In this class I was able to learn more about how Jazz was created and the types of genres
it mixed. I decided to make a watercolor artwork piece that describes a relationship with Jazz
that some might have had in the past. I decided to have an individual playing a song to help
comfort himself and bring light to a “dark situation.” In the 1920s people of color were still
treated with no respect and were considered less than an average white person. I wanted to make this
piece looked like a dark time, but when music was played, it would make everything better. As you
can see in the painting there is a man playing his song in a dark alleyway. The man has been
mistreated for most of his life, but he finds comfort in his song. I decided to make it look like an
early America because that was about the time Jazz first got introduced and began to evolve into
what it is now. I made sure that most of the lighting was around the man to symbolize the music
“healing” him. I then decided to make the surrounding colors blue to symbolize “The Blues.” I
made the outer rims a dark grey because the music had not traveled that far into the alley making
it still dark and gloomy. In this class, I was able to learn more about how Jazz was made, the
elements included in it, and how it was used to tell African American stories and spread
empowerment through a community. I was also able to learn about the evolution of Jazz and how
artists like Childish Gambino take inspiration from the music of the past. This artwork was
meant to tell the story of how music brings light to a community and helps people to see the
light.

Quinlan Druley, Second-Year Biology Major