Triflin' - taking up space
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Captioned Black Art
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“She’d committed one of the real ultimate sins by trying to be herself: Black. Unapologetic. Someone who told it like it was. Someone who rejected what was expected of her as a Black woman in a predominantly white industry.”
— Zakiya Dalila Harris, The Other Black Girl
A Snippet:
Did you know that, like many young Black girls, author Zakiya Dalila Harris (as a young woman) struggled with the decision of “relaxing” her hair vs. wearing it natural?
Learn more . . .
97. “Portrait of Mnonja” (2010)
“She is owning and claiming her space, which is very exciting.”
— Mickalene Thomas
Did you know?
Did you know that New York-based artist Mickalene Thomas is best known for her elaborate paintings composed of rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel?
Mickalene Thomas received her B.F.A. from the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY in 2000 and an M.F.A. from Yale University School of Art, New Haven, Connecticut in 2002.
In her work, blurring the lines between object/subject, concrete/abstract, real/imaginary, Mickalene Thomas constructs portraits and landscapes, examining, “How identity, gender, and sense-of-self are informed by the ways women (and ‘feminine’ spaces) are represented in art and popular culture.”
98. “The Contribution of the Negro to Democracy in America” (1943)
“I started with the American Revolution, depicting Crispus Attucks as the first man to die in the Revolution, came on through using individuals like Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, George Carver, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, and Marian Anderson. The object was to take the contributions both through physical revolt of fighting for the abolition of slavery, and also the contributions that had been made in the sciences as well as the arts, as well as politics.”
— Charles White
Did you know?
Did you know that “The Contribution of the Negro to Democracy in America” is a work that generally defines Charles White’s career aim? In other words, “To uplift and educate others on the importance of African American engagement in American culture, history, and democracy.”
The composition includes a long list of American history titans, such as: Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Nat Turner, Frederick Douglass, Marian Anderson, Crispus Attucks, Denmark Vesey, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, and Paul Robeson.
Charles White painted the famous mural in Clarke Hall on Hampton University's campus in Hampton, Virginia, in 1943.
99. “Aunt Eira Mae” (1998)
“I was with a group of kids and we said that if there was ever a president from Arkansas, we’d do a portrait of him. It was just a joke at the time, and years later, I had forgotten about it. But one day, when Clinton was doing well in the presidential race and it looked like he was going to win, the memory just popped back in my mind. It was eerie, but inspirations are like that.”
— Larry D. Alexander
Did you know?
Did you know that Larry Dell Alexander (born May 30, 1953) is an American artist, Christian author, and catechist from Dermott, Arkansas?
Alexander is best known for his elaborate, colorful, and black & white (“pen and ink”) drawings.
In 1985, Larry Alexander received notoriety and a presidential thanks for his personal rendition of a “Clinton Family Portrait” oil painting which he gifted to U.S. President Bill Clinton—also born and raised in Arkansas.
The portrait is now a part of the collection at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Can’t always play the background
(Breathe In . . . Breathe Out)
Triflin’ - taking up space
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