Faith Ringgold
This month’s featured artist is legendary and a woman of her time and ours.
A black art ambassador with an engaging presence and 60 years as an accomplished art professional. and prayerfully many more ahead of her. Art has been apart of Ringgold’s life since her youth. Growing up in Harlem’s, Sugar Hill section she was surrounded by artists and musicians. DEB Dubois, Duke Ellington, Marian Anderson, Sarah Vaughan, Harry Belafonte, among others all lived in her neighborhood.
Born into a family with a rich heritage of creatives and educators Mrs. Ringgold providentially became an art major with a minor in education, earning her college degree from City College of New York. After graduating she worked as an art teacher in the NY city public schools and later as a professor of art at the University of California in San Diego while developing her studio practice as a painter. Ringgold’s art education focused on European artists, however knowing modern masters like Picasso, Matisse and others were inspired by African art led her on a path of discovery to Ghana and Nigeria to see for herself the African masks and sculpture from her ancestry that influenced the contemporary art movement we know today. A world that for some time has excluded its African decedents. This was pivotal in shaping the direction of her work. Like most artists Mrs. Ringgold drew motivation for her work from life experiences. Her perspective as a black woman in the 60’s coupled with activist leanings produced political paintings that confronted race and equal rights for women. During this time major museums neglected the work of blacks and women and It became clear that this would be a barrier to opportunities in mainstream art circles. in response Mrs. Ringgold spearheaded a movement that paved the way for change through organized protesting with other artists against discriminating museum practices. Faced with this opposition museums made acquisitions to diversify their collections. Today her work and other artists can be found in many of these institutions.
As her work and activism gained attention the artist made the decision to focus on art full time. Very few artists develop a new style but Mrs. Ringgold is known for having invented a new art form called story quilts. Narrative canvas paintings in quilt form with writings. While visiting Amsertdam’s Rijksmuseum the artist was introduced to Nepalese paintings called “tankas”— paintings framed in cloth. Having quilters and sewers in her family and a need to reduce expenses of transporting her art, these works were a springboard for a new direction with quilting as her medium. Returning to the US she began her first quilt. Ringgold’s mother, a fashion designer taught her to quilt and they worked collaboratively, Ringgold painting on canvas and her mother sewing on the fabric. This began her launch into this medium.
In the 1980’s she gained national exposure and has over time accumulated numerous awards that span her career. The Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Washingtonian Gallery of Art, Studio Museum of Harlem and many others have acquired her work. Faith Ringgold among many things is an accomplished and acclaimed artist working in many artistic disciplines but best known for her visual works. Now 85 years old, she is still an active and passionate working artist who loves what she does!! Use the links below to see her work and learn more about this extradinory woman as she tells her story through short interviews.
