Episode 04: Artist & Author, Nell Painter: Disturbing The Peace From Newark
When I think of Nell’s visual and literary practices, a favorite quote of the iconic American author and social justice advocate, James Baldwin, comes to mind: “Artists are here to disturb the peace.” So, join me in a lively conversation with Nell Painter to discover how this brilliant Newark transplant uses her artistic talents to “disturb the peace”.
Nell Painter, the painter formerly known as the historian Nell Irvin Painter, is author of many books, including The History of White People, Sojourner Truth, A Life, A Symbol, Creating Black Americans and Old In Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over.
She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. at Harvard University, a B.A. in anthropology from the University of California, an M.A. at the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design .
Nell is the Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita at Princeton University and lives and works in Newark, New Jersey.
Nell’s recent artist books include From Slavery To Freedom, was commissioned by Emma Wilcox for Aferro Gallery in Newark, 2020. This book, along with American Whiteness Since Trump, 2020 is part of her In the year of the Great Upheaval 2020 series.
“My work carries discursive as well as visual meaning, and I make it in my characteristic manual + digital process. Using found images and digital manipulation, I reconfigure the past and revision myself through self-portraits. After a life of historical truth and political engagement with American society, my artwork represents freedom. Including the freedom to be totally self-centered.” — Nell Painter
Learn and see more about Nell Painter and her artistic practice at her website: www.nellpainter.com
Check out the images in this episode on: What’s Newark To Do With It?
Nell Painter with her Odalisque Atlas – White History as Told Through Art: Solo show at Harvard University October-November 2019
Nell Painter, 3g. Motherwell in the Adirondacks 17, 2016, digital collage, 32" x 32"
Nell Painter, WEB/Booker T. Opera, City Scene, 2017, sketch for opera backdrop, digital paper collage, 6 ft. x 8 ft. Opera produced by Trilogy Opera Company in Newark, NJ, subject matter based on Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois.
Nell Painter, Photo Left: Installation view of three works by Nell Painter, published by the Brodsky Center, (from left): Wise Woman Inside, You Say This Can't Really Be America, and Wise Woman Disappears. Photo Right: You Say This Can't Really Be America, 2017, digital and silkscreen print on Sunset Cotton etching paper. One of Eight parts, 17" x 17" each.
Nell Painter, From Slavery to Freedom, 2020, Page 12. This is a series of 15 drawings, each 8.5" x 5.5", commissioned by Emma Wilcox for Aferro Gallery in Newark.