When looking at Tschabalala Self’s work, I am looking at myself. The women she portrays in her pieces are me, they are my mother, they are my grandmother, and they are other black women I know and love. One thing that drew me to Self’s work was the way in which it has a Jim Crow-esque minstrelsy tone to it. She channels the stereotypes formed against black women and turns them into something to be celebrated, looked upon, and admired in a way. I love the way she allows the black woman’s body to take up space in her work as well as how her use of mixed media allows her to show these disjointed parts of the bodies of these women. I like that I can see the separation of the calf, knee, and thigh or the parts of the arm. Self’s monochromatic backgrounds also draw me in because they allow me to focus on the fullness of the work and not on what is going on around it. Her pieces hold this juxtaposition of simple background and busy subject, allowing the subject to pull in all the focus of the viewer as it should.
I also really like that she uses simple backgrounds. I had never thought to connect iher work minstrelsy but now that you mention it, i definitely see what you mean.
I thought your reply was really moving. I loved the way you found personal meaning in Tschabalala Self’s work: “The women she portrays in her pieces are me, they are my mother, they are my grandmother, and they are other black women I know and love.”