The Sapphire Caricature portrays black women as rude, loud, malicious, stubborn, and overbearing. This is the Angry Black Woman (ABW) popularized in the cinema and on television. She is tart-tongued and emasculating, one hand on a hip and the other pointing and jabbing, violently and rhythmically rocking her head, mocking African American men. She is a shrill nagger with irrational states of anger and indignation and is often mean-spirited and abusive. Although African American men are her primary targets, she has venom for anyone who insults or disrespects her. The Sapphire's desire to dominate and her hyper-sensitivity to injustices make her a perpetual complainer, but she does not criticize to improve things; rather, she criticizes because she is unendingly bitter and wishes that unhappiness on others.
The Sapphire Caricature is a harsh portrayal of African American women, but it is more than that; it is a social control mechanism that is employed to punish black women who violate the societal norms that encourage them to be passive, servile, non-threatening, and unseen.
[Pilgrim, D. (2008, August). The Sapphire Caricature. Retrieved from https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/antiblack/sapphire.htm]
THE.ART
This exhibition explores the Sapphire Caricature and the role it has played in shaping the culture of today. Through the creation of these ten pieces, I shine light on ten African American women in my own family. Each piece was created by cutting and gluing strips of paper and magazines on to a canvas using a technique similar to papermache. Photographs were taken of each individual and then cut into strips and layered with magazines and other materials. The selected magazines all feature subject matter that is often associated with the female and femininity. They include images of the home, flowers, food, and fashion. The images are cut and used to break up the portrait of the face. The viewer is tasked to look beyond the fragmented images and truly see the person for who they are.
Each subject was asked a specific question about themselves, their life, or past experiences. These simple questions give viewers a taste of the true reality each of these African American women have and continue to live.
