Overview

Michele Wallace burst into public consciousness with the 1979 publication of Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman, a pioneering critique of the misogyny of the Black Power movement and the effects of racism and sexism on black women. Since then, Wallace has produced an extraordinary body of journalism and criticism engaging with popular culture and gender and racial politics. This collection brings together more than fifty of the articles she has written over the past fifteen years. Included alongside many of her best-known pieces are previously unpublished essays as well as interviews conducted with Wallace about her work. Dark Designs and Visual Culture charts the development of a singular, path-breaking black feminist consciousness. Beginning with a new introduction in which Wallace reflects on her life and career, this volume includes other autobiographical essays; articles focused on popular culture, the arts, and literary theory; and explorations of issues in black visual culture. Wallace discusses growing up in Harlem; how she dealt with the media attention and criticism she received for Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman, which was published when she was just 27 years old; and her relationship with her family, especially her mother, the well-known artist Faith Ringgold. The many articles devoted to black visual culture range over issues from the historical tragedy of the Hottentot Venus, an African woman displayed as a curiosity in nineteenth-century Europe to films that sexualize the black body - such as Watermelon Woman, Gone with the Wind, and Paris is Burning. Whether writing about the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings, rap music, the Million Man March, Toshi Reagon, multiculturalism, Marlon Riggs, or a nativity play in Bedford Stuyvesant, Wallace is a bold, incisive critic. Dark Designs and Visual Culture brings the scope of her career and thought into sharp focus.

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9780822334132

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Reviews

Dark Designs and Visual Culture is a remarkable compilation of images, self-reflexive essays, and other critical works. It demonstrates Michele Wallace's mastery of cultural criticism and indicates her interaction with American and African American visual culture during the past thirty years. A writer of extraordinary talent, she wields an ever sharpened insight and wit. -Deborah Willis I can hardly think of a living critic who is as courageous as Michele Wallace-she says things no one else dares to-and this collection proves just how consistent her bravery has been over the years. -Andrew Ross Michele Wallace has long been one of the most insightful and brave writers dealing with popular culture in this country. Her latest work continues that tradition of courage and wit. -Nelson George

[Wallace is] a trenchant commentator on race, gender, media, and art ... provocative and thoughtful. Library Journal a fascinating critique of popular and intellectual culture... Bust Wallace's collection of essays and articles take the reader on a retrospective romp through the last two decades and beyond. Girlfriends I can hardly think of a living critic who is as courageous as Michele Wallace--she says things no one else dares to--and this collection proves just how consistent her bravery has been over the years. --Andrew Ross, author of No-Collar: The Humane Workplace and Its Hidden Costs Michele Wallace has long been one of the most insightful and brave writers dealing with popular culture in this country. Her latest work continues that tradition of courage and wit. --Nelson George Dark Designs and Visual Culture is a remarkable compilation of images, self-reflexive essays, and other critical works. It demonstrates Michele Wallace's mastery of cultural criticism and indicates her interaction with American and African American visual culture during the past thirty years. A writer of extraordinary talent, she wields an ever sharpened insight and wit. --Deborah Willis I can hardly think of a living critic who is as courageous as Michele Wallace--she says things no one else dares to--and this collection proves just how consistent her bravery has been over the years. --Andrew Ross

Author Information

Michele Wallace is Visiting Professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University. She is the author of Invisibility Blues: From Pop to Theory and Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman. She has written for numerous popular and scholarly publications, including The Village Voice, The New York Times, Emerge, Aperture, Ms., October, and Renaissance Noire.

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