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IN THIS ISSUE Hat Trick Choreographing a Romance Evolution of a Biology Professor Sweet Rewards Academic Stepping Stone Chancellor's Column Development News Factoids Newsmakers Accomplishments by faculty and staff… |
Colorful Stories Faith
Ringgold, one of the top African-American artists of the story quilt genre,
brought examples of her work to the Mesa College art gallery this spring
in celebration of Black History Month. Her
works are not bed linens or traditionally pieced quilts, but rather wall
art narratives of the African-American experience, often depicting the
empowerment of African-American women. These
massive story quilts—typically 5’x7’—combine painting,
quilted fabric and story telling. Ringgold’s style is to artfully
blend historical and fictional characters in her stories, thus rendering
social, political and cultural statements. Born
in Harlem in 1930, Ringgold acquired her passion for textiles from her
mother, a seamstress and fashion designer, and her love of oral tradition
from her story-teller father. After studying art and education, and with
a master’s degree in fine art, Ringgold taught art in the New York
public schools. When she took up painting, her images were inspired by
the writings of James Baldwin, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. Ringgold
started making quilts 20 years ago as a tribute to her mother. Simultaneously
unable to find anyone to publish her autobiography, Ringgold decided to
write her stories on the quilts. A
professor of art at the University of California, San Diego, she has exhibited
in major museums worldwide and her work is in the permanent collection
of the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. You
can view images of Ringgold’s work at www.faithringgold.com.
Look closely and you’ll see that Ringgold frequently frames her quilts
with hourglass blocks—interestingly, one of the 10 blocks of the
Underground Railroad Quilt Code, the one signifying dressing up to go
to church.
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