As a reader, a lot of us prioritize what is the message that the author is trying to convey to us. It is a common thing to do as readers. As we continue to read a story, do we make connections to things we learned from our education or through our life experiences? The reason why I point this out is because that is one of the main reasons why we get interested in novels or articles. Poet Alice Walker can write a reflection on one’s story. What allows the reading, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Garden’ by Alice Walker, able to have great success is the fact that she acknowledges the history of African American Women and also acknowledges who one is as a person. Let me explain my statement. On page 5 Walker brings up how African American women are seen in society. As I read this section, the sentence that catches my attention the most has to be towards the end. In the reading, it states, “To be an artist and a black woman, even today, lowers our status in many respects, rather than raises it; and yet, artist we will be” (Walker Page 5). This quote is essential because it gives a summary of the struggles that black women face in society, however, this quote also shows strength and determination to stick to your identity. I enjoyed reading that part because I was able to make connections between that sentence with my personal life or a reading that I had read. Tragedy, self-love, and mental health play a big role in how we contribute to our days and play a factor in our future. The whole point of that quote is to give a reminder that we should not allow our struggles to take over, but rather conquer them.
As I continued reading, what caught my attention a lot was the history of her mother and the appreciation that she has for her. Walker brought up the lifestyle that her mother lived and it wasn’t pretty, to say the least. As she continued her quest to recognize the creativity that others do, she realized that her mother was an artist herself. Although she was not a painter, her mother was a garden designer and her work is a representation of creative expression. Other artists like Faith Ringgold and Bisa Butler share the same concept in showing their feelings. For example, the quilt, “Woman on a Bridge” by Faith Ringgold, is important because it represents an African American girl who is living in New York and can fly. The young girl has access to go to her rooftop and one night as she is lying down the stars lift her which is how she can fly. A quote from the quilt that stood out to me the most is when the girl says the following, “Only eight years old and in the third grade and I can fly. That means I am free to go wherever I want to for the rest of my life” (Ringgold). This example is significant because it represents power and liberty to the little girl. The quilt work setting is throughout the great depression. The representation that the artist is trying to convey is freedom. Street Story Quilt also shows the same theme but in a different story setting. The quilt work setting is in Harlem but in a building where it is divided between two characters who suffer through poverty and racism. As I was reading the iconic projects that Ringgold had produced, I remembered how her work shows how our country stands. Although the work had been produced a long time ago, the same message from the quilt work still stays the same. Throughout our history, an enduring issue that we always faced is inequality. As a society, we still fail to contribute to fixing this issue. “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” is stated in the Declaration of Independence. Everyone in this country has those rights and those rights were produced in 1776. The messages from Walker and Ringgold connect to this because in the end that is what they’re trying to fight for which is liberty.
Bisa Butler is an artist who can represent the identity of African Americans. Her work can express the culture in positive ways. Throughout her time at Howard University, her professor had spoken to her about how her work should be positive and she still sticks with that I believe that is important because it gives a better connection and narrative towards the audience. The work that she produced most people had told her that they’re able to feel the spirit of the people who are being represented in the quilt. It is crazy how one can think that or feel that in my opinion. These 3 individuals produced great ways to show their forms of expression toward African Americans.
Questions:
How is “In Search of Our Mothers Gardens” able to have a connection to African American History? What is the message that Alice Walker trying to convey?
Based on the quilt “Woman on a Bridge #1 of 5: Tar Beach” by Faith Ringgold, what is the representation that Ringgold trying to set up in her artwork? Based on the information that was given, what conclusion did you come up with and why?
Work Cited:
“Bisa Butler: Portraits | Exhibition Stories.” The Art Institute of Chicago, www.artic.edu/videos/44/bisa-butler-portraits-exhibition-stories. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.
“Bisa Butler: Portraits.” The Art Institute of Chicago, www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9324/bisa-butler-portraits.
“Faith Ringgold | Street Story Quilt.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/485416.
Spector, Nancy. “Woman on a Bridge #1 of 5: Tar Beach.” Guggenheim, www.guggenheim.org/artwork/3719.
“Walker_In Search Of.pdf.” Google Docs, drive.google.com/file/d/1ZZDHvHq-56H2zAbL4b7qsRoXPXRnEnWW/view. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.
Hi, Alex! This blog post is really well-written and super insightful! In response to your first question, I think Alice Walker’s “In Search of Our Mothers Gardens” has a connection relating to African American history because, in her writing, she draws attention to the parallels between the creative abilities and historical achievements of black African American women across generations. Walker draws attention to the injustices and oppression that many African American women experienced, particularly the inequalities that her mother and grandmothers endured. An example of this that particularly stuck out to me states, “guided by my heritage of a love of beauty and a respect for strength – in search of my mother’s garden, I found my own” (Walker 409). This line captures the idea of how African American women looked to the creativity and perseverance of earlier black women for motivation and inspiration. The garden, which was planted and cared for by earlier generations of black women, represents courage and progression in addition to creativity, perseverance and strength. The garden highlights the underappreciated struggles and abilities of black women throughout all of history. Gardens are beautiful, and take a tremendous amount of hard work, time, effort and patience to keep well maintained and beautiful, similar to the journey towards equality for black women. Equality, like the maintenance of a garden is not easy, but once the goal is reached, the beauty can easily be recognized and appreciated by all.
