1 Comment
Many of my paintings are a celebration of sorts. Picnic at the Beach was a marvelous day with friends on my 50th birthday. If asked, I share with a buyer what the painting represents- the location, the occasion, the atmosphere, or the subject's life. Any special occasion is a painting waiting to happen, and what a great way to savor the moment or honor someone special. In this case the client connected with the image, regardless of its meaning for me, and it resides happily in her home.
In honor of Black History month someone on Facebook posted a video showing what life would be like without the inventions of creative African-Americans and it wasn't just about the cotton gin and peanuts. I was impressed and started thinking about black artists who have influenced my life. This is a short list, but they are the people who popped into my mind. Although I took 4 semesters of art history in college, I don't think any black artists were covered. Luckily my life has taken me to places where these artists are known and appreciated so when I facilitated an art appreciation program in PA for elementary school children I made a point to include three of the following artists in our discussions with the children.
Faith Ringgold, born in 1930, is a visual storyteller. Her narrative quilts are fascinating and have been photographed and turned into children's books. The quilt in the photo is called Tar Beach and it depicts her life growing up in Harlem. During the hot summer months her family would live on the roof which became their tar beach. She was influenced by the Harlem Renaissance and lived around the corner from the poet Langston Hughes. I was fortunate to have heard Maya Angelou read one of his poems called Harlem Sweeties which was written in 1921. Here is a bit of the poem about black skin color.
His description of skin color is amazing and empowering for young African-American women of any generation. Apparently even art can be divided down racial lines. Recently I was asked, "But why do you paint black people?" I wish I could have recited Harlem Sweeties with the finesse of Maya Angelou. It would've knocked them over.
In the small mill town of Alcolu, South Carolina, George Stinney, Jr. was born October 21, 1929. He had an older brother named Johnnie and a younger sister, Amie. At the age of 14 George was accused of killing two white girls as they picked wild flowers in March of 1944 and 84 days later he was executed in the electric chair. George was under five feet tall and weighed less than 100 pounds and on June 14, 1944 he became the youngest person in modern times to be put to death. His trial lasted two hours and the deliberations lasted just 10 minutes. in 2014, 70 years later, George Stinney, Jr. was exonerated and in December 2014 the Washington Post wrote a compelling article about this little boy from Alcolu who was railroaded by an unfair justice system. I found his story so compelling and his image haunting, that I created two paintings in his honor. The first, George Stinney, Jr. 1944 is depicted in vibrant color against the lifeless stark gray background and uniform. Click on the painting and it will link to the Washington Post article. And the second painting, St. George of South Carolina is depicted as a religious icon with symbolic gold to represent the radiance of Heaven and blue as the color of human life. Icons were originally used as teaching tools and I see George patiently asking for thought and prayer in 2015. |