We have had such a wonderful time leading tours that focus on the theme of Materials in Art. The ‘big idea’ we explore on these tours is that artists make thoughtful choices about the materials to use to make their work, and the materials they choose add meaning to the work. There is no better example of this than the wonderful piece by vanessa german, ET AL, or The Child Plaintiffs as Power-figures: Courage and Play,
Love and Hope, Grace and Compassion, Will and Might, Serenity
and Music, Light and Joy, Warrior and Intellect, Creativity and
Vision, 2024.
When we discuss this work, we dive into the materials list that vanessa wrote, reading directly from her list that reads like a poem:
“Love and research, plaster, wood, wood glue, plaster gauze, rage,
wire, multiple conversations with historians Sherrita Camp and
Donna Rae Pearson, tears, shock and the understanding that
these children made a new world, auto body paint, pedestals so
tall that the figures MUST be looked up to, love, prayer for a
crack in the world to bleed new light, ceramic and porcelain birds
and figures as finials, cloth, twine, strands of beads, buttons,
keys put together by the community of Topeka: the beads are an
acknowledgement of our African Ancestry and the wealth, power
and creative force of Africa in relationship to the crime of stealing
African bodies to build a new world in which the descendants of
enslaved Africans have continued to be systemically, strategically,
tragically dehumanized, stomped on and denied full access to true
liberty. The buttons speak to the power of MENDING — for how many
of our mothers, aunties, and homemakers had a button box,
knowing that it is always possible to find a button that fits the
missing space into a mending. The keys are forgiveness — internal
and external forgiveness.”
Initially we tried reading the whole materials lists to our student groups but found that was a bit daunting, so have moved to reading selections interspersed with some open-ended and really thought-provoking questions.
Materials in Art 2025 vanessa german
We also show a photo of the children who were the child plaintiffs in the Brown v. Board case, one of the same photos that is on the wall label itself: Students of Brown v. Board
We are so excited to now have a work by the amazing artist vanessa german on view in the museum’s second floor galleries. The work, titled ET AL, or The Child Plaintiffs as Power-figures: Courage and Play, Love and Hope, Grace and Compassion, Will and Might, Serenity and Music, Light and Joy, Warrior and Intellect, Creativity and