Faith Ringgold | Dancing at the Louvre

Dancing at the Louvre is part of Faith Ringgold's series of 12 story quilts called The French Collection and it is on the AP Art History list (it is one of 250 artworks American high school students study for AP Art History courses, which give them the chance to earn college credit).

In her Dancing at the Louvre quilt, Ringgold is writing the story of Willa Marie Simone, a fictional character that seems to be inspired a bit by Ringgold and her mother. Willa moves to Paris, meets major figures like Henri Matisse,the iconic artist, Josephine Baker, the American born French singer, dancer and actress who became the first black woman to star in a major motion picture and Rosa Parks, the legend of the civil rights movement. Over the series of 12 story quilts, known as the French Collection, Willa Marie Simone goes on many adventures and becomes a successful artist and businesswoman. In Ringgold’s life, she had been taught to admire the achievements of men like Pablo Picasso who innovated by copying African masks. In her education, she was told to study art education because fine arts was only for men. She looked at all of these societal bariers and envisioned a figure who could push past them. In Ringgold’s story, the protagonist is a black woman and the white male european artists, have a walk on role. The Louvre is an iconic cultural institution, home to some of the finest artworks in the history of the world and Ringgold’s Willa Marie Simone feels unintimidated. She joyously flouts conventions and dances in the hallowed halls.

In this episode, I mentioned The Art Explora Academy from the Art Explora Foundation, which was kind enough to include some of my episodes in their media library and gave my show it's first big break. Check out The Art Explora Academy here: Academy.ArtExplora.org

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