present status quo, it helps to have an accurate understanding of how we came to be, so that we can look towards reconciling our present challenges for a more equitable future. Every painting in Prisoners from the Front reflects the intersection of American race laws (primarily those in Virginia) with the lives of the Freeman Family. Many of these laws remain widely unknown to this day. For instance, do you know that in Antebellum times, in many parts of the country, it was illegal for free African Americans to own dogs?. Every incremental step towards some semblance of equality between Black and white Americans was consistently countered by a fervent backlash, or a lethal combination of “diabolical” white strategies designed to keep Blacks in their status as 2nd-class citizens who would have to work that much harder and risk their lives in order to reap the benefits of “American exceptionalism.” This has been going on for 400 years, and while on the surface things may look different, the root, and targeted outcome, remain the same today. Harkness’s depictions of the Freeman Family provide us with nuanced depictions; there are few scenes that are downright horrific, but the horror is still present. If we look closely we realize that the Freeman Family’s very existence is a testament to the power of resilience and determination.
Faith
Envisioning an antiracist future in art begins and ends with faith. While understanding where we come from, and having difficult conversations are necessary strategies, believing in the human capacity to love one another, and treat each other with empathy remains fundamental. And yet, Prisoners from the Front goes one step further: through these paintings, Harkness challenges the viewer to imagine what could be. Before, 2021, is set in a harmonious landscape - there seems to be a peaceful sharing of the land between Blacks and whites. The African American characters are especially noticeable, for they seem to be of a particular stature. These well-dressed characters proceed with a certain confidence in their wealth. The woman in red walks nobly, proudly adorned in an elaborate cornrow hairstyle. The gentleman waving is a man of leisure: well-groomed, and ready to settle down for a quiet picnic with a side of champagne. Finally, the Black woman in the pink skirt rides in with grace and elegance - even her horse is well-coiffed. Harkness introduces us to these figures who possess characteristics that run counter to how Blacks were perceived and often depicted in Antebellum America. While the title itself, “Before,” suggests a kind of nostalgia, it also forces one to see African Americans as not only free, but free with considerable means and freedom of movement.
Gratitude
In preparation for this essay, I asked Harkness how realistic it was to portray African Americans as owning significant land in the years before (and after) the Civil War. She proudly reminded me that the richest Black man during the Revolutionary War was my relative, Paul Cuffe. Hilary learned a great deal about Cuffe during an artist residency on Cuttyhunk Island in Massachusetts and in keeping with her practice of incorporating an understanding of history into her paintings, she decided that the Freeman Family would have obtained their wealth, property and freedom thanks to an entrepreneurial ancestor who owned his own ship, ran his own crew and benefited from the need for shipping and whaling outfits in the early 1700s. (If you look closely at Forest Cemetery, 2021, you will see whaling ships and a mermaid on the Freeman Family mausoleum.) Envisioning an antiracist future in art is risky, and at times lonely particularly when you are grappling with uncomfortable realities and present-day circumstances. But Harkness infuses her vision with fantasy, with love for detail, and of course, with faith. Thank you, Hilary, for your work and your vision. With this series in the world, the future continues to look bright.
1 Schneider, Anna, “‘The Arabella Freeman Series’ by Artist Hilary Harkness”, Booooooom, September 29, 2022, https://www.booooooom.com/2022/09/29/the-arabella-freeman-series-by-artist-hilary-harkness/.