God Bless America by Faith Ringgold

A detailed Summary of God Bless America by Faith Ringgold

Faith Ringgold's God Bless America is an expression of the emotional and physical torment of black Americans prior to and during the Civil Rights Movement. This piece of art movement had a lot of cultural ties to the population during the 1960's that also can be applied today in the year 2001. Through the description of medium, subject matter, form, and style I will relate this piece of history and the signfigance of what this composition means to me today.

Faith Ringgold composed this piece by using oil paints on a 31 by 19 inch canvas. It is depicting the struggles that her community and herself were facing while trying to gain equal rights from the majority of white American culture. She uses line, shape, color, value and texture to depict the points she's trying to make. She uses mostly outline in an expressive quality to depict the extremity of the situtation. The most promindint shapes she uses is rectangles. The strips are long rectangles and even her face has a very square feeling to it. The only colors she uses are red, blue, black and white. All of these colors are in a low key, which are very bright and draw your attention equally.

All of the principles of design are indicative in this painting.

This picture can still hold a lot of signfigance for modern society in the historical sense, but in another way to. There is a new struggle facing America, and it is between black and white but not in the literal sense. To me the black and white symbolizes an epic struggle between and good and its arch nemesis, evil. As opposed to the original meaning of the bars as holding back the black society, I view see the bars as a representation of the imprisonment of Americans in their own country. The women hold her hand over the star, which still symbolizes the grief and heartache of an entire nation. AS in the sixties the discern in the women's eyes indicates uncertainty of the fate an entire population. This is relevant to me because I have a newfound concern for what tomorrow may hold. Prior to September 11, 2001, I looked at the flag it had no emotional effect on me. Now I look at it and I see my family, friends, and neighbors nation wide. I feel the heartache for those who have lost loved ones and who will still lose loved ones in the upcoming struggle. The woman in the painting seems to be trapped behind the flag, which I think relates to what is happening today. America is under attack, it seems that Americans are trapped in their own country. In Faith Ringgold's painting she address the tensions between blacks and whites, and wh

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Approximate Word count = 912
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Arts