February 26 – March 4, 1975
Art Gallery, Eugenia Fuller Atwood Library
1975 BEAVER NEWS
“Black feminist to lecture, present artwork” by Karen Schwartz
“After I decided to be an artist, the first thing that I had to believe was that I, a black woman, could penetrate the art scene, and that further, I could do so without sacrificing one iota of my blackness or my femaleness or my humanity.”
The preceding words of black artist, feminist, lecturer, and teacher, Faith Ringgold, reveal the feelings of a determined woman whose talent and creativity have allowed her to cross artistic bridges never crossed before. Ms. Ringgold, for the past ten years, has been exploring the role of the black woman in America, making this private investigation the theme of all her artwork.
As an artist, she does not attempt to escape into another world through her work, according to an article in Ms. magazine. Rather, Ms. Ringgold uses it as a means to communicate with and educate others. She sees the black woman in desperate need of liberation, and contends that, “if black women are to be liberated, they will have to do it for themselves.”
“Black Light,” a system of painting that Ms. Ringgold herself created, ahs been a method she has been using since 1967. “I use Black Light in relation to the way I see through myself,” she said. “I work from the blacks and browns and grays that cover my skin and hair and the shades of blues, greens, and reds that create my forms and textures.”
Faith Ringgold and students, c. 1975.
In addition to racial problems, Faith Ringgold is concerned with prejudiced feelings toward women, and more emphatically, black women, in America. “Most black women in this country are dealing with only their racial oppression and have not come to grips with their additional oppression as women,” she said in a Chattanooga Times interview.
Ms. Ringgold’s thoughts are revealed not only in her canvas paintings, but in her sculptured masks and painted tapestries, as well.
Born, raised, and still living in Harlem, Faith Ringgold earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from City College of New York. She lectures at Bank College of Education in New York and Wagner College on Staten Island.
“Miss Ringgold’s technique is essentially [esthetic] rather than [propagandistic],” stated a review of her work in the New York Times. “However, in her titles and choice of subject matter, she makes the viewer aware that she is also illustrating the rise of black America.”
“Like all other artists, I have a statement to make about something – my own society and society in America,” she said.
“The Feminist and Black Art” will be discussed by Faith Ringgold tomorrow night, Wednesday, February 26 at 8 p.m. in the Little Theatre.
An opening reception in honor of Ms. Ringgold will also be held tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in the Atwood Art Gallery. Her works will be on display in the Gallery through Tuesday, March 4. All College community and guest are welcome at these events, free of charge.
Faith Ringgold, her sculpture, and a student, c. 1975.
