Reclamation and Representation of Images

I would like to draw attention to a pair of well-known African American artists who use derogatory images in their artwork in order to negotiate Black identity in light of a troubled past. (It should be noted at this point that these artists are separated by a generation and I am not sure if they have exhibited together. Furthermore I do not mean to suggest any sort of direct connection between them…but their images do seem to work together in many ways).

The first artist, Betye Saar (1926-present), works with mixed media assemblages that infuse provocative (stereotypical) images of Black-ness with a political and social awareness. Her touchstone piece is “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima” which was made during the heat of the Black Panther movement (1972). In this image, Saar sets her Southern Mamie figure on a mound of cotton and arms her with a rifle and a black power fist. The image is incredibly powerful and works on multiple levels.

The other artist is Michael Ray Charles (1967-present) digs into the American sub-conscious and “draws comparisons between Sambo, Mammy, and minstrel images of an earlier era and contemporary mass-media portrayals of black youths, celebrities, and athletes.” His work reminds me of the Spike Lee film “Bamboozled” which we talked about in class. Here is an example of his work

These images are not without controversy. Art critics, museum patrons, and many other people outside the art world have found work of Saar and Charles to be upsetting. Others have questioned the artists’ Blackness or have prevented them from showing in some gallery spaces. The work is paradoxical. As Michael Ray Charles himself says, “there is a fine line between perpetuating something and questioning something.”

So with that, I hope that you will be interested in further discussing whether (or to what degree) these artists are reinforcing (by reproducing) negative stereotypes or giving form to new spaces of empowerment.