The Chronicles of Black Hair Prints
The purpose of these pieces is to discuss the struggles that black women face with embracing the natural texture (and not thermally and chemically straightened) of their hair and appearance. For many black women, identity is indistinguishably linked to their relationship to, and presentation of, their hair. These prints help to explore black women’s power through resisting the mainstream norms for female hair while illuminating the complex rules that black hair plays in history and the lifetime of a black woman. These three prints represent key figures in this movement, starting with Cicely Tyson, an actress, and model who was unknowingly a leading figure in the Afro-textured natural hair movement from the 1960s. She was the first woman to wear cornrows on television. Next is Erykah Badu, a talented and strong singer, who has always inspired women to embrace the beauty of their natural hair by always embracing her own. And Solange, another singer, who uses her hair to communicate messages about the history and the blackness of black hair. She often uses her hair to portray stories about blacks’ progression through their life and culture, to make bold statements about her unique aesthetic. All of these women over time have shown other black women that their identity should not be modeled after the favored European standards of beauty. This artwork is meant to bring these issues to the forefront by discussing the effects that Euro-American beauty standards have had, and are still having, on black women.
*This purchase includes the print only. The frame is not included.
The purpose of these pieces is to discuss the struggles that black women face with embracing the natural texture (and not thermally and chemically straightened) of their hair and appearance. For many black women, identity is indistinguishably linked to their relationship to, and presentation of, their hair. These prints help to explore black women’s power through resisting the mainstream norms for female hair while illuminating the complex rules that black hair plays in history and the lifetime of a black woman. These three prints represent key figures in this movement, starting with Cicely Tyson, an actress, and model who was unknowingly a leading figure in the Afro-textured natural hair movement from the 1960s. She was the first woman to wear cornrows on television. Next is Erykah Badu, a talented and strong singer, who has always inspired women to embrace the beauty of their natural hair by always embracing her own. And Solange, another singer, who uses her hair to communicate messages about the history and the blackness of black hair. She often uses her hair to portray stories about blacks’ progression through their life and culture, to make bold statements about her unique aesthetic. All of these women over time have shown other black women that their identity should not be modeled after the favored European standards of beauty. This artwork is meant to bring these issues to the forefront by discussing the effects that Euro-American beauty standards have had, and are still having, on black women.
*This purchase includes the print only. The frame is not included.
The purpose of these pieces is to discuss the struggles that black women face with embracing the natural texture (and not thermally and chemically straightened) of their hair and appearance. For many black women, identity is indistinguishably linked to their relationship to, and presentation of, their hair. These prints help to explore black women’s power through resisting the mainstream norms for female hair while illuminating the complex rules that black hair plays in history and the lifetime of a black woman. These three prints represent key figures in this movement, starting with Cicely Tyson, an actress, and model who was unknowingly a leading figure in the Afro-textured natural hair movement from the 1960s. She was the first woman to wear cornrows on television. Next is Erykah Badu, a talented and strong singer, who has always inspired women to embrace the beauty of their natural hair by always embracing her own. And Solange, another singer, who uses her hair to communicate messages about the history and the blackness of black hair. She often uses her hair to portray stories about blacks’ progression through their life and culture, to make bold statements about her unique aesthetic. All of these women over time have shown other black women that their identity should not be modeled after the favored European standards of beauty. This artwork is meant to bring these issues to the forefront by discussing the effects that Euro-American beauty standards have had, and are still having, on black women.
*This purchase includes the print only. The frame is not included.