Artwork Description
Judy Chicago – Yes, I am Black and Radiant from the Song of Songs
Dimensions: 25 x 42 x 1″ framed / 24 x 20″ each paper
Year: 1999
Medium: heliorelief and lithograph
Edition: ed. 30
Judy Chicago’s “Yes, I am Black and Radiant” from “Voices from the Song of Songs”, a portfolio of six images and six text pages. She worked with Marcia Falk’s new translation of the ancient biblical text, which emphasizes its human and erotic nature as well as the mutuality of desire. Even though she created the image more than 20 years ago, the image of a black woman in a powerful stance resonates even more now with the rise and importance of the Black Lives Matter movement. Chicago is a visionary in the realm of social justice and the themes in her work are timeless.
The images fuse the heliorelief photographic woodblock method with lithography, while the text pages in both English and Hebrew are rendered in heliorelief for the beautiful background gradations and polymer plastic relief for the text, along with handcoloring by the artist.
“(Voices from the Song of Songs) is a print series of stunning but carefully concealed virtuosity, which is accessible in a fashion which few contemporary artists are able to achieve. All those who have felt the emotion of romantic love will find something that speaks to them.” — Edward Lucie-Smith