Powerful Women, Powerful Statements

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/assets/system-images/made/assets/system-images/remote/https_d1lfxha3ugu3d4.cloudfront.net/exhibitions/images/2017_We_Wanted_a_Revolution_EL154.023_WWAR_BAMPFA_Chase-Riboud_Confessions-for-MyselfRGB_edited_1500w_600_691.jpg

I cant express how powerful and meaningful this piece is to me. Barbara Chase-Riboud created this monumental piece called "Confessions to Myself" in 1972. A monumental sculpture made of bronze, wood, ropes, fibers and other materials. I imagine seeing this piece and breaking into tears. The layers of darkness and heavy objects cloaked and consuming what I believe could be a person underneath. And the title: Confessions to Myself. She could be confronting her denial. Or possibly her truth. The truth of the levels of oppression she has faced as a female individual of color and the truths of oppression her ancestors have felt for centuries. A major representation of social issues. Although Chase-Riboud missed the Black Arts Movement in America since she settled in France in 1960 she still was relevant in the movement. The power of her piece spoke volumes.

The Women Students and Artists for Black Art Liberation, Founded by Faith Ringgold and her daughters Michele Wallace and Barbara Wallace made sure Chase-Riboud was a part of the bigger picture. They protested the lack of women and people of color in the Whitney Museum's influential annual Exhibition in 1970. As a result Chase-Riboud became one of the first African American women to show at the Whitney Museum of American Art. 

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/2836096/thumbs/o-NORA-ALISSA-UNTITLED-9-2012-900.jpg

Here is a piece I found on Huffington Post. There was an article celebrating art and culture perfectly named "These Saudi Women Are Turning Feminism into Art". I stumbled across this piece by Nora Alissa named Untitled 9. I'm not necessarily sure if it is a sequential piece since its its "#9". Nonetheless I'm still fascinated by the content.  I see women kneeling in prayer. How many women? I'm not necessarily sure since they're blurred. The interpretation I receive from this picture is oppression. Much Like in the piece nI adore so much above. These are "invisible" women. I feel they are women often ignored, unappreciated and unvalued. Women so oppressed that they are invisible not worthy to be seen. That makes this picture so powerful. There are so many directions it can take

Chase-Riboud's peice was a part of the Black Women Empowerment Movement and Alissa's piece is a new movement we are witnessing today. Same movement different ethnic group. Muslim women are the most recent targets of severe inhuman oppression. They too are fighting to be seen and heard. To be loved and respected. To be valued as human beings and treated equal to their male counterparts. Here for change!