When I wrote my Civil Rights Movement art article on Monday, I had A LOT of other choices selected, many of which I wrote about and then removed for some reason or another. It was so hard to narrow it down as much of the art was so powerful and moving. This artwork Lorna Simpson was in the post, and I studied it enough to do the looking questions before I took it out. It is about Civil Rights, but it was not related enough to the 1960s/MLK time that I was ultimately focusing on for the #MLKonMKB series.
For larger view of image, please click the image. My copyright information page has more information on why this is small.
Take a look at the artwork and interpret it for yourself, before reading any of the below information/links!
Simpson compels viewers to realize that any judgment about this woman will be based on incomplete information, on assumptions rather than on a true understanding of this individual. — Smithsonian Institution
Read more about this artwork on the excellent resource, Oh Freedom! Teaching African American Civil Rights Through American Art at the Smithsonian. They have a downloadable PDF of the artwork, looking questions, information about the artist and artwork, and related artworks. You can also find lesson plans as well!
Enjoy! Let me know what you think in the comments.
