Faith Ringgold Analysis
While Faith Ringgold has had a long and successful career, the most exciting and powerful works of art she has created were the works of the nineteen-sixties. These works illustrate such passion and raw truth of the situation she and all of the African American people of the U.S. were facing during those turbulent times. These works of art truly show the growing divide between the American dream and the reality of life for many people. Faith used her artwork to tell the world her views on the political movements of the time, and to also express her disapproval of violent protests that were happening. Ringgold believed that the rights of everyone could only be attained through the unification of all people at a basic undeniable level. The
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American People series she created from nineteen sixty-three to sixty-seven were her first political paintings. These paintings were meant to confound the ways in which she was taught to paint. Instead of looking to Greece for inspiration as she was taught, she instead looked toward Africa. Her influences on the American People series were cubism and African art, a first and large step away from her schooling that she recently completed. She used bold flat colors and abstracted forms to create her own unique style. The goal of the series was to paint a true picture of American Society and she accomplished this by "alluding to social movements that criticized specific aspects of the U.S. government policy and attempted to bring about change in the establishment."(Great Women Masters of Art p.438) While many people of the times were protesting these same issues Ringgold used her art to peacefully protest, and to illustrate her criticism for violent protests that occurred. According to Ringgold, "violent protest threatens the very existence of the country."(Great Women Masters p.439) One work from this series that clearly demonstrates her ideas is, The Flag is Bleeding. This was the eighteenth painting in the series and is thought to be one of the most powerful. The painting illustrates three people set within an American flag, a white man, an African American man, with a white woman in the middle. She chose these three figures to "symbolize the primary social demands of the day."(Great Women Masters of Art p.439) This was important because it shows that she understood that there were many people of all types that were unified in the struggle of the equal rights and feminism movements that were very important not only to the people involved, but the entire country and society. The African American man in the painting has one hand to his bleeding heart, and a knife is held in his other hand.
This is a crucial message that Ringgold was trying to show the world. "The hand to the man's heart could symbolize his loyalty and devotion to his country, while the knife can be interpreted as his fight for freedom in this country that he cares so much for." "This double sided attitude of a single person representing the black community becomes both a denunciation and the artist's criticism of violent activism."(Great Women Masters of Art p. 439) One could speculate that this painting was also referencing the African American men fighting and dying in Vietnam, protecting the rights of the South Korean people and defending their country, while they weren't allowed the rights they deserved back home. She also possibly was sending a message to the more violent groups of the times such as the Black Panthers, that unity, opposed to violence would be the best way to accomplish their common goals. This very strong statement to the world was purposely simple in its design in order to make her painting more accessible to people, and to hopefully allow any person that looked at it understand the true meaning of her
message. Another work in the American People series that reveals her message of accomplishment through non- violent means quite clearly is, Die. Done in the summer of nineteen sixty-seven, the twelve foot wide mural depicting a street riot is a chaotic scene of African American and white men, women, and children. There are both African American and white men armed with guns and knives, fighting to the death. This is an exaggerated, but representational view of the racial battle between the African American and white men. "In these canvases the women play a pacifying role in the racial battle between black and white men."(The Expanding Discourse- Feminism and Art History p.469) Both the African American and white women are frantically struggling against the men to reach the children and protect them from harm. There are two children in the bottom center of the painting, a white boy and an African American girl. They are hugging each other and look desperately scared and traumatized. They are surrounded by two slain men, one African American and one white, with a white and African American woman doing all they can to reach them. The white woman looks as though she is almost jumping in front of a gun, in order for both children to be saved. There is another white woman handing an already rescued child off to an unseen African American. This unanimous effort by all the women involved shows that while the men fight over the political rights of African Americans, they are endangering their children, wives, and themselves with these thoughts of violence as a means of political protest and influencing the next generation in terrible ways. The unification of the women may also represent their common fight for rights that is ignored by the men too busy with their own battles. A work that brings her idea of unification very clearly to the viewer is the, American Dream. The painting done in nineteen sixty-four depicts a woman admiring a large diamond ring. The woman is shadowed in a way for the viewer to perceive her as both African American and white. The idea behind the work is to bring anyone seeing the painting together by symbolizing a common aspiration for all people. This work could also be seen as "a beacon for disenfranchised peoples clamoring for their fulfillment of the American Dream."(The Expanding Discourse Feminism and Art History p.471) The theme of unification between the African American and white middle class can be looked at deeper to also include the unity within the classes of African American society. (Expanding Discourse Feminism and Art History p.471) Although there were and still are great distinctions between the economic classes that Americans are categorized in, Ringgold managed to bypass all these and reach a basic aspiration of all people. Everyone in the capitalistic American society can relate to the profound wanting of physical possessions. This successfully shows a common unifying bond between all people that cannot be denied. Ringgold used this message of unity to persuade the American public to focus on the shared ideals of all people, opposed to the superficial differences. Faith Ringgold used her works of the nineteen- sixties to unite the divided groups of the country through non-violent means. The Flag is Bleeding, and Die are her personal denunciation of the violence often seen between groups of people protesting during their fight for freedom. The American Dream is her message to the world that allows people to realize that everyone in America, no matter what social or economic class they are grouped in have the same aspirations and dreams. "Ringgold's straight forward depictions etch the essence of these images in our minds so effectively that they have become American icons."(The Expanding Discourse Feminism and Art History p.473) Faith Ringgold's works of the nineteen sixties will always be seen as cultural icons that remind people of the terrible problems that arise when people focus on the differences between races or genders, instead of the common unifying ideals she portrayed that all people possess.
