Artists in their studios: Selma Hortense Burke to Lorna Simpson

Earlier this year the artist Lorna Simpson gave a video tour of her new studio in Brooklyn. It was white, bright and expansive. When Simpson appeared on the screen to speak about the space, she exuded the calm and certitude one expects from an artist of her magnitude. The video was created for an exhibit of the work of British architect David Adjaye. The tour also functioned as a phenomenal display of fortitude and presence. Black women artists like Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker, and Mickalene Thomas are esteemed in the Art world, but the portrait of the artist in the studio is still overwhelmingly that of a white man.

The portrait of the artist in the studio is a meaningful image. In The New Yorker, Lilly Lampe articulates its power. "The studios of famous artists are fascinating for the double insight they provide us: on the one hand, a view of the creative process; on the other, a view of the creative life." The artist in the studio also provides a view of what is possible.

Simpson's studio tour inspired me to find pictures and videos of black women artists ensconced in their creative workplaces. In some of the photographs the artists are in the midst of creation; in others they are posed next to or in front of a completed piece. There is a sense of pride and accomplishment in the photos. Seeing those artists in the realms of their creation is a reminder of the audacious feat of black American women making art and claiming the professional title of 'artist'. In an interview with Charles H. Rowell of Callaloo, Lois Mailou Jones spoke about the struggles of being a black woman artist in the mid-20th century. "I owed very much to my white friend Céline who would take my paintings to the juries. They never knew that the artist was black. That was very much in my favor. It's been a very unusual career. I would also send or ship my work to the Philadelphia Academy or to the National Academy of Design. Invariably, the works would be hung, and they would never know that the artist was black. I remember going to the Philadelphia Academy to see one of my paintings which had been accepted. While I stood there looking at it, the guard saw me looking at the painting and said, "I guess you like art, don't you?" I said to myself that he doesn't know that the painting is mine hanging there. [Much laughter.] And so that's how it was way back in those early days; I was exhibiting at all of the big museums, but they never knew that I was black because I either shipped my works or had a white person deliver them. Now you see how difficult it was."

Lois Mailou Jones was not alone in being erased from her own work. Sister Rosetta, the mother of Rock and Roll is little known beyond music aficionados and students of African-American history. It is important for black women artists to be seen and acknowledged. Once they are seen, their creative output can be recognized as vital, skillful, and beautiful without qualification. The portrait of the black woman artist in her studio is a statement of being in a world comfortable erasing her from the historical record. 

Selma Hortense Burke
Sculptor

 

Augusta Savage
Sculptor

Elizabeth Catlett
Printmaker and Sculptor

 

Dr. Samella Lewis
Painter and Printmaker

Interview with Dr. Lewis begins at :22 seconds

  

 

Lois Mailou Jones

Painter

 

 

 

 

Faith Rinngold

Painter, Sculptor, Perfomance Artist

 

 

  

 

Betye Saar

Painter, Multimedia and Installation Artist

 

 

 

 

Kara Walker

Mixed-media, Sculptor, Painter, Video and Silhouette Artist

 

 

  

 

Mickalene Thomas

Painter

 

 

Lorna Simpson

Photographer

 

Commence to act bravely: Mellody Hobson's advice to USC's 2015 graduating class

 

“The one thing I could do is outwork them and I actually did.”- Mellody Hobson

Mellody Hobson’s commencement address to USC’s 2015 graduating class was both pragmatic and inspirational. She delivered a message about the importance of diversity and tolerance in the spirit of community and personal responsibility. It would have been easy and expected for her speech to focus on practical advice for future captains of industry. Instead, she challenged the graduates who will likely achieve positions of power in their careers to recognize that they are part of a larger dynamic community. Hobson used her platform to encourage the graduates to expand their worldview. “It’s so easy to get trapped in a self-selected subset of humanity. Yes it feels comfortable, but it is also extraordinarily confining. There is a whole world out there, why limit yourselves. … Do more than just accept diversity, seek out diversity. I promise it will make you more interesting, more understanding and basically smarter. And here’s another benefit, when you have the courage to expand your world, you expand the entire world. Because tolerance scales. Person by person we can end stereotypes and remove barriers to opportunity. Although this change begins with awareness, it actually does not end there. We need action.”

To urge presumably well-educated young people in the 21st century to seek out people different from themselves reveals a sad truth. Americans live, work and relax in a segregated society. This is the land of opportunity where everyone does not have equal access to opportunity. By acknowledging the discrepancies between lauded civic ideals and reality, Ms. Hobson created the space for graduates to think about how they perceive themselves and the people who they presume may not be like them. “Just as I told you that you can do or be anything, I want you to believe that that’s true for anyone and everyone.” That statement is one of the most powerful in the address because it acknowledges the unconscious bias that has unintended negative effects on the lives of so many people.

For graduates to achieve personal or professional success Hobson called on them to be conscious of their conduct. “I urge you to participate fully not in a cocky or smug way, but with confidence and humility. Be willing to speak up and stand out,” Hobson said. She then changed the tone of the message, “I know first-hand this can be very hard at times for women and minorities who are desperate to fit in. I’ve seen a lot of women hang back and say, “tell me who you want me to be and I’ll be it.” Instead a better attitude really is: this is who I am and I have value and I hope that you like it, but if you don’t, this is who I am.” Hobson's call to the graduates to expand their sense of community and to be authentic in their interactions required a context she framed as “just add bravery.” The phrase on its face has the feel of an empty, feel-good platitude. What does it mean to “just add bravery?” For Hobson it means to take decisive action to achieve a goal. Hobson knows bravery pays off. She is the chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation, CEO of Ariel Investments, and a director on the corporate boards of Estee Lauder and Starbucks. Hobson is also one of six children of a single mother. She described the ethos of “just add bravery” in three equations:

Equation #1: Hard work plus bravery equals success.

Equation #2: Imagination plus bravery equals creativity.

Equation #3: Love plus bravery equals happiness.

If the graduates take one thing from Hobson’s address they would be wise to remember ‘just add bravery.’