Howardena Pindell
Encyclopedia
Howardena Pindell, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, on April 14, 1943, to Howard and Mildred (Lewis) Douglas, is an American
abstract artist. Her work explores texture, color, structures, and the process of making art; it is often political, addressing the issues of racism, feminism, violence, slavery, and exploitation. She is known for her use of unconventional materials in her paintings including string, perfume, glitter, and postcards.
. She received her BFA from Boston University
in 1965 and her MFA from Yale
University in 1967. After graduating from Yale she became a curatorial assistant at the Museum of Modern Art
(MOMA) in New York City and began to establish herself as an artist.
Pindell's first important exhibition was at Spelman College, Atlanta, in 1972 and she has exhibited in almost every following year for over 30 years, either as a solo artist, or in a group exhibition. In the 1970s and 1980s she was often aware that she had been selected for exhibition as a token black among a group of other artists, and she spent a great deal of time researching and analyzing the status of black painters in the mainstream art world. In the 1990s she painted a series of "word" paintings, in which her body in silhouette is overlaid with words such as "slave trade," while an earlier work about South Africa features a slashed canvas roughly stitched back together and the word "INTERROGATION" laid on top. In 1980 she made a video called Free White and 21, in which she appears in a blonde wig, dark glasses, and with a pale stocking over her head as a caricature of a white woman.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, on April 14, 1943, to Howard and Mildred (Lewis) Douglas, is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
abstract artist. Her work explores texture, color, structures, and the process of making art; it is often political, addressing the issues of racism, feminism, violence, slavery, and exploitation. She is known for her use of unconventional materials in her paintings including string, perfume, glitter, and postcards.
Education
Howardena Pindell is a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for GirlsPhiladelphia High School for Girls
The Philadelphia High School for Girls, also known as Girls' High, is a public university-preparatory magnet high school for girls in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As its name suggests, the school's enrollment is all female....
. She received her BFA from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
in 1965 and her MFA from Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
University in 1967. After graduating from Yale she became a curatorial assistant at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
(MOMA) in New York City and began to establish herself as an artist.
Art
Howardena had know she wanted to be an artist since age 12, but it wasn't until the late sixties that, working at MOMA, she was able to produce her first accepted works. He earliest paintings had been mostly urban scenes, but in the 1970s undergoing a radical transformation as an artist, she began developing a unique style rooted in minimalism and pointillism. As she experimented with the process of creating her paintings, Howardena began making use of the scrap circles that resulted from the production of her pointillist works. As David Bourdon writes, "By 1974, Pindell developed a more three-dimensional and more personal form of pointillism, wielding a paper punch to cut out multitudes of confetti-like disks, which she dispersed with varying degrees of premeditation and randomness over the surfaces of her pictures."Pindell's first important exhibition was at Spelman College, Atlanta, in 1972 and she has exhibited in almost every following year for over 30 years, either as a solo artist, or in a group exhibition. In the 1970s and 1980s she was often aware that she had been selected for exhibition as a token black among a group of other artists, and she spent a great deal of time researching and analyzing the status of black painters in the mainstream art world. In the 1990s she painted a series of "word" paintings, in which her body in silhouette is overlaid with words such as "slave trade," while an earlier work about South Africa features a slashed canvas roughly stitched back together and the word "INTERROGATION" laid on top. In 1980 she made a video called Free White and 21, in which she appears in a blonde wig, dark glasses, and with a pale stocking over her head as a caricature of a white woman.