Five Books On Female Empowerment And Art You’ll Love
In the spirit of keeping #BLM and female empowerment alive, we outline some of the must-read monographs and critical texts for the art aficionado looking to introduce themselves to broader sociopolitical movements
ODYSSEY
Jack Whitten is known for his reflections on the civil rights movement in the 1960s, abstract experimentation and depictions of seminal Black figures such as James Baldwin and W. E. B. Du Bois, but the artist also developed a body of sculptural work throughout his career that traced African sculpture and questioned his relationship to it as an African American. Jack Whitten: Odyssey, Sculpture 1963–2017 features sculptures made by Whitten over the past 50 years, alongside the Black Monoliths series, archival photographs and the artist’s own reflections on his sculptural practice.
Katy Siegel, Kelly Baum, Jack Whitten, Richard Shiff, Kwame Anthony Appiah and Kellie Jones contribute to this monograph, detailing one of the most important artists of his generation, who is so very intertwined with contemporary Black history. Written by Katy Siegel, Kelly Baum, Jack Whitten, Richard Shiff, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Kellie Jones. Published by Gregory R. Miller & Co. grmandco.com
THE MOST POWERFUL WOMAN IN THE ROOM IS YOU
Spanning 278 pages, inside this bright pink hardcover tome are expert insights on overcoming fears, excelling and taking control in life, whether it’s in the office or in your personal life. The author, Lydia Fenet, shares insights into her world, taking the reader on a two-decade-long journey from her role as an intern to Global Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships and the lead Benefit Auctioneer at Christie’s.
“The most powerful woman in the room goes after whatever she wants to ensure she lives the life she wants to live,” she writes. “If you keep your eye on the prize and stay focused, you can achieve more than you ever dreamed was possible.” Having raised over half a billion dollars for global non-profit organisations, the author reveals her secrets to success and empowerment including the innovative sales approach she has mastered over the years, which has tremendously shaped her aspirational mentality and career. Written by Lydia Fenet. Published by Gallery Books. simonandschusterpublishing.com
FUTURE IMPERFECT
Anthony Downey has long been exploring the political functions that lay behind regional forms of knowledge and image production and contemporary art practices, and is the author of several seminal critical texts. In Future Imperfect: Contemporary Art Practices and Cultural Institutions in the Middle East, a collection of essays examine the state of cultural institutions in an age of political upheaval, social unrest, exuberant cultural activity, ascendant neoliberal forms of privatisation, social activism and regional uncertainty.
Key academics, critics, activists, filmmakers, artists and other independent cultural practitioners across the region weigh in. Edited by Anthony Downey. Written by Monira Al Qadiri, Hoor Al-Qasimi, Anahi Alviso-Marino, AMBS Architects, Stephanie Bailey, Eray Çayli, Rachel Dedman, Elizabeth Derderian, Anthony Downey, Karen Exell, Reema Salha Fadda, Wafa Gabsi, Hadia Gana, Adalet R. Garmiany, Baha Jubeh, Suhair Jubeh, Amal Khalaf, Kamel Lazaar, Jens Maier-Rothe, Guy Mannes-Abbott, Doreen Mende, Lea Morin, Jack Persekian,, Rijin Sahakian, Gregory Sholette, Tom Snow, Ania Szremski, Christine Tohme, Toleen Touq, Williams Wells, Ala Younis, Yasmine Zidane. Published by Sternberg Press. sternberg-press.com
KERRY JAMES MARSHALL: HISTORY OF PAINTING
One of the most renowned living painters, African- American artist Kerry James Marshall’s exploration of Black subjectivity and his mural-like depictions of real and imagined events has long resisted and subverted White narratives of history. Published following Marshall’s pivotal exhibition at blue-chip gallery David Zwirner London in 2018, Kerry James Marshall: History of Painting not only presents a groundbreaking body of his work, but it also surveys the artist’s position in the larger history of painting, as well as critically examines how his work has been received in the art market.
Two essays by curator Teju Cole and renowned psychoanalytic art historian Hal Foster coherently break down the artist’s deeply iconographic work. Written by Teju Cole, Hal Foster. Published by David Zwirner Books. davidzwirnerbooks.com
I CAN’T SEE YOU WITHOUT ME
Focusing on the female artist’s models and muses, who were often herself, her late mother and other formidable women in her personal life, I Can’t See You Without Me is a touching monograph of Mickalene Thomas’ portraits and her deconstruction between sitter, artist and viewer.
Outlining how her subjects would often take on the form of 19th century odalisques, Afro-adorned vixens of blaxploitation films or a powerful maternal figure yearning for social mobility, the impressive essayists detail how these contradictions and kinships make the Black female body such fertile terrain for the artist’s ongoing investigations. Written by Sherri Geldin, Nicole R. Fleetwood, Michael Goodson, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Antwaun Sargent. Published by Wexner Center for the Arts. wexarts.org
Image Courtesy of Respective Publishers
From the Autumn 2020 Issue of Harper’s Bazaar Art