“Born in the USA” by Faith Ringgold

“Born in the USA” (2012) by Faith Ringgold attracted me through its vibrant colors of red, white, and blue. The image of the former President, Barack Obama, a familiar figure was also extremely eye-catching to me. The medium of this art piece is screenprint on paper. This print clearly depicts a political message as it states, “Barack Obama, born Aug 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii in the 50th State of the United States of America to become the first Black President of the USA in 2008. In 2012, Obama will win a second term. So Help Us America.” Ringgold incorporates the colors of America throughout the print within the bordering flowers and the background. The print includes the phrase, “Born in the USA”, multiple times in the background since she is emphasizing that President Obama was indeed born in the USA. Ringgold made this print a few months before the election in which Obama was running for his second term and the conflict of him being born in Hawaii arised. I enjoyed viewing this painting since it includes Obama and sends an important message regarding his citizenship.

Lehigh received this print through a gift exchange of 26 prints directly from the Experimental Printmaking Institute (EPI) at Lafayette College in Easton, PA. This gift was specifically for LUAG’s exhibition called th(ink)ing: The Experimental Printmaking Institute at Lafayette College. This exhibition was at Lehigh from August 27, 2014 to December 7, 2014 and was curated by Susan Ellis and Ricardo Viera. 

Ringgold, born in 1932, is a Black American painter, writer, and performance artist. She is well-known for her narrative quilts that portray important messages as she is an activist. Ringgold’s parents were both some type of artists, thus, she learned at an early age to challenge her creativity. She was born and raised in Harlem, New York, where she also experienced the Great Depression-era Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance. Most of her artwork represents the experiences of those times from her childhood. Ringgold attended City College of NYC and received her bachelor’s degree in art education. She began to teach in the New York City Public school system and also at the college level. Later in 1973, she quit teaching public school to become an artist full-time. 

Ringgold focused her early artistic career with the theme of underlying racism in everyday activities. This affected her sales and appearances at galleries. However, these themes were a reflection of her personal experiences which she wanted to make known through her art. She also thought prioritizing making political art was more important than painting landscapes during the Civil Rights Movement in 1960. This inspired her American People Series. After travelling to Europe, she came back to the US and started to quilt her stories since no one was willing to publish her autobiography. The quilts enabled her work to be both artistic and autobiographical. Ringgold also started to experiment with sculptures for local community events in 1973. Her sculptures mainly consisted of costumed masks which inspired her passion for performance art. She used her performance pieces to also tell her story in a different, more interactive way. Finally, Ringgold has written and illustrated 17 children’s books. Her books simplify complex issues of racism for young children. 

Since the 1970s, Ringgold has been an activist for many feminist and anti-racist organizations. She became a founding member of the National Black Feminist Organization in 1974. Ringgold currently lives in New Jersey where she has a studio and continues to create art with powerful political messages based on her experiences as a Black Feminist. Women have always been looked down upon, especially women of color, so for Ringgold to consistently be active in the arts and activism organizations is impressive. She didn’t let the struggles of her being a black woman get in the way of her art, instead, she used it to portray political messages in an influential way. The print, “Born in the USA” (2012), is one of her recent works of art where she depicts Obama and states that he was born in the USA throughout the background of the print.