Content warning: racism, white supremacy, oppression, racial stereotypes, slavery, objectification, exotification, sexualization, the white gaze, colonization, racial injustice, dehumanization, weapons, racist images. The articles / pages linked (the links are the bolded parts in color) include both the topics mentioned above and other potentially disturbing topics and / or images not mentioned here.
We often like to think that white women (like myself; see the note at the bottom of the article) are immune to racist behaviour, and when we think of a racist person, many likely think of a cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied, neurotypical, bigoted white man- yet it is vital to acknowledge that women are often perpetrators of racism and complicit in upholding white supremacy, and that women's oppression in the patriarchy does not erase their potential position of privilege in other areas of life. Proof of this is the harmful depiction of people of color and the racism in works of art by white women artists, artists who are often championed as Feminist icons or trailblazers of women's role in the Arts while their problematic behavior remains ignored.
One such artist is Rosalba Carriera (1673 - 1757), a famous Italian Rococo-style pastellist specialized in miniatures and portraits. In particular, Four Continents, four works which consist in personifications of Africa, America, Asia, and Europe which she likely produced after her 1720 trip to France, contributed to the creation of racial categories (which many scientists have argued are, genetically speaking, inexistent), the promotion of racial stereotypes, and, hence, racism. Her paintings are based on previous representations of the four continents, which were severely racist in their portrayals of Europe as the "queen" and in their use of exotifying stereotypes, such as Africa being paired with dangerous animals. In Rosalba Carriera's version, these recurring elements can also be found, but the artist confers a new and particular aspect to the creation of racial distinctions among humans through her use of color to distinguish the skin tone of each personification (some previous depictions relied only on "accessory" elements and not on body type or skin color to differentiate the continents). Her style particularly "encourages" the viewer to analyse skin color, favoring the emergence of the practice of identifying humans based on their "race." Here, specific racial stereotypes we can note include (but are not limited to) the use of the color red to denote America's skin tone and the group of serpents clenched in Africa's fist. It is also important to place these paintings in the context of Europe’s colonization of other continents and to think critically about how promoting these distinctions, stereotypes, and, with them, an emerging belief in a “racial hierarchy,” would aid Europe’s goal of colonizing other nations for military, economic, and political self-interest.
The Allegories of the Four Continents (top left: Europe; top right: America; bottom left: Africa; bottom right: Asia).
Images from the article on these paintings linked above.
Another form of racist depictions in art can be seen in the sole Black figure in The Ely Family Group Portrait (1771) by Angelica Kauffman (1741 - 1807), an artist often championed as an important figure in the advancement of women in the arts for having painted genres traditionally not accessible to women, all the while the more problematic aspects of her legacy are ignored (whereas both the "positive" and the negative facets should be addressed). In this painting, the lone Black figure is a servant / slave, an anonymous individual represented in a subservient position. This painting, placing the Black person at the margins in a portrait aimed at celebrating those he worked for / was enslaved by, is reminiscent of common portrayals of Black people in objectifying and exotifying ways in works centered on white people.
The conversation becomes perhaps more complex, however, when we analyze paintings such as Portrait of a Black Woman (1800) (originally with a racist word in the title) by Marie-Guilhelmine Benoist (1768 - 1826). This painting was apparently aimed at supporting both the abolition of slavery and women's liberation from oppression, yet some claim it misses the mark due to its approach to depicting the Black woman it represents. The painting is rare in its centering of a Black figure in Western art; however, critics have claimed it falls into the common pitfalls of exoticizing and sexualizing a Black person (the woman’s right breast is left naked) for personal gain. Admittedly, however, some disagree, claiming her breast is revealed for an allegorical purpose and that the Black woman shows "self-assertion." Regardless, the painting may also be problematic due to the lack of agency conferred to its Black subject, as it is likely that the sitter had no voice in how she was portrayed, a choice made entirely by the white woman behind the canvas and by her white gaze.
Beyond this, in other works by white women artists depicting people of color, the white gaze of someone in a privileged position remains. This is both caused by and, in turn, part of the reason for how ingrained white supremacy is in our world and how prevalent dehumanizing depictions of people of color are in our society. This creates a vicious cycle in which the white gaze continues to prevail in artwork.
However, there are several wonderful women artists of color who are contrasting this narrative and producing positive, personal, and empowering representations of people of color and actively participating in anti-racist work through their art. These artists are often, unfortunately, shadowed by the Euro-centric narrative of Art and Art History, but are most certainly worthy of attention and appreciation.
For example, Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller (1877 - 1968) was an African American artist (poet, painter, theater designer, and sculptor) known for depicting Afrocentric themes, scenes of racial injustice, and human suffering. She both celebrated African and African-American culture and addressed social issues through her work.
Betye Saar (b. 1926) was an American artist of African American, Irish, and Native American descent known mainly for assemblage pieces that challenged anti-Black racism in America. She was part of the 1970s Black Arts Movement. One of her best-known pieces is perhaps The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972). This assemblage collected racist imagery related to "Aunt Jemima," an embodiment of the harmful "mammy" stereotype, and transformed her into a symbol of Black Power by putting weapons in her hands and the Black Power fist in front of her. This piece both calls attention to racism and explicitly lends support to movements for racial justice.
Among the women artists who have produced anti-racist work there is, furthermore, Lina Iris Viktor (b. 1987), a Liberian-British artist whose works, according to her website, "are a merging of painting, sculpture, performance, and photography, along with the practice of water gilding with 24-karat gold to create increasingly dark canvases embedded with 'layers of light'." Her representation of Black figures in artwork centering the colors black, gold, blue, and red aims to contradict the common negative perception of the color black, and many of her works address race, gender, and Black history (such as the history of Liberia as a U.S. colony).
Eleventh by Lina Iris Viktor
Image from linaviktor.com
Yet another artist rebelling to the racist status quo is Stephanie Syjuco (b. 1974), a Filipino-born artist who, as her website puts it, "works in photography, sculpture, and installation, moving from handmade and craft-inspired mediums to digital editing and archive excavations." Her works include, but are not limited to, the denouncing of colonization, humorous takes on how "diversity" is seen by the white male gaze, the erasure and redressing of history, and other actively anti-racist projects.
Paula Nicho Cúmez (b. 1955) is also an artist fighting for racial justice through her work, in particular in regards to the Indigenous Mayan population and for the empowerment of Native women. Her works are steeped in Mayan culture and often center Indigenous women. In 1985, she helped found a cooperative of women painters called Kaqchikel Surrealist Painters.
Proceso y Visión de los Acuerdos de Paz ("Process and Vision of the Peace Accords")
by Paula Nicho Cúmez
Image from mayawomeninart.org
It is evident, then, that while many women artists have promoted racism through their work, just as many others have been actively fighting against it.
As Art and Art History lovers, we must work to acknowledge and condemn racism in the art world and no longer celebrate racist white women artists as though they are unharmful Feminist icons. Instead, we should center the stories of women artists of color who have been doing anti-racist work all along.
Note: As a white person, I believe it is not my role to have the main voice in conversations about racism, but, from what I have gathered, it is still important for me to speak up about racism. Hence, I made the decision to write this article, but also reference work by people of color, and I urge you, if you can, to use this as a jumping-off point to learn more about what actual people of color have to say about these topics.
Image Credits:
• Featured image for this post: includes parts of images of Syzygy (2015) by Lina Iris Viktor, The Visible Invisible (2018) by Stephanie Syjuco, and Crusando Fronteras ("Crossing Borders") (2007) by Paula Nicho Cúmez.
• Images in this post: see image captions.