Ellen C. Caldwell | ECLAIRE.me

When discussing such works, he said, “I don’t want to hit people so hard that they don’t respond.” So he doles out kernels of truth, wild imaginings, and pieces of fact and fiction laced with humor, expletives, and explosives, all in order to pull people in to look closer, to do their own research, to grapple with history’s gaping holes, and to make them laugh.

Walker analyzes not just how Hartley’s movement and travel around the world influenced his style, but also how the art world changed its perceptions of Marsden Hartley as an innovator, imitator, experimentalist, or influencer. Perhaps Hartley’s life and changing artistic legacy tell us more about history-making and public memory than they do about his work.

Werner dissects the complex relationship that existed between Diego Rivera and Mexico itself, writing, “Not before setting foot in Mexico last summer did I feel that I had arrived at a real understanding of Diego Rivera’s work.” In this description, the reader can come to understand Werner’s experience of Mexico — that it exists as a palpable character and live influence upon Rivera’s work.

Through a didactic retelling of history, Ringgold uses her quilts to reframe the past, freeing buried voices while offering new, stronger voices to future generations.