It's Black History Month and a worthy event during this month (and beyond) is the New Museum retrospective of the art of Faith Ringgold. Ringgold, an African American artist and native of Harlem, Manhattan, has created many fascinating pieces over the past fifty-plus years.

This thoughtful and impressive exhibition, called "American People," includes several of her iconic quilts, as well as paintings, lithographs, multimedia pieces and more. Her work is rooted in issues that reflect the African American experience, as well as feminism, New York City, and other aspects of American life. 

On display from February 17th through June 5, 2022, the artworks are spread over three floors, as well as one stairwell and ten of her books on the top floor. Ringgold is known for her colorful children's books, and there are copies for perusal on the seventh floor.

If you start your visit on the second floor, the first piece you will see is a self-portrait of the artist (on loan from the Brooklyn Museum). I've seen this painting in its regular location, so it was interesting to see it here too. But I actually began my stroll on the fourth floor and made my way downward.

The fourth floor features several of Ringgold's quilts, and this set was based on Paris and how a fictional Black woman interacts in Paris as an artist, model and socialite. The third and second floors displayed more of her quilts, paintings and sculptures. 

Her work is at turns joyous, angry, defiant, pensive. You can glimpse her perspectives on life as an African American in the 20th Century, as well as her thoughts on the past. Just as important are her expressions of life as a woman, as a mother, as a female artist. A few pieces, quilts of life in Harlem, will be familiar to anyone who has read her children's book Tar Beach. 

There are a few display cases of her activism efforts, including fighting for women (especially Black Women) being represented in art galleries and museums, Black Power (including posters for Angela Davis), the rights of prisoners (the Attica Uprising) and more. 

African art has influenced her paintings (most obviously in the faces and the large, haunting eyes) but also the rather homespun Americana of quilting. Many of the quilts feature writing, narratives of fictional stories and reminisces. Some of the quilts features familiar Black History figures such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Harlem Renaissance luminaries.

Among my favorite pieces were the Tar Beach quilts, which have a childlike quality of wonder. I was drawn deeply to a set of sculptures of a mother and her three children. Their faces were reminiscent of African art but mixed with American touches, such as "Shirley Chisholm for President" button. 

Ringgold's art tells stories, some happy, some mundane, some painful. It is very engaging, and so very American and at times controversial. This show is both an enjoyable art excursion and a series of lessons on American life.