by Alice Sims-Gunzenhauser
in memoriam: Faith Ringgold, October 8, 1930 - April 13, 2024
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| Part I, #4: Sunflowers Quilting Bee at Arles by Faith Ringgold |
We sit among the adult
audience, you with your pigtail
I with my arm around you.
Her new French Collection, placing
African American figures in
white European bastions of art
within her glorious quilts
disconcerting one or two
of the art historians present.
When it is time for questions
she calls on you first of all
from among the many raised hands.
You ask why she decided
to be an artist.
Faith Ringgold, world famous,
hears the importance of this to you
locks onto your gaze
and says,
audience, you with your pigtail
I with my arm around you.
Her new French Collection, placing
African American figures in
white European bastions of art
within her glorious quilts
disconcerting one or two
of the art historians present.
When it is time for questions
she calls on you first of all
from among the many raised hands.
You ask why she decided
to be an artist.
Faith Ringgold, world famous,
hears the importance of this to you
locks onto your gaze
and says,
Because when I make art,then I'm free.
Alice Sims-Gunzenhauser is a visual artist and poet who lives in New Jersey. Her art has been included in regional and national exhibits. Her poetry has been published in the Kelsey Review.