Overview
A book highlighting the work of pioneering Black printmaker, sculptor, and activist Elizabeth Catlett. Accomplished printmaker and sculptor, avowed feminist, and lifelong activist Elizabeth Catlett (1915–2012) built a remarkable career around intersecting passions for formal rigor and social justice. This book, accompanying a major traveling retrospective, offers a revelatory look at the artist and her nearly century-long life, highlighting overlooked works alongside iconic masterpieces. Catlett's activism and artistic expression were deeply connected, and she protested the injustices of her time throughout her life. Her work in printmaking and sculpture draws on organic abstraction, the modernism of the United States and Mexico, and African art to center the experiences of Black and Mexican women. Catlett attended Howard University, studied with the painter Grant Wood, joined the Harlem artistic community, and worked with a leftist graphics workshop in Mexico, where she lived in exile after the US accused her of communism and barred her re-entry into her home country. The book's essays address a range of topics, including Catlett's early development as an artist-activist, the impact of political exile on her work, her pedagogical legacy, her achievement as a social realist printmaker, her work with the arts community of Chicago's South Side, and the diverse influences that shaped her practice.
Full Product Details
Author: Dalila Scruggs
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Dimensions:
Width: 22.90cm
, Height: 3.30cm
, Length: 27.90cm
Weight: 1.588kg
ISBN: 9780226836577
ISBN 10: 0226836576
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 04 October 2024
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
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Reviews
""Edited by curator Dalila Scruggs, the book brilliantly illustrates how Catlett immersed herself in the formal and political possibilities of sculpture, drawing, painting, and printmaking. . . . this catalog is not only a gripping critical overview of Catlett’s impact on global art and activism — it is a necessary contribution to the rich, global genealogy of radical Black art histories. Catlett reminds us that identity alone doesn’t make one revolutionary; actions in pursuit of our shared liberation are just as crucial."" * Hyperallergic * ""Accompanying the exhibition is a book that offers a detailed look at Catlett’s nearly century-long life, highlighting both overlooked works and iconic masterpieces. Edited by Smithsonian curator Dalila Scruggs and co-published with the University of Chicago Press, the book addresses various aspects of Catlett’s development as an artist-activist, the impact of her political exile, her pedagogical legacy, and the diverse influences on her work. The exhibition underscores Catlett’s enduring legacy as an artist who used her art to drive social change and empower marginalized communities."" * Untitled Magazine *
""Accompanying the exhibition is a book that offers a detailed look at Catlett’s nearly century-long life, highlighting both overlooked works and iconic masterpieces. Edited by Smithsonian curator Dalila Scruggs and co-published with the University of Chicago Press, the book addresses various aspects of Catlett’s development as an artist-activist, the impact of her political exile, her pedagogical legacy, and the diverse influences on her work. The exhibition underscores Catlett’s enduring legacy as an artist who used her art to drive social change and empower marginalized communities."" * Untitled Magazine *
Author Information
Dalila Scruggs is the Augusta Savage Curator of African American Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She has held curatorial and education positions at the Williams College Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York.
