Re-Contextualizing Black Imagery Through Art History
2020
Jayln Giles-Ewell
Re-Contextualizing Black Imagery Through Art History transforms iconic art historical paintings in a way that exemplifies Black representation. This exhibition calls awareness to the lack of Black presence in art historical works, re-contextualizing the way Black people are seen within art while simultaneously educating the viewer from a Black woman’s perspective.
The Girl With Hoop Earring, 2020, 8"x11"
Olympia, Remastered, 2020, 24"x16"
Portrait of Madame T, 2020, 16"x28"
“Remade in Our Image (2017, 2020)”
Digitally Manipulated Prints, shot on Canon EOS 70D.
“Remade in Our Image” is a modernized take on three iconic, classic portraits with female subjects. The idea for this piece was originally shot in 2017, and revisited this year. The purpose of these works is to recreate classic paintings with Black women as the subjects in order to jab at the fact that Black women were rarely represented in artwork back then, let alone in a positive or constructive light. The three images included are references to Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665)”, John Singer Sargent’s, “Portrait of Madame X (1883–1884)”, and Edouard Manet’s, “Olympia (1863)”. The works serve to challenge the viewer to reimagine the original in a more relatable sense, from the point of view of a Black woman as the subject.
“Earth-Toned Venus (2019-2020)”
Chalk pastels on cardboard, Burlap, Canvas, and Assorted Mixed Media, (40 x 72 in).
“Earth-Toned Venus” is an interpretation of
Botticelli’s, “Birth of Venus”. Many of the materials used were recycled or found, such as cardboard, burlap fabric, canvas, and even various food products. Black Venus includes a subtle commentary on the sexualization and fetishization of Black women in the media. The usage of chocolate and chocolate kisses as nipples is a direct correlation to how Black women are constantly objectified and described by foods, more specifically, chocolate. Venus’s golden locks are replaced with box braids, and her hands adorned with long nails. She stands at around 6 feet tall.
“Ophelia (2020)”
Oil on Canvas, 30 x 40 in.
“Ophelia” is a modernized take on the John Everett Millais painting, created in 1852. There’s a distinct feeling of sadness within a placid environment. In the original painting,there’s almost an acceptance of stagnation. In this painting, the artist decided to channel her own melancholy into the painting, reflecting on overthinking one night while taking a bath.