"Roots and Resilience: Art for Change" at Ringling College

"Luis" by Kandy J. Lopez (2022)

My jaw might have actually dropped when I entered Ringling College's Stuhlberg Gallery. Hanging from the ceiling were two larger than life fiber paintings by Kandy J. Lopez. Another of her large scale works can be found on an adjacent wall. While you may not be familiar with Lopez, she's an artist whose work I've seen while gallery hopping in New York. (In fact, she has a big exhibit on there now at ACA Galleries.) Talk about statement pieces. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. 

To quote from the exhibit text, "Roots and Resilience is an exhibition grounded in social realism, highlighting the power of cultural storytelling...It affirms art as a powerful tool for resistance, remembrance and renewal." The show's theme plays out not only through works by artists like Lopez who are creating art today. Works by Faith Ringgold and Jacob Lawrence and other artists whose names have become part of the art history canon are also included in the exhibit. The icing on the cake is that the exhibit was put together soup to nuts by students in Ringling's Exhibition and Management course taught by Director and Chief Curator Tim Jaeger. Color me jealous. Now back to the art. 

"Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter
from Birmingham Jail" by Faith Ringgold (2007)

The exhibit contains a number of works by Ringgold, including some serigraphs from her series "Martin Luther King: Letter from Birmingham Jail." As you probably recall, MLK was jailed in Birmingham in 1963 following a non-violent protest against racism. His letter, which defended these protests as a means of fighting injustice, was addressed to eight white clergymen in the area. To see the entire series, click here. And for an excerpt from MLK's letter and some of Ringgold's thoughts on the series, click here. 

Ringgold's "And Women?" is a strong companion piece to the MLK serigraph. The work contains images of Abigail Adams and Sojourner Truth overlaid with the text of a letter Adams wrote and a speech Truth made, respectively. To see "And Women?," click here. 

Adams' letter was to her husband John and urges him to "remember the ladies" when drafting the Declaration of Independence. (As you probably recall, the Declaration includes as one of its "self-evident truths" that "all men and women are created equal." How that's played out is a topic to discuss another day.) For more on Adams' letter, click here.  

The Sojourner Truth text comes from her "Ain't I A Woman?" speech made in 1851 at the Ohio Women's Rights Conference. The catchphrase was adapted from the words "Am I not a man and a brother?" used by British abolitionists. To see actress Kerry Washington perform the speech, click here. (It runs three minutes.) And for more on Truth's speech, click here. 

From Kara Walker's "Freedom, A Fable" pop-up book (1997)

I was interested -- if a tiny bit frustrated -- by a bound volume of Kara Walker's "Freedom, A Fable: A Curious Interpretation of the Wit of a Negress in Troubled Times." The book features a series of laser-cut pop-up silhouettes created by Walker that illustrate the story of a formerly enslaved woman who still experiences racism. Freedom, it seems, is a fable. 

My frustration stemmed from the (understandable) fact that the book is under glass, so I was only able to see this page. The text reads, "Thinking her deed done she soundly settles into a deep meditation on the nature of her New World." The key word there seems to be "thinking," as the synopsis of the story makes it clear that this image isn't wholly representative of what's happening. To see the entire book, click here. I hope the pages will be turned over the course of the show.

Walker is known for her large-scale silhouettes of Black Victorian era figures. The subject matter of her work is not, however, what you would see if you watched "The Gilded Age." Instead, the viewer is confronted with depictions of violence, hyper-sexuality and racism. One of the most powerful -- and emotionally overwhelming -- exhibits I've ever experienced was Walker's "Cut to the Quick" at the Jacksonville Contemporary Museum of Art. To read about my visit to that exhibit, click here. And for more on Walker and her work, click here. 

These works are just a few examples of what you'll find in the "Roots and Resilience: Art for Change" show. Congratulations to Jaeger's students for putting together a powerful exhibit. The show runs through December 19th. It's one you won't want to miss.