Glenn Ligon questions Rachel Dolezal's artistic appropriation on Instagram
Artist Glenn Ligon posted on Instagram about Rachel Dolezal's painting Anthology, questioning whether imitation extends to blackface. Ligon noted disturbing similarities between Dolezal's work and his own text-based paintings that have explored African American history since the late 1980s. Dolezal, a former teacher and civil rights activist exposed in 2015 as a white woman identifying as Black, creates art focused on African American identity. Ligon referenced his own artistic practice, which draws from writers like Zora Neale Hurston and Jesse Jackson. Some observers have previously noted similarities between Dolezal's painting The Shape of Our Kind and J.M.W. Turner's The Slave Ship. Ligon's Instagram post included the hashtag #distress-textured alongside his commentary on Dolezal's artistic approach.
Key facts
- Glenn Ligon posted about Rachel Dolezal's painting Anthology on Instagram
- Ligon questioned whether imitation includes blackface
- Ligon's text-based paintings explore African American history and language
- Ligon has created such work since the late 1980s
- Rachel Dolezal was revealed in 2015 to be a white woman identifying as Black
- Dolezal was previously a teacher and civil rights activist
- Dolezal's art often concerns African American identity
- Some have noted similarities between Dolezal's The Shape of Our Kind and J.M.W. Turner's The Slave Ship
Entities
Artists
- Glenn Ligon
- Rachel Dolezal
- Zora Neale Hurston
- Jesse Jackson
- J.M.W. Turner