Faith Ringgold
Faith Ringgold, is a 20th century iconic master artist, designer, writer and skilled Crafts woman and quite notably one of the most influential political and artistic activist rising out of the tumultuous national, political and racial unrest of the 1960's. Ringgold's astounding career as an extremely established and well-founded African American woman artist as breathtaking and emotionally awe inspiring, as her embroidered and highly crafted quilt-paintings. Not only does Ringgold represent herself as a stronghold for the Black Art Movement, but equally if not more so; as a pivotal force for the Women’s Movement during the pivotal and volatile time of the 1960's, both of which were the brew that began churning the creative and artistic genius of this remarkable artist and dedicated activist.
Ringgold was born to dedicated parents Willie Posey Mae and in the 1930s and was raised during the great depression, at a national time of great poverty and racial inequities; life was ever so more difficult as the racial divide was constantly reinforced by ignorance and aggression. Ringgold was an instrumental force in her own inner motivation to become a recognized and established artist; she debuted in 1967, a piece, entitled The American Flag from the American People Series, which depicted the bleeding American flag, as it overlay three figures, a black, man white woman and a white man attempting to express the deep societal and racial tensions of the time.
Having made her mark with her politically bold and incredibly striking, unconventional paintings, referred to as The American People Series, all produced on large canvases, with a forceful use of color offering a multilayered and intentional focus on the emotional and psychological presentation of the varying figures in this series as well stirring the pot, Ringgold also set the fire on the conservative and patriarchal art world. Her images challenged the societal conceptions of race and gender, causing a new depth of examination on these vital issues, plaguing the nation.
Ringgold married, and mother of two girls, taught to support her family, but ever struggling forward, she continued her artistic career and political activism, fighting to be recognized not only as a talented black female artist whom defied the obstacles of the male dominated Black Arts Movement, and the ever present racial injustices of ill-conceived inequities but as well as becoming an active representative in the Women’s movement. Ringgold’s work reflected her life experiences and her in-depth conception of the issues surrounding her, as depicted in the Black Light Series, another set of incredibly intoxifying paintings. These brilliant large-scale pieces presented themselves each as a direct commentary of the prevalent social issues. Ringgold introduced the Congo influenced Bacabal, 8 fold, triangular grids into her work, with in which the geometric frame offered an opportunity to incorporate a multitude of images, adding density to the intricate layers and meanings.
One of the most intricate attributes to Ringgold’s charismatic artistic prescience is her ingenuity, her innate ability to transform her artistic style. The next collection, unveiled in the early 1970's, The Feminist Series, inspired by a series of Tibetan Buddhist 'Thankga' paintings; which similarly were designed on fabric, hung from wooden dowels and rich with intense and provocative wording, written into the paintings from top to bottom, and decoratively bordered.
The next collection, Help: The Slave Rape series furthered Ringgold’s intense dedication to being a firm representative of the Women’s Movement, these vibrant and poignant paintings were incorporated into a fabric bordered presentation, as well as being hung on wooden dowels.
Ringgold continued exploring her newly crafted style; fueled by her need to express her life experiences, utilizing a combination of fabric, her passion for painting, and story she began to develop her story quilts. Such as, Echo’s of Harlem, 1980 Mother's Quilt, 1983, as well as the real telling of whose Afraid of Aunt Jemima? 1983; each rich with meaning, some depicting social moments, ancestral family members, a continued examination of social issues and relationships.
Ringgold developed several collections utilizing the limitless possisibilties in the now infamous story quilts, including The Change Collection, The Bitter Nest, as well the French Collection. The Change reflected Ringgold’s personal feelings of taking control of the health of her well-being, The Bitter Nest an examination of feelings involving the experiences and her hopes and dreams of her daughters growing into adulthood, in the French Collection, Ringgold pays tribute to both her traditional art training and the experiences of several noted women, and artists.
By the mid-1990's, Ringgold began The American Collection, this new series further expresses social misperceptions as well as historical tragedies. Several, like Bessie's Blues, 1997 and The Two Jemima's express her need to show her long dedication to represent the black woman’s voice, in effort to present the identity and integrity of the Black Woman’s experience in our society. This collection is followed by the Coming to Jones Road series, in which Ringgold documents the tales of a band of runaway slaves in the area, in 1792.
Faith Ringgold, inspires me as both a human being and as an artist, for many reasons, the first being all that she personally overcame or struggled through that shaped who she is a an artist, author, advocate and human being. Second, that she puts her devotion and dedication into the social issues represented in all of her work, third that as an artist has explored and recreated many styles of painting, and has forged an intimate relationship combining fabric and painting and story. Most significant for me, is I think the deep and inner faith and her ability to multi-laterally communicate creating a universal understanding of human struggles. Ringgold provides an opportunity for people to approach, connect and expand their personal views of social, racial and gender issues.
written by: Julia Paige
dated originally written 2013
Bibliography:
Ringgold, Faith. Internet site Faith Ringgold
Farrington, Lisa E., Faith Ringgold, Pomegranate Communications, Inc. 2004