Lisa Farrington is an American art historian, specializing in African-American art, Haitian art, and women's art. She is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Art and Music at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice (City University of New York).[1] Farrington is one of the major scholars of Faith Ringgold, is the author of several books on African-American art, and is one of only six full professors of African-American art history in the United States.
Career
Farrington is a graduate of Howard University (BFA) and American University (MA), and subsequently obtained her MPh and PhD in Art History & philosophy at the CUNY Graduate Center in 1997 with a dissertation titled “Faith Ringgold: The Early Works & the Evolution of the Thangka Paintings”.[2]
Her 2005 book Creating Their Own Image was the first comprehensive history of African-American female artists, from slavery to the present day. Her 2015 book, African-American Art: A Visual and Cultural History, is an updated survey on African-American art.
She was the William & Camille Cosby Endowed Scholar at Atlantic University/Spelman College from 2008-2007.[3] In 2009, she received a grant from Creative Capital Art and the Andy Warhol Foundation to work on a monograph on Emma Amos.[4]
On February 7, 2014, Farrington delivered a lecture, "The Artistic World before Racism: A Compelling Presentation of the African Diaspora Portrayed from Antiquity to the Present," at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[5]
Bibliography
- African-American Art: A Visual and Cultural History (Oxford University Press, 2015)
- Creating Their Own Image: the History of African-American Women Artists (New York: Oxford University, 2005; 2nd ed. 2011).[6] Awarded the 2005 Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Award from the American Association of Black Women Historians.[7]
- Voices in Cloth: Story Quilts (Hattiesburg: University of Southern Mississippi, 2004)
- A Real-World Guide to Academic Publishing (New York: Millennium Fine Arts Publishing, 2006)
- Faith Ringgold (San Francisco: Pomegranate Fine Arts Publishers, 2004)
- Art on Fire: the Politics of Race and Sex in the Paintings of Faith Ringgold (New York: Millennium Fine Arts Publishing, 1999)
Curatorial activities
In 2013, Farrington curated the traveling exhibit "Women Call for Peace: Global Vistas."[8] The exhibit included works by artists including Emma Amos, Siona Benjamin, Chakaia Booker, Judy Chicago, Susanne Kessler, Faith Ringgold, Aminah Robinson, Flo Oy Wong, and Helen Zughaib. She has also curated exhibits of art by Jill Freedman,[9] Charlotta Janssen,[10] and Gaye Ellington.[11]
PERSONAL: Born June 11, 1956, in New York, NY; daughter of Duane C. and Joan M. Farrington. Education: Howard University, B.F.A., 1978; American University, M.A., 1980; City University of New York, Ph.D., 1996.
CAREER: Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, assistant to chief curator, 1980–87; Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY, assistant to president, 1988–89; Anthony McCall Associates, New York, NY, studio manager, 1989–94; Parsons School of Design, New York, NY, faculty member, 1993–. Adjunct lecturer, Hunter College of the City University of New York, 1990–91, Manhattan Community College, New York, NY, 1993–97, and Fashion Institute, New York, NY, 1994–95. Visiting assistant professor, City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center, 1997–98. Consultant, Educational Testing Service/College Board Tests, Princeton, NJ, 1993–2004. Independent curator of exhibits, CUNY, 1994–95, 2001, and Parsons School of Design, 1999, 2004–05.
MEMBER: College Art Association, Studio Museum in Harlem, Guggenheim Museum.
AWARDS, HONORS: Andrew Mellon Foundation fellowship, 1995; New School for Social Research fellowship, 1996–97, 2004; MAGNET postdoctoral fellow, 1997–98; Ford Foundation fellow 2001–02; U.S. State Department writing grant, 2004.
WRITINGS:
Art on Fire: The Politics of Race and Sex in the Paintings of Faith Ringgold, Millennium Fine Arts Publishers (New York, NY), 1999.
Faith Ringgold, Pomegranate Press (San Francisco, CA), 2004.
Creating Their Own Image: The History of African-American Women Artists, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2005.
OTHER
Contributing author, Harlem Renaissance Encyclopedia, Routledge, 2004. Contributing author, Skin Deep and Spirit Strong: The Black Female Body in American Culture, University of Michigan Press, 2003. Contributing author, Art by African Americans in the Collections of the New Jersey State Museum, 1998. Author of text for brochures, including Fifty Years of Haitian Art, 1994, and The Language of Color, 1994. Contributing editor, Gilbert and George: Singing Sculpture, 1993.
