The Roots of Ringgold’s Art
When you think of a painting, what do you see in your mind? A piece of canvas, painted and framed, hanging on a wall? That is probably what most people would think of. But artist Faith Ringgold makes paintings and other works of art by using materials in new ways.
Ringgold started experimenting with fabric in 1972, when she was teaching art at a college in New York City, U.S.A. At that time, Ringgold was insisting that museums show art by African American women. Much of this art was made of beads and fabric. Faith Ringgold encouraged her students to use beads and fabric in their art. So why, asked a student, did Ringgold always use canvas and paint in her own work?
The question made Ringgold wonder, too. After all, the women in her family had worked with fabric for almost 100 years. Her mother made a living by sewing and had taught Ringgold how to use a sewing machine.
But how could Ringgold mix fabric and painting? On a visit overseas, she discovered a way – tankas. These are cloth frames that Tibetans use for sacred paintings. Faith started framing her own paintings with tankas.
Next, Ringgold began making cloth sculptures. They looked like African masks. One such sculpture – Mrs. Jones and Family – shows Faith, her mother, Willi, her brother, Andrew, and her sister, Barbara, with their mouths wide open. The open mouths stand for the tradition of storytelling in Faith’s family.
Ringgold used quilting in her paintings in 1986. She used an African design – squares of four triangles – to make a quilted border around her painting Groovin’ High. She even quilted large squares onto the painted canvas.
Picture Credit : Google