Matisse's Model (The French Collection, Part I: #5) 1991

Curator: This work is “Matisse’s Model (The French Collection, Part I: #5)”, a mixed-media piece including paint, textile, and collage created in 1991 by Faith Ringgold. Editor: It has this amazing storybook feel, almost like turning the pages of a vivid, quilted dream! The colours are bold, and it seems to contain a portrait of Matisse himself. Curator: Indeed, Ringgold appropriates Matisse's "Dance" very directly, setting it above a reclining female figure and including the portrait. It is worth noting this piece is part of Ringgold's exploration of African American women's presence in, or rather, their absence from, the Western art historical canon. She places her figures within the narratives. Editor: I feel the echoes of women's craft, like a grandmother’s quilt, elevated to this commentary on the grand narrative of art history, something very intimate reclaiming a space. It speaks to a desire for representation, a bold “We are here!” kind of statement. Curator: Precisely, Ringgold confronts institutional critique through vibrant figuration, embedding both the model and Matisse, each coded by their social role within that constructed world. Her strategy also cleverly positions ‘high’ art traditions alongside historically undervalued craft traditions like quilting. It questions established value systems. Editor: I love the layers – not just in materials, but also meaning. The playful pattern and borders create a sense of protection around the figures in the quilt. Almost like she’s giving them a safe space. Do you think that the presentation in such textile offers an intimate act of preservation or something else? Curator: I see it both ways. Ringgold gives representation through a powerful gesture and suggests the domestic spaces women traditionally occupied can themselves be sites of historical and artistic intervention. The piece actively inserts itself and its concerns into the visual discourse of the 90's regarding multiculturalism. Editor: Right, right. It becomes this multifaceted piece of art, craft, cultural commentary. It is playful but has profound purpose and a certain rebellious streak in its stitches! I see new meanings every time. Curator: Absolutely, Ringgold gives us more than pretty picture—a challenge, an embrace and a rewriting of the story.