![]() The work was acquired by Glenstone in Potomac, Maryland. She began quilting so that "when my quilts were hung up to look at, or photographed for a book, people could still read my stories." Ringgold has said she began making these narrative quilts with extensive text after being unable to find a publisher that would accept her autobiography. The work was first shown at Ringgold's solo exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem in 1984 and is the first of her extensive portfolio of story quilts, though not her first work of quilt art. The story of Jemima Blakey's life as a business owner, independent thinker, and strong matriarch is in distinct contrast to the Aunt Jemima character, "the most maligned Black female stereotype." The text includes numerous references to the various figures painted in the work, 15 of which are labeled with letters and names to correspond with characters from the story. ![]() ![]() Ringgold based the story on the lives of her aunts and named the character after the blackface minstrel show character and longtime pancake syrup brand mascot Aunt Jemima. The text in the work tells the life story of a fictional Black woman from New Orleans named Jemima Blakey and her descendants and their families. 28 panels contain paintings of people, 18 panels contain designs of patterned fabric, and 10 panels contain text, including the center panel which contains the title of the work. Who's Afraid of Aunt Jemima? is a quilt work made with acrylic paint and consists of 56 square panels, bordered by patterned fabric. Named for the Edward Albee play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the character Aunt Jemima, the work is Ringgold's first story quilt and marks the early stages of the artist's shift from oil painting to quilting. Who's Afraid of Aunt Jemima? is an acrylic on canvas narrative quilt made by American artist Faith Ringgold in 1983. Who's Afraid of Aunt Jemima? at the National Gallery of Art's showing of Afro-Atlantic Histories in 2022īlack Arts Movement, Black feminism, Feminist art
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