American Collection #5: Bessie's Blues
<p>Faith Ringgold employed thick lines and forms to portray the singer Bessie Smith, also known as "Empress of the Blues." The deliberate dissonance between Smith's melodies and their musical accompaniment finds a visual echo in Ringgold's pared-down portrait of the glamorous Smith (known for bespangled dresses and sparkly jewelry). The subtle variations among the repeated portraits hint at the variations in pitch and rhythm in the choruses of Smith's songs.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1997
- Dimensions
- 195.4 × 201.3 cm (76 7/8 × 79 1/4 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Faith Ringgold
Artist
Painting
A civil rights and gender equality activist, Faith Ringgold infuses her diverse artistic practice with politically charged explorations of black female identity. Most famous for her narrative quilts, Ringgold’s oeuvre also encompasses painting, sculpture, performance art, mixed media and children’s literature. Her artwork, synthesizing Ringgold’s western training with African artistic traditions, subverts prejudicial narratives to recast black women as courageous, empowering figures.
Full artist profile →More
More by Faith Ringgold
Coming to Jones Road: Under a Blood Red Sky #8 from Femfolio
2009 · Digital print with lithograph from a portfolio of nineteen digital prints (twelve with lithograph, one with pochoir, one with hand coloring, and one with gold dusting) and one lithograph
Plate (folio 10) from Seven Passages to a Flight
1995 · Etching with hand additions and pochoir from an illustrated book with nine etchings with hand additions and pochoir on linen, including cover
Plate (folio 8) from Seven Passages to a Flight
1995 · Etching with hand additions and pochoir from an illustrated book with nine etchings with hand additions and pochoir on linen, including cover
Plate (folio 6) from Seven Passages to a Flight
1995 · Etching with hand additions and pochoir from an illustrated book with nine etchings with hand additions and pochoir on linen, including cover
Plate (folio 12) from Seven Passages to a Flight
1995 · Etching with hand additions and pochoir from an illustrated book with nine etchings with hand additions and pochoir on linen, including cover
Plate (folio 20) from Seven Passages to a Flight
1995 · Etching with hand additions and pochoir from an illustrated book with nine etchings with hand additions and pochoir on linen, including cover
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Faith Ringgold
- Year
- 1997
- Dimensions
- 195.4 × 201.3 cm (76 7/8 × 79 1/4 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1997-018019
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified