COLLECTION NAME:
Undergraduate Thesis Collection
Record
Title:
The Absence and Presence of African American Women Artists
Creator:
King, Emily A.
Subject:
Thesis (B.F.A.) -- Art History
Subject:
Savannah College of Art and Design -- Department of Art History
Rights:
Copyright is retained by the authors or artists of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Abstract:
"There is a documented history of racial and sexist bias in the art world that has contributed to the notable lack of recognition of African American women artists. Harriet Powers and Simone Leigh are African American women artists from different eras who utilized two distinct methods to create art and gain a reputation, despite formidable obstacles in their way. Their work provides powerful imagery that tells their personal stories and those of others like them. Lack of visibility for artists such as Powers and Leigh contribute to an omission of the views and opinions of a significant demographic (Black women artists). This thesis examines how a public scarcity of exhibitions and scholarship of African American women artists throughout history has resulted in a loss of cultural representation, and how the public representation of Power's and Leigh's works can celebrate their identities while telling their stories. Harriet Powers (1837–1910) never became a commercially successful artist yet was an influential figure in pictorial quilt making. More recently, Simone Leigh (1967) is a contemporary sculptor amassing large public interest, who has been named the first Black woman to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale in 2022. Both artists, despite experiencing misfortune, used art to partially overcome obstacles in a public, memorable, and lasting manner. Born into slavery in Georgia on October 29, 1837, Powers used quilt making to record local tales through the technique of traditional appliques; two such quilts survive today. As a multi-media artist from Chicago, born in 1967, Leigh's art combines time periods, culture, and locations to examine social, physical, and mental assumptions of Black women. Powers represented what it meant to be an African American woman in a time where they had no legal rights, and now Leigh makes art to represent herself and others, inspired and liberated by women such as Powers." -- Abstract
Publisher:
Savannah, Georgia: Savannah College of Art and Design
Date:
2022-04
Format:
1 online resource: 1 PDF (Thesis, 56 pages, color illustrations)