Claude Clarks's "Freedom Morning" is a painting that signifies the journey of African American people from past to present. His painting so eloquently depicts the range of sentiments of an entire group of people through a variety of artistic tools. Clark's ability to tell the story of the gaining of freedom for African Americans is expressed so well in his painting that one could gather the main idea without prior knowledge of history.  Clark's use of color, symbolism, contrast, and perspective creates a painting that speaks volumes to the viewer. 

The first aspect of a painting the viewer notices is generally the artist's choice of colors. In "Freedom Morning", Clark mostly uses muted reds, yellows, oranges, and blues which are all significant in telling the story of "Freedom Morning". To begin, the most apparent color that stands out in the painting is that of a muted orange. Orange is very fitting color to express the emotions of the people in the painting because it shows energy and the demanding of attention. This is symbolic of the crowd standing up against oppression and living their lives according to their own rules. The breaking of the symbolic chains that are around the hands at the top of the painting create a yellow spark that has fallen down onto the people. This yellow spark has ignited the orange flame within the group that has gathered. The yellow color of the spark is significant because it symbolizes the optimism of the group of people who have gathered as they come to the realization that they are not only a free man but free as a whole. As the viewer's eyes move 

down to focus on the people in the front of the crowd, a person can be seen wearing a blue cap and gown that is holding a diploma. Without focusing on the diploma to understand the importance of this man, one can also choose to analyze the color which he is wearing. The color blue is associated with knowledge and shows that this young man has graduated as a result of being free. When thinking about the fight for freedom of the African American people, one may think of feelings of anger and frustration or even strength. Clark encompasses these thoughts into his painting, by showing a woman wearing a red dress under her apron. This woman stands as a symbol of the fight of African Americans to gain their freedom and the frustration experienced along the way. However, she also symbolizes the strength of her people in finally obtaining their freedom. Clark strategically used color in his painting to aid in the viewer's overall interpretation and understanding of his work. 

Clark not only uses symbolism in the colors he used, he also uses symbolism in the objects placed around the painting. To go into further detail, one must analyze his choices behind placing the chains, hand, and spark into "Freedom Morning". To begin, the hands are symbolic of everyday life. Generally speaking, one will use their hands to perform everyday activities and tasks. In the painting, it is apparent that the hands were restrained which restricts one from performing these activities. From records of history, it is known that the African American people had to live their lives under strict laws which controlled their lives. This leads into the symbolic nature of the chains surrounding the wrists of the hands. These chains symbolize oppression and the control that had been placed over the lives of the African American people in the painting. However, by adding the spark into the painting, Clark introduces the concept of change. This change is symbolic of the freedom the African American people now obtained. 

Once a viewer has analyzed the artist's use of color and symbolism, their eyes generally transition to observing the placement of objects or people in the painting. Clark uses contrast in placement between the crowd of people and the chained hands above them to show the main idea of the painting. By having the chained hands appear above their heads, Clark shows that being free was at the forefront of the people's thoughts and the reason behind their gathering. These hands can be thought of as the title of the painting although there are no physical words. Placing the hands at the top of the painting revealed the overall main idea of the painting itself in correlation to the "Freedom Morning" title of the painting. Without this powerful contrast, one might lose the intended understanding of the painting and lose sight of the freedom aspect. In this case, one would just see a crowd of people and not think of the history involved. Clark's use of contrast is meant to pull the viewers attention to the chained hands because they are the main point of interest. 

Contrast and perspective go hand in hand when choosing placement in a painting. Clark chose to have the perspective of his "Freedom Morning" painting rely on the faces of the people in the front row of the overall huge crowd in order to have the viewer focus on the small details. These small details include the emotions and facial expressions of the people in particular. By having the people of the front row be the main focus, Clark uses their faces to tell the story of an entire group of people. Their emotions show joy, anger, fear, and uncertainty. This perspective takes the reader back to thoughts on African American history and the oppression of this entire group of people. Having background on this history makes the perspective of this painting more significant. Without this use of perspective, individual emotion and facial expression would be lost in the crowd and therefore not as important to the reader. Furthermore, by having the people in the front appear bigger, Clark creates the appearance of a never ending crowd of people that continues as far as the eye can see. 

Claude Clark uses color, symbolism, contrast, and perspective in his "Freedom Morning" painting in order to convey the freedom of the African American people who were once oppressed. By using colors that symbolize anger and optimism, for example, Clark is able to give his painting raw emotions that are easily relatable and understandable to the viewer. Furthermore, by placing the hands, chains, and spark around the painting, Clark allows the reader to understand the symbolic nature behind these objects.  His use of contrast aids the viewer in understanding the overall main idea of the painting by having the chained hands appear above the crowd. Lastly, Clark's use of perspective helps the viewer focus on the varying emotions of the people and small details that enhance the story of the painting. "Freedom Morning" is a painting that accurately depicts the journey of African American people from oppression to freedom. 

