Gallery Response Essay - Nicolette Capua

 

Orange Leaves Sister, Ellis-Williams, 2020

          

Fight the Power Sister, Ellis-Williams, 2020

       The first image I chose was called “Orange Leaves Sister” by Ellis-Williams. This image is the sculpture of an African American woman's body from the chest up. We do not see any features of this woman. Over her body and around the whole image we see tree stems with orange leaves. Throughout the image, the leaves are spread out but on top of her head and hair the leaves are scrunched together. There is a yellow light trying to shine through these leaves on her head. The message I interpreted from visiting this work was that, through the beautiful bright color orange, we see this woman's beauty as well as her power she tries to hold onto. The yellow light shining through the top of her head could be representing the sun and hope that this woman will take her freedom and power back for good. Her whole body is not completely covered by all the leaves yet so this could mean that she is still feeling the pain and is exhausted from the “burn.” However, little by little, she is gaining her identity back and will heal. When she is fully covered by the leaves, this could mean she is finally free from the pain she has expressed for many years.

    The messages this work conveys to its audience about identity, power, race, gender and social justice is that this woman was “burned” by the loss of social justice she's received, tortured by the gender norms she had to follow, and had little power to stand up for herself in society to just then be pushed away and silenced. This image shows the growth this woman has achieved by fighting for her rights and herself as a woman.

    These personal narratives raise larger questions and raise awareness about race, justice and history by showing these women and their stories to the world so everyone can see what they have really gone through and experiences they had first hand. Through Williams' work she expresses beauty, pain, loss, gain, light, and darkness all together. Her work tells years of stories that can influence others to take a stand and speak up or engage in helping others who feel like they connect to these women’s stories in the images.

    The second image I chose was called “Fight the Power Sister” by Ellis-Williams. This image is the same sculpture of the women’s body from the chest up. In this image, there are baby blue colors over her body as well as a few red, yellow, orange, and green lines. There is a fence behind the colors on her head. The background of the image is faded light blue and white. The fence is also faded behind her in the background. The message I interpreted from visiting this work was the changing of this woman's “burn.” She is starting to gain her independence back, slowly shown by the red, orange, green, and yellow colors shining through her body. This woman is starting to face her fears and accept challenges she would have never done before. Although the “burn” has slowed her down she will never give up. The faded fence in the back represents how she feels trapped, not wanted, and unloved.

    This work conveys several messages to its audience about identity, power, race, gender and social justice. This piece is showing how black women as well as every woman have to struggle for acceptance of their gender. This image provides the message of how particularly black women experience racist commentary in everyday life and have to deal with it to the best of their ability. This leaves these women with trauma and depression. This image is also showing how not every woman's “burn” is the same. Everyone experiences different situations in their life that leave them with unique “burns” so they are not all the same.

   These personal narratives raise larger questions and raise awareness about race, justice, and history by illustrating this woman's sculpture of her body hidden by darkness and spots of color that show her healing phase. This personal narrative demonstrates how not everyone has the same pain or the same story. We need to be open to hearing these women's stories and helping them heal some of the damage the “burn” has caused.

    I believe both these images are activist because they represent a political and social change to these women's lives. These images demonstrate the growth from the “burn” they have experienced and how they are overcoming it over time. Black women have struggled for years upon years searching for acceptance as a woman and for their skin color. Every woman has their own experiences representing different “burns”, but at the end of the day these “burns” have left scars and they are ready for a change to finally come. These narratives from Ellis-Willams artwork have brought in captivating messages for everyone to internalize and take action on.

 Taking Back Power, Nicolette Capua, 2022

       This image is showing a women turned away from all of the negativity in society and the struggle she has to take on everyday. By turning back around, the woman depicted in the image is showing confidence in her ability to handle the adversities of everyday life. This shows her starting to stand up for herself as she takes her power back. The "burns" she has experienced will not take her down as she slowly gains her freedom and voice back. 

The Photographed, Collaged, and Painted Muses of Mickalene Thomas

By Carey Dunne

Quote 1- “By portraying real women with their own unique history, beauty and background, I’m working to diversify the representations of black women in art” (Dunne 2).

   This quote connects to both artworks I chose because it represents black women in an empowering but also emotional way. These images express the women's beauty but also shows the pain she has gone through and the hurt she keeps inside. Just like in Mickalene Thomas' work, she likes to express all of her models' individual stories. Similar to Thomas, Ellis-Williams created her images based on her own story as well as other women's stories on expressing the “burn” in their lives.

Ways of Seeing

by John Berger

Quote 2- “The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe” (Berger 8).

    This quote illustrates and connects to both Ellis-Williams artwork I chose because it is explaining how everyone can see the same image but think of it in a different way because of the unique individual experiences we have all gone through. I see both these images as the beauty one has but also the pain and anger hidden inside oneself.

The Art of Self Invention

by Finkelstein

Quote 3- “Anges knew she was not as she outwardly appeared, but she also knew that most people trusted appearances - thus all she needed to do was to perform successfully as a girl to become a girl” (Finkelstein 56).

     Appearance is something we all trust right away. Although someone can appear to be happy and full of life, inside they feel broken down and weak. Just like in both images I picked, in one image the colors are brighter and exciting but still show her rage and anger. In the other image I chose, the colors are dark but there are still splashes of bright colors on it that could be expressing the little bit of hope and power she has left.