A Research On The Creation Of Faith Ringgold As An African-American Artist

Faith Ringgold is an internationally active feminist artist as well as a social activist.Her artistic practice is extensive and diverse.Her works deal with issues such as racism,feminism and indigenous African art.Through the combination of various materials and media,her works emphasize the role of narrative,fabric and cultural connotation in creation.This paper takes Ringgold’s early paintings and fabric works as the main research object,discusses the reasons why Ringgold turned from painting to fabric art from the three aspects of identity construction,feminist issues and gender narration under the multicultural background reflected in these works.And how much this shift reflects the difficult exploration and struggle of an African-American female artist’s personal identity amid the social,racial and gender conflicts of the 1960 s and ’70s in The United States.This paper argues that Ringgold’s works are characterized by multiculturalism,as well as her extensive and active social practice,which makes the construction of gender meaning in her works obviously go beyond the simple binary opposition.