Faith Ringgold's Story Quilts Get to the Heart of Being Human
Through her creative lives as author, illustrator, painter, quilter, sculptor, and activist, Ringgold spoke to the urgency and vulnerability of life.
Faith Ringgold’s words have rhythm. They jaunt through her stories, printed on pages and quilts, their bright, succinct language as engaging as their visual counterparts. The late artist was a storyteller and visual artist in equal measure — her knack for prose and her herculean visual skills go hand in hand. She utilized craft to experiment with form, medium, and message, challenging the parameters of fine art, demanding equal attention for her textiles and her striking canvases.
Faith Ringgold, "Coming to Jones Road #2: Sunday Evening on Jones Road" (1999), acrylic on quilted fabric (all photos Jasmine Weber/Hyperallergic, unless otherwise noted)I was first introduced to Ringgold as a girl, through her children’s books. Cozied into library nooks, I read Tar Beach (1991), her tale of a Harlem girl dreaming of flight. Years later, her work can conjure in me similar feelings of joy, which re-emerged this November when I saw her current exhibition at Jack Shainman Gallery. Her story quilts and prints drew me in, featuring poems and stories that resurfaced the nostalgic sensation of appreciating history and learning through art, again awed by Ringgold’s aptitude for braiding the visual and narrative arts.