Hi Alex, I 100% agree that all three artists produced great ways to show their forms of expression towards African American culture. I think that Ringgold expresses that equality and social change in her artwork. One line that stood out to me the most was when Ringgold stated “ That Ringgold’s great-great-great-grandmother was a Southern slave who made quilts for plantation owners suggests a further, perhaps deeper, connection between her art and her family history.” (Ringgold Pg 2) This tells me that there are connections between art and history. Bisa Butler also talked about the history of her quilts when designing and how I quote “ All the pieces are life size because I want it to feel like they are physically here”.The people she drew never got the chance to see their pictures and never got the opportunity to be a witness as to what that picture will hold.Faith Ringgold also was a feminist who is trying to embrace the potential for social change when it comes to women and people of color being represented in museums and showing their work. I can conclude that all 3 artists showed representation when it came down to women of color showing history and stories through their art, they wanted to show creativity and power through art not just black and white but through bright colors.
Hi Alex! I really enjoyed reading your blog post and I believe you made some very good statements about the artists we have read about. To answer your first question, “How is ‘In Search of our Mothers Gardens’ able to have a connection to African American History? What is the message that Alice Walker is trying to convey?”, I believe there is so much to be said. The story connects to parts of history in a way that Black women did not have a permanent place in society, in a way, that although they were artists, many did not realize or express it. Walker relates her stance on this to Phillis Wheatley, who as we know is an important historical figure. She was a slave but also a writer. She knew little to nothing about her family, yet she turned her story into a narrative. I think an important part of the story was when Walker stated, “Only recently did I fully realize this: that through years of listening to my mother’s stories of her life, I have absorbed not only the stories themselves, but something of the manner in which she spoke, something of the urgency that involves the knowledge that her stories-like her life-must be recorded.” (7). This helps to push the point that although these women conformed to society, they were still artists themselves. Everyone has a story, but not all are shared until too much time has passed. The message that Alice Walker is trying to convey, in my opinion, is that Black women, past and present, were all artists. Whether you learned it yourself, or from others that have passed down their stories. These women spent a lifetime trying to discover who they truly were, what their purpose was, but ultimately it was not discovered until after they had passed, and others brought their art to life.
Hi Alex,
I really enjoyed your deep analysis on the artist and how we see them in ourselves. Your strategy of seeing ourselves within the art reminds of the windows and mirrors theory where we like to see art that reflects our lives and culture, but we also need to look to our windows and look sat our people’s cultures and history to understand them and understand the reasoning why they do and feel the way they do. To answer your first question, the first thing I noticed in the quilt was the little girl that’s flying and how she looks a lot like the little girl lying down on the rooftop and thought to myself, is that the same girl? After reading more it was concluded that it is. It’s her achieving her dreams I thought of flying. No, it goes deeper than that. It’s her going beyond the limitations that society puts her in. The limitations of a black woman in a world run by white men. I also started thinking more of why did she have to include what I’m guessing is her family in the quilt? In the article is explains how she added her own cultural history. It says, “The naive, folk-art quality of the quilts is part of Ringgold’s scheme to emphasize narrative over style, to convey information rather than to dazzle with elaborate technique.” (Spector) I also noticed that she also wanted to show that the rooftop is her home and the space where she feels safe to dream those big dreams. With her family she can be herself and not be looked at as the little black girl but as the black girl who wants to do more than what society wants her to. She’s literally reaching for the stars and breaking barriers.
Hi Alex, I enjoyed reading your blog post! It was very interesting the way you brought out the idea of deeply reading, and how easy it is to skim over texts and not make useful connections. You are right in saying that a big part of Alice Walker’s work is dedicated to authenticity and keeping true to one’s identity. But I believe another very crucial aspect of her work, and many African Americans work, is to highlight the need for liberty for all. Specifically in “Woman on a Bridge #1 of 5: Tar Beach” by Faith Ringgold, the theme of freedom is embedded in the art piece. The quilt depicts the image of an African American family enjoying a ‘tar beach’ on the rooftop of a building located in Harlem, a known hub for African American culture. Above is a young girl soaring across the night sky, a peaceful scene of freedom. In flight, the girl exclaims “I am free to go wherever I want to for the rest of my life.” (Spector) The girl, hidden in the secrecy and invisibility of the night sky is free to go where she pleases and expressing herself and her curiosity. However, it is done so in the dark evening sky, a place where she can blend in and not be seen, a place where she can only be free under circumstance.
I think it is important to mention the art form itself being a quilt. A quilt itself is made up of many small, different pieces put together to create one large beautiful piece of art. This alludes to the idea of ones individual identity, and the freedom one carries as their own person. I think Ringgold’s piece is a beautiful work of art that does deserve to be placed in a museum for all to see.
Hi Alex- I really enjoyed the point you made about the quilt “Woman on a bridge” about how freedom is conveyed to the little girl. The representation i see in the artwork reflects a similar feeling that you see in the artwork. The quilt is through the eyes of an 8 year old girl, showing a hopeful family portrait of her having the freedom to fly the skies as her family enjoys a view of the Washington bridge as they eat. There is a free spirit to the depiction of each character on the quilt, a black family achieving the american dream, although not in the stereotypical white picket fence way. To have this american dream is to have freedom in a way, as shown by Cassie flying around her family. This is even adressed in the text under the quilt as it explains “For Ringgold, this phantasmic flight through the urban night sky symbolizes the potential for freedom and self-possession.” (Spector). The ability to have control of yourself and be able to do what you like not only is the textbook definition of freedom but also allows freedom of the mind, as one is not confined by anything. To achieve the american dream is freedom, which is not a new statement but it also allows freedom of the mind and spirit.