Black History Month/Recycled Art: Marita Dingus
February 3rd, 2010Seattle is celebrating Black History Month with an exhibit at Seattle City Hall that features Marita Dingus and Roosevelt Lewis. You have until February 26, 2010 to see our friend Marita’s 60 foot long Buddha as an African Enslaved (pictured below when it was at the Museum of Glass in 2004), along with other amazing art work made from recycled materials. There will be a meet the artists reception on Thursday, February 4, 1 pm - 2 pm.
Buddha as an African Enslaved by Marita Dingus
From the Seattle City Hall gallery press release: Marita Dingus is a pioneer of incorporating discarded materials into art. She identifies this method as her way of honoring black and ethnic minorities who she believes are typically undervalued and discarded in Western society. Dingus is inspired by her travels and studies across North and South America, Africa, Asia and Europe.
From Who We Are: Selections from the African American Art Collection of Lewis Tanner Moore: The use of materials can often be as expressive as subject matter in art. Marita Dingus uses recycled materials in her figurative work as an expression of reclaimed values for the black figure; for her, the utilization of items once conceived as objects to be used and discarded finds resonance with the African Diaspora.