Artist: Bisa Butler
Location: Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY
Dates: March 15, 2020 – October 4, 2020
Bisa Butler (@bisabutler) is known in the art world for two things–a strong focus on Black identity and her signature quilted murals. With cotton as her canvas, silk, lace, chiffon and other decorative elements, Bisa created the stunning, family-inspired artwork featured in Portraits–her very first exhibition at Katonah Museum of Art.
To God and Truth
To God and Truth is a printed cotton quilt based on an image of the 1899 baseball team at Morris Brown – the first educational system created exclusively for African-Americans in the state of Georgia. Of all 10 people in the photo, my eyes go directly to the little waterboy sitting on the lap of one of the men to the right.
The Safety Patrol
The Safety Patrol depicts a stylish young Safety Patrol Officer guiding his classmates to safety. His arms are stretched across the crowd behind him and his sleeves bare cross-hatch x marks. The young man wears a variety of patterns from head to toe and is sporting the eye of Providence, a variation of the Egyptian symbol for the eye of Horus (all-seeing eye).
Francis and Violette (Grandparents)
While creating Portraits, Bisa Butler used her own family as inspiration. Francis and Violette is a floral decorated painting centered around a photo of her maternal grandparents during their wedding.
Broom Jumpers
Broom Jumpers is an intricate photo named after customary marriage traditions practiced by enslaved Africans in America’s deep south. But instead of a white veil or bouquet, the bride wears a brimmed straw hat and carries a hibiscus-decorated purse.
Anaya With Oranges
The theme of family-inspired murals continues in the Portraits exhibition with Anaya With Oranges. It is a depiction of her goddaughter, Anaya, whose personality is sassy and vibrant, just like this colorful quilt.
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Butler’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings quilt was inspired by an image of four African-American women sitting on the steps of Atlantan College in 1900. This image is an aspirational depiction of education unlocking status, class and wealth for African-American women.
“It is no accident that Michelle Obama, our most highly-educated first lady, walked in these young women’s footsteps.”
– Bisa Butler
Survivor
Survivor is one of my personal favorites from Portraits. The bright yellow background eludes a feeling of hope, despite these Pokot girls of Kenya consoling their young women in the middle after undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM). The white handprint on her chest is symbolic of the idea of surrendering the need to continue this painful cultural practice.
Dear Mama
When her stepmother passed away in 2019, Bisa Butler aimed to honor her with Dear Mama. Bisa considers this quilt to be a love letter to all mothers, as it depicts a deep-hued African-American mother standing over her child and handwritten lyrics to Tupac’s song, “Dear Mama” in the back.
The Tea
The Tea is a double entendre, based on a 1941 photograph of women standing outside of the Edmund’s Episcopal Church in the South Side of Chicago on Easter Sunday. Based on their clothing, we can tell they are middle-class women who are being depicted spilling the tea or gossiping – a term that is still culturally significant today.
Les Sapeurs
Have you heard of Les Sapeurs, or the “Society of Tastemakers”? This cotton and silk mural tells the story of a group of stylish men from the cities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, who have developed a taste for luxurious European clothing from their French and Belgium colonizers. These colonizers often paid their servants in clothing and believed that secondhand clothing from Europe can help civilize the Congolesian people.
Kindred
Kindred aims to highlight the strength of the African-American family. They are a working-class family and the father has his arms wrapped around his girls and sports bags under his eye, indicating he works long hours in a factory to provide for them. The mother is wrapped in a pink apron decorated by lemons, symbolizing her femininity and is also a nod to Beyonce’s Lemonade album.
Black Star Family
Portraits uses culturally Black elements as a form of symbolism and draws inspiration from Butler’s own family, but with a vibrant splash of imagination. Black Star Family incorporates the colors of the Ghanaian flag on the clothing of this wealthy family from the early 20th century who is preparing for a first-class pilgrimage to Libera. If you take a closer look at the father’s blazer, you’ll see images stitched in of Nelson Mandela, South African’s first Black President.
The Equestrian
Inspired by a photo of Selika Lazevski, a Black-Parisian horsewoman, The Equestrian depicts her as a regal, well-traveled woman standing in front of the Taj Mahal.
Southside Sunday Morning
Southside Sunday Morning depicts five young Black men from Southside Chicago who are dressed to the nines during Easter Sunday of 1941. It was inspired by a photograph by Russell Lee, which can be seen right in the hallway of the Portraits exhibition.
Four Little Girls
Four Little Girls, September 15,1963, looks like an innocent photo of four young children, but it’s way more sinister than meets the eye. These are the faces of young Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Carol Denise McNair, who were killed in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, by the Klu Klux Clan.
Watch the Video
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