SIDELIGHTS: When Lisa E. Farrington began teaching a history seminar on the art of African-American women, she wanted a textbook to use in her classes. Finding none on the market, she wrote her own. Creating Their Own Image: The History of African-American Women Artists covers the artistic contributions of African American women from the mid-nineteenth century to 2004. To quote Donna Seaman in Booklist, Farrington's is "the first book-length history of African American women artists." Farrington demonstrates through prose and illustrations how black women have used diverse media to create art that stands in opposition to the stereotypes they confronted. From quilting and basket-making to murals and post-modern art, African-American women have drawn on their creative talents to construct a sense of self and a positive image of sisterhood.
While herself a specialist on modern artist Faith Ringgold, Farrington ranges widely in Creating Their Own Image to enrich understanding of a variety of female artists, from sculptress Edmonia Lewis to post-modernist Carol Ann Carter. Farrington also describes how the Harlem Renaissance inspired a generation of women to express themselves in the visual arts. Katherine C. Adams in Library Journal cited the book for its "insightful, sophisticated scholarship," and Jeanne Fox-Alston in Black Issues Book Review praised the text for its "sophisticated understanding of [women artists'] work and the milieu in which it was created." In the New York Times, Holland Cotter noted that Farrington's book "fills a critical gap in art-historical literature…. New images and scholarship will flow from it." A Publishers Weeklyreviewer wrote that Creating Their Own Image "is brimming with discoveries."
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:
PERIODICALS
Black Issues Book Review, March-April, 2005, Jeanne Fox-Alston, "The Herstory of Black Art," p. 20.
Booklist, February 1, 2005, Donna Seaman, review of Creating Their Own Image: The History of African-American Women Artists, p. 933.
New York Times, January 7, 2005, Holland Cotter, review of Creating Their Own Image, p. E2.
Publishers Weekly, December 13, 2004,
Lisa Farrington is an American art historian, specializing in African-American art, Haitian art, and women's art. She is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Art and Music at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice (City University of New York).[1] Farrington is one of the major scholars of Faith Ringgold, is the author of several books on African-American art, and is one of only six full professors of African-American art history in the United States.
Career
Farrington is a graduate of Howard University (BFA) and American University (MA), and subsequently obtained her MPh and PhD in Art History & philosophy at the CUNY Graduate Center in 1997 with a dissertation titled “Faith Ringgold: The Early Works & the Evolution of the Thangka Paintings”.[2]
Her 2005 book Creating Their Own Image was the first comprehensive history of African-American female artists, from slavery to the present day. Her 2015 book, African-American Art: A Visual and Cultural History, is an updated survey on African-American art.
She was the William & Camille Cosby Endowed Scholar at Atlantic University/Spelman College from 2008-2007.[3] In 2009, she received a grant from Creative Capital Art and the Andy Warhol Foundation to work on a monograph on Emma Amos.[4]
On February 7, 2014, Farrington delivered a lecture, "The Artistic World before Racism: A Compelling Presentation of the African Diaspora Portrayed from Antiquity to the Present," at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[5]
Bibliography
- African-American Art: A Visual and Cultural History (Oxford University Press, 2015)
- Creating Their Own Image: the History of African-American Women Artists (New York: Oxford University, 2005; 2nd ed. 2011).[6] Awarded the 2005 Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Award from the American Association of Black Women Historians.[7]
- Voices in Cloth: Story Quilts (Hattiesburg: University of Southern Mississippi, 2004)
- A Real-World Guide to Academic Publishing (New York: Millennium Fine Arts Publishing, 2006)
- Faith Ringgold (San Francisco: Pomegranate Fine Arts Publishers, 2004)
- Art on Fire: the Politics of Race and Sex in the Paintings of Faith Ringgold (New York: Millennium Fine Arts Publishing, 1999)
Curatorial activities
In 2013, Farrington curated the traveling exhibit "Women Call for Peace: Global Vistas."[8] The exhibit included works by artists including Emma Amos, Siona Benjamin, Chakaia Booker, Judy Chicago, Susanne Kessler, Faith Ringgold, Aminah Robinson, Flo Oy Wong, and Helen Zughaib. She has also curated exhibits of art by Jill Freedman,[9] Charlotta Janssen,[10] and Gaye Ellington.[11]
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