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Curator's Synopsis: Gifted and Naturally Made, "The Black Female Body."
DR. SAMELLA LEWIS from the collection of Unity Lewis Estate "Bayou Woman, 2006".
CARYL HENRY-ALEXANDER, ALPHA BRUTON, TALVER GERMANY-MILLER, LIZ GOMEZ, SHONNA McDANIEL'S, DIONNE VICTORIA-MILTON, DIANE STRAUSS, and URBAN SUNSHINE.
Dr. Samella Lewis Gallery at SOJO Museum
DR. SAMELLA LEWIS "Bayou Woman, 2006"
10 African American female artists invited to exhibit at the Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum have proved unafraid of provoking controversy. Through their artwork, these women confront the injustices of misrepresentation done to black women throughout history and disrupt the built-in prejudices they have faced. Importantly they also prove that the importance of black females' bodies runs more than just skin deep.
"Women's bodies have constantly stirred within society, especially from the seeming contradiction between female sexuality and motherhood.
Often called the “Madonna and whore dichotomy,” this ambivalence makes the site of the female body a contentious spectacle for men and women alike. Add to this mixture the sight of a black female body and the racial context it elicits, and we find ourselves in the middle of a textured conversation about womanhood, race, and inevitably society’s opinions upon it.” Christabel Johanson is a writer and a curator from London.
Curator Talver Germany Miller:
A native of Sacramento, California, I was educated like many other artists from grammar to graduate school. I received a BA degree in Studio Art, BA in Social Science/ Anthropology, and an MS. Degree in Counseling Education all from the California State University of Sacramento. I am an Associate Professor of Art at Folsom Lake College, a member of the Placerville Arts Association, San Francisco Fine Arts Museum, Sacramento African American Art Collection, Phantom Gallery Chicago Network on LinkedIn, and a member of the California Arts Association.
