Looking at Daisy Bates

This triptych of images about Daisey Bates (1914-1999|
Huttig, AR) pay homage to her work as a civil rights activist, writer and
publisher of the Arkansas State Press, a weekly African-American newspaper
which she operated with her husband Lucious Christopher “L.C.” Bates, an
insurance agent and an experienced journalist. Bates also played a major role
in integration in Arkansas; in 1957, she helped nine African American students
to become the first to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock,
who became known as the Little Rock Nine. For many years, she served as the
President of the Arkansas chapter of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Also, the aesthetics of the photographs speak to how geometry and abstraction
replace figurative forms with bold colors and simple shapes—like triangles,
circles, and trapezoids—to represent the realities of life. Though simplistic
in nature these forms often call attention to religious figures, musical
compositions, science, and nature. Within my practice I acknowledge the male
artists who typically dominate the history of geometry and abstraction and draw
inspiration from the work of artists such as Carmen Herrera, Jennie C. Jones, Alma
Thomas, Barbara Kasten and Leslie Hewitt.


Image Title: Shift: History at Play, 2020 


Reference Image 

Reference Image #2

Using Format