Spending countless hours in her home dining room, Butler takes care of her subjects. Not only do Butler’s portraits feature important figures in African American history, but they also portray unknown subjects, as she feels an obligation to share a wide spectrum of stories. Butler tells their stories through intricate stitching and color palettes, her artwork “gives life” to the subjects she represents. The quilt portraits themselves were inspired by photographs of African American families and individuals. In doing so, she both literally and figuratively turns perceived weakness into power by debunking the stereotypes of marginalized groups-primarily women and African Americans-through her art. Butler uses quilting, stereotypical “women’s work,” to portray African American stories that otherwise may have been forgotten. Using materials that African Americans, including enslaved persons, historically quilted to keep warm, her artwork harkens back to complex and deep roots.
Quilts and fabric have been part of Butler’s life ever since her mother and grandmother taught her to sew at a young age. Butler uses her art as a means of connection to her family and African American heritage. The hot new artist, Bisa Butler, is a New Jersey native, Howard graduate, and now a well-accomplished artist known for her unique work with textiles.
The snippets on the wall alongside each piece further sparked my curiosity about both the artist and her unconventional style. Leave it to the Obamas to expand my worldview! Allured by the vivid colors and plush textures, I had to learn more. Still, I found myself lost in a different exhibit entirely-the Bisa Butler exhibit. My mom was specifically interested in showing me the much-advertised Obama portraits admittedly, they were extraordinary. However, my mom pleaded with me to go and become more “cultured.” Consequently, my friends and I begrudgingly visited the museum. This segment aired on May 16, 2023.As a typical 14-year-old girl, I was strongly opposed to the idea of wasting the final precious hours of my summer days going to the Art Institute of Chicago. Courtesy of Bisa Butler and Jeffrey Deitch, New York) Courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch, New York) by Bisa Butler. (Courtesy of Bisa Butler) Installation views of "Bisa Butler: The World Is Yours" at Jeffrey Deitch, New York, 2023. Courtesy of Bisa Butler and Jeffrey Deitch, New York) The Storm, the Whirlwind, and the Earthquake. Courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch, New York) "Colored Entrance" (after Department Store, Mobile, Alabama by Gordon Parks, 1956) (Photo by Genevieve Hanson. (Courtesy of Lee Stalsworth) Installation views of "Bisa Butler: The World Is Yours" at Jeffrey Deitch, New York, 2023.
“When I create a portrait, I'm unknowingly at first creating a portrait of the diaspora,” Butler says, “but originally was a portrait using fabrics from my life.” "Don’t Tread On Me, God Damn, Let’s Go!- The Harlem Hellfighters" by Bisa Butler. The other side of her family dressed up in woven African print and Dutch-African wax fabrics. Growing up in Louisiana, she saw women go out in silk, satin and lace, while men wore suits made from gabardine or fine wool. Her mother was from New Orleans and her father was from Ghana. She layers electric colored kente cloth and other African fabrics on top of one another to remake old black-and-white photos into technicolor mosaics.īutler describes her work as sewing the Black diaspora together within a quilt. Her quilts have been exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the Smithsonian - her new exhibit up now at the Jeffrey Deitch Gallery in New York is called " The World is Yours."Īt her art studio in South Orange, New Jersey, Butler creates larger-than-life images out of scraps of cloth. She transforms the traditional craft of quilting into a mosaic of fabric to create portraits of Black American history. Hear this interview on our podcast, Here & Now Anytime.Īrtist Bisa Butler creates vibrant portraits with needle and thread, weaving culture, art and history into electrifying quilts.īutler’s pieces meld old and new, past and future, history and hope. Facebook Email "3ft High And Rising" by Bisa Butler.
0 kommentar(er)
