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| MaDear Seamstress (2022), Danielle Scott |
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| Story (inspired by Danielle Scott's, MaDear Seamstress 2022) |
The image to the left inspired the notion of conveying a story or pointing out a story through an object. The original piece had a quilt that could be interpreted within the subject's past so In my image, I have my sketchbook which explains the story through my efforts through art and how that changed over time. I also used clashing patterns to mirror the patterns in MaDear Seamstress.
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| Celia and Bazile Churchill, Danielle Scott (2022) |
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| King Constance, Danielle Scott (2022) |
Kinfolk
After strolling through the gallery, among the multitude of pieces, I actually have three works that have stood out to me the most. These works are “Celia and Bazile Churchill”, “King Constance” and “Ma Dear Seamstress”. I felt like all three of Scott’s pieces had something to offer to the gallery.
My first choice, Celia and Bazile Churchill, felt like it mirrored Madonna with her baby. I love how both the Mother and the child have their respective halos; with the mother’s halo being bigger and brighter than the child, which pushes the narrative of the Madonna. I also notice the high couture outfits and jewelry that elevate this photograph especially, with the superimposed fabric on both subjects making them stand out from the predominantly beige background.
Speaking of the beige background, upon closer inspection, I noticed that the background is composed of the names of the freed slaves and their descriptions. Knowing this fact elevates the piece even more. It gives the impression that the two (mostly the mother) have gone through so much for her and her child’s freedom and they’re finally at peace. I also noticed that there’s a white dove on the mother’s left shoulder which pushes the agenda of peace between the two.
I admired the fact that the mother is radiant with the red and yellow fabric combined with her ruby crown. When it comes to the daughter, I enjoy how her attire is lace floral fabric along with white pearls around her neck and imposed halo. This little detail, in my opinion, made the notion of the mother overcoming multiple obstacles which makes her more mature than her daughter who’s just a “flower bud” who still has yet to blossom in this world. Another detail that gives the impression that the child hasn’t matured yet is that the girl is standing on a pedestal along with her mother.
My second piece of choice was “King Constance” which depicts three subjects and two silhouettes in which the list of the freed slaves is again imposed in the background. I notice right off the bat that one of the children is placed on the far left of the piece drowning in the lush golden fabric while the two children on the far right are standing tall and wearing predominantly dark fabric. I also noticed that the one child wearing green-patterned attire has a sizeable purple crown while his sibling had a golden bonnet-like halo.
The space between the siblings in my option conveys an idea of a spilt within the family whether it's physical separation or split ideals within the family. I also notice that the child on the far left is near a vibrant red fabric which I could only presume is a doorway or opening within the room which further demonstrates the split between the family. Furthermore, I notice that behind the two children to the right are two silhouettes laced in gold. I feel like that would represent the family members lost or gone.
I feel like this piece represents the separated black families due to slavery and some who have lost their lives trying to find better opportunities. Up to this point, I notice the artist Scott has used these central themes of royalty between the black family portraits and the longing for freedom with the list of the freed slaves engulfing every background of her pieces.
That same list is also utilized in the background of MaDear Seamstress. This final piece captured my attention in the sense that this is one of the few pieces within the Kinfolk gallery that has one person as a central subject. I like how the grandmother has a clash of floral attire which gives the notion of how wise she is beyond her years. The way she sits in the chair reminds me of my grandmother and the way she used to sit on a threaded rocking chair on her porch and wave at anyone who passed by. Although she has vibrant attire, her body language emphasizes the threaded quilt beside her right leg. I feel like that quilt has a unique attribute that the woman wants to tell or discuss the importance of that quilt. Along with the list in the background, I noticed that half the piece is engulfed in the dark which could point to her dark upbringing. Although she might have had a harrowing past, I noticed that she is flourishing and vibrant as ever as she sits in the light beaming from the left side of the piece.
Danielle Scott’s, Kinfolk, really tells a story and history of African Americans in America. Like Susan Sontag, “to collect photographs is to collect the world” Scott has delivered and uncovered a piece of American history to the open public. She really took these images and utilized them as a way to inform the public about this part of American history that continues to be swept under the rug. “But print seems a less treacherous form of leaching out the world, of turning it into a mental object, than photographic images, which now provide most of the knowledge people have about the look of the past and the reach of the present” (Susan Sontag).
I felt like Scott’s work was a unique manner in which to inform about the past so that these horrendous mistakes won’t be duplicated again. I also respect the fact that she conveys these atrocious and violent acts are acknowledged in a manner without depicting any gore. “Photographs, which package the world, seem to invite packaging. They are stuck in albums, framed and set on tables, tacked on walls, projected as slides. Newspapers and magazines feature them; cops alphabetize them; museums exhibit them; publishers compile them.” (Susan Sontag). The message is clear and without any restrictions; expressed thoroughly within her exhibit.
Cindy Sherman
The Cindy Sherman Effect by Phoebe Hoban for ArtNews - 2 Quotes
“The art world was ready for something new, something beyond painting. A group of mostly women happened to be the ones to sort of take that on, partly because they felt excluded from the rest of the [male] art world, and thought, ‘Nobody is playing with photography. Let’s take that as our tool.”
This reminds me of a few female pottery artists and how they dominated the trade by taking over pottery as their art form. I can see that with Cindy Sherman, females dominated the photography trade.
“I still like the idea of challenging myself through the more hands-on methods, only because I think it’s more challenging when you are limited,”
Cindy Sherman stated this in regard to modern uses of photography (i.e photoshop) and I respected this idea because it causes more imagination and time with her work.
New York Times | The Ugly Beauty of Cindy Sherman - 2 Quotes
John Waters has called her a “female female impersonator.” She has put it more simply, joking, “I collect breasts,” referring to the prosthetics she uses in her work
I found this quote to be amusing and blunt. I enjoy her wit and found the phrase “female female impersonator” to be strange but really fit the style and criteria of her work.
But Sherman is vocal, even prickly, about one point. The photographs are not self-portraits, nor do they depict her fantasies. She uses herself because it’s simpler, she says. She can push herself harder than any model, and she can avoid small talk.
This kind of reminds me of Frida Khalo and her work, she mostly used herself as the main subject of her work because it’s the easiest model for art and easier to manipulate. From a painter’s perspective, I often do the same with my work whether its painting or photography.
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