There was a big time span to look at on the Chicago Art Institute website. This site had over 200 pages of links to look at even after applying a filter to look at works from 1900-now. I chose Nightlife by Archibald Motley because it showcases the Jazz Age which we have just finished talking about in our Cultural History class. 

Jazz got its start in New Orleans, Louisiana after the Civil War and grew popular around the 1890s (Fiero 460). Southern Louisiana was a great mixture of all kinds of ethnicities that worked together to form a great style of music. It used African, Caribbean, Spanish, French, and Black Creole influences (Fiero 461). Jazz stayed pretty Southern for around 30 years before it spread north along the Mississippi and then to the east to New York. The 1920's was also known as the Jazz Age due to its newfound popularity across America. This time was also known for the new ways to spend leisure time. With the invention of new electronic items like the refrigerator and the oven, domestic women had more time for themselves. The radio became a really popular way for families to pass time together. This meant that Jazz music now had a much broader audience than it had before. 

Archibald John Motley Jr. (1891-1981) was known as a part of the Harlem Renaissance despite not living in Harlem himself. He's also known as a Jazz Age Modernist. Motley was born in New Orleans, where Jazz originated, to Chicago, another place where Jazz had spread. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (where we're getting these artworks) and was one of the first black artists that attended the school. We can see the influence of his race and heritage in his works. 

Something about this piece really called to me when I was scrolling through everything else. Out of 200 pages of different styles, color schemes, sculptures, I really enjoyed this one. The cool, deep pink hues seems to put the nighttime ambience of love and comfort. It shows a bunch of people forgetting their troubles and dancing the night away. The use of color and the anatomy in this piece feel so pleasing to the eye. To me this piece just really embodies Jazz and the era between World War 1 and 2.