American People series she created from nineteen sixty-three to sixty-seven were her first political paintings. These paintings were meant to confound the ways in which she was taught to paint. Instead of looking to Greece for inspiration as she was taught, she instead looked toward Africa. Her influences on the American People series were cubism and African art, a first and large step away from her schooling that she recently completed. She used bold flat colors and abstracted forms to create her own unique style. The goal of the series was to paint a true picture of American Society and she accomplished this by "alluding to social movements that criticized specific aspects of the U.S. government policy and attempted to bring about change in the establishment."(Great Women Masters of Art p.438) While many people of the times were protesting these same issues Ringgold used her art to peacefully protest, and to illustrate her criticism for violent protests that occurred. According to Ringgold, "violent protest threatens the very existence of the country."(Great Women Masters p.439) One work from this series that clearly demonstrates her ideas is, The Flag is Bleeding. This was the eighteenth painting in the series and is thought to be one of the most powerful. The painting illustrates three people set within an American flag, a white man, an African American man, with a white woman in the middle. She chose these three figures to "symbolize the primary social demands of the day."(Great Women Masters of Art p.439) This was important because it shows that she understood that there were many people of all types that were unified in the struggle of the equal rights and feminism movements that were very important not only to the people involved, but the entire country and society. The African American man in the painting has one hand to his bleeding heart, and a knife is held in his other hand.
This is a crucial message that Ringgold was trying to show the world. "The hand to the man's heart could symbolize his loyalty and devotion to his country, while the knife can be interpreted as his fight for freedom in this country that he cares so much for." "This double sided attitude of a single person representing the black community becomes both a denunciation and the artist's criticism of violent activism."(Great Women Masters of Art p. 439) One could speculate that this painting was also referencing the African American men fighting and dying in Vietnam, protecting the rights of the South Korean people and defending their country, while they weren't allowed the rights they deserved back home. She also possibly was sending a message to the more violent groups of the times such as the Black Panthers, that unity, opposed to violence would be the best way to accomplish their common goals. This very strong statement to the world was purposely simple in its design in order to make her painting more accessible to people, and to hopefully allow any person that looked at it understand the true meaning of her
message. Another work in the American People series that reveals her message of accomplishment through non- violent means quite clearly is, Die. Done in the summer of nineteen sixty-seven, the twelve foot wide mural depicting a street riot is a chaotic scene of African American and white men, women, and children. There are both African American and white men armed with guns and knives, fighting to the death. This is an exaggerated, but representational view of the racial battle between the African American and white men. "In these canvases the women play a pacifying role in the racial battle between black and white men."(The Expanding Discourse- Feminism and Art History p.469) Both the African American and white women are frantically struggling against the men to reach the children and protect them from harm. There are two children in the bottom center of the painting, a white boy and an African American girl. They are hugging each other and look desperately scared and traumatized. They are surrounded by two slain men, one African American and one white, with a white and African American woman doing all they can to reach them. The white woman looks as though she is almost jumping in front of a gun, in order for both children to be saved. There is another white woman handing an already rescued child off to an unseen African American. This unanimous effort by all the women involved shows that while the men fight over the political rights of African Americans, they are endangering their children, wives, and themselves with these thoughts of violence as a means of political protest and influencing the next generation in terrible ways. The unification of the women may also represent their common fight for rights that is ignored by the men too busy with their own battles. A work that brings her idea of unification very clearly to the viewer is the, American Dream. The painting done in nineteen sixty-four depicts a woman admiring a large diamond ring. The woman is shadowed in a way for the viewer to perceive her as both African American and white. The idea behind the work is to bring anyone seeing the painting together by symbolizing a common aspiration for all people. This work could also be seen as "a beacon for disenfranchised peoples clamoring for their fulfillment of the American Dream."(The Expanding Discourse Feminism and Art History p.471) The theme of unification between the African American and white middle class can be looked at deeper to also include the unity within the classes of African American society. (Expanding Discourse Feminism and Art History p.471) Although there were and still are great distinctions between the economic classes that Americans are categorized in, Ringgold managed to bypass all these and reach a basic aspiration of all people. Everyone in the capitalistic American society can relate to the profound wanting of physical possessions. This successfully shows a common unifying bond between all people that cannot be denied. Ringgold used this message of unity to persuade the American public to focus on the shared ideals of all people, opposed to the superficial differences. Faith Ringgold used her works of the nineteen- sixties to unite the divided groups of the country through non-violent means. The Flag is Bleeding, and Die are her personal denunciation of the violence often seen between groups of people protesting during their fight for freedom. The American Dream is her message to the world that allows people to realize that everyone in America, no matter what social or economic class they are grouped in have the same aspirations and dreams. "Ringgold's straight forward depictions etch the essence of these images in our minds so effectively that they have become American icons."(The Expanding Discourse Feminism and Art History p.473) Faith Ringgold's works of the nineteen sixties will always be seen as cultural icons that remind people of the terrible problems that arise when people focus on the differences between races or genders, instead of the common unifying ideals she portrayed that all people possess.