Black women aren’t usually muses. There’s the occasional Grace Jones, but historically, Western artists across disciplines have considered white women—from Kiki di Montparnasse to Edie Sedgwick—to be the possessors the beauty, depth, and complexity necessary to inspire the creation of great works. Muse status is complicated for white ladies, too, as they've fought to escape the passivity of being forever the inspiration for and all-too-infrequently the creators of art. But for black women, being presented to an audience as beautiful and admired can be singularly empowering. Muse is the title of Mickalene Thomas’s book of photography as well as her latest exhibition. Black women have long been her muses, and she presents images of them that range from the high glamour of the 70s black-power style, to stark, simple portraits.Thomas is best known for her paintings made of enamel and rhinestones, but as Lesley Martin, curator for Aperture, publishers of Muse the book and exhibitors of Muse the show, puts it, "It seemed obvious that photography is at the beating heart of her paintings and installation work, either as direct inspiration via images she creates herself or those that she has found in the iconography of pop culture.”Thomas’s work, both paintings and photographs, is lush with texture, filled with color and contrasting visual timbres. “The works themselves are just so sumptuous and thrilling to look at—full of layers of texture, color, patterning,” continues Martin, “And most of all, compelling characters.”Muse will be at Aperture Gallery until March 17th. To learn more about Mickalene Thomas's work, click here.Related:Detroit Exhibition Showcases 30 Years of Black Contemporary ArtMeet the Artists-in-Residence at The Studio Museum in HarlemCan Tumblr Preserve Black Contemporary Art?
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