Danielle Scott Kinfolk

Danielle Scott Kinfolk: 

Entering this exhibition of curated works by Danielle Scott was transforming and very informative to me personally, because many of her works displayed the resilience and struggle of the lives of the unspoken. I was keen to take notes of the many names Danielle included in the pieces, for people of color lived a life of systematic racism and were rarely documented. Their stories tucked away in books and old boxes were being resurfaced and put on display. Danielle begins by story-telling her experience of visiting four different plantations to absorb as much information of her ancestral lineage and it was almost a spiritual journey for her by reconnecting to her roots and finding herself along the way. What I found interesting was how Danielle approached this project. It came from respect and appreciation, almost as if she was given permission to create these works. Walking around and looking at the many artwork, I was first intrigued by the Queen of Angels, 2020 which was dedicated to Danielle’s teacher, Gladys Barker Grauer.

Queen of Angels, 2020

Mixed Medium collage, ironing board

Before Danielle Scott introduced this piece, she spoke very briefly about respecting your elders. As a child, Danielle would sit with her grandparents who would crochet and listen to the stories. She had a lot of respect towards them. Therefore, I found inspiration and meaning in her opening piece which Danielle dedicated to her mentor of 26 years, Gladys Barker Grauer who passed away in 2019. Gladys was known to many as the queen of art in Newark and founded the first gallery in Newark called Black Artist Visual Perspective. This collage includes mixed medium which is placed on an Ironing board which Danielle says signifies a staple. Meaning, one who is domestic, intelligent, a mother, who handles all responsibilities in the household (teaching, cleaning, clothing, feeding). The spout signifies someone pouring into an empty vessel, which Gladys represented. As Danielle’s mentor, she poured everything into her.Gladys’ blouse includes images of her family, her husband, and her children. She is crowned with her favorite flower, the sunflower. After hearing Danielle’s story of this piece, I was inspired by all of the people who helped me get to where I am today. However, after my first interaction with this piece of work, I concluded that it was someone who passed away. The ironing board, to me, bore the same shape of a coffin so I deduced it was a tribute, especially with how the woman was garlanded with love of sunflowers. The female figure looked very confident in how she was postured and adorned with smiling faces on her shirt. 

Mixed medium, resin, burnt wood frame

Another piece I was interested in was the above image of the standing figures looking at the audience. Danielle used images of families and adorned them with crowns and beautiful clothing. It appears they are inside a room as one child figure sits. What I found fascinating was the 2 outline figures shadowing the woman and child. Danielle was able to answer this and she explained that many families were separated from their loved ones and some never got a chance to reunite. I would interpret that the two outlined figures were male as men were mostly chosen to perform enduring labor. Therefore, they were separated. Many pieces of Danielle’s work conveyed a message of identity and social justice. She brought importance to every name forgotten as included in her work. Even though her ancestors could not share their stories in the past, Danielle made sure that their stories were communicated. Daniele recollected many moments and shared her experience of visiting the many plantations. From picking cotton to entering the churches and receiving their guidance in her journey, she captures those moments to share in her video and includes many photos of the plantation. It's important to do research, especially with significant history and Danielle managed to use imagery to allow her ancestors to communicate. She also allowed the audience to be part of her journey by giving each viewer a piece of cotton to try to clean. Not only was it difficult, but it was just one of thousands that the lineage of black families had to clean. 

“To collect photographs is to collect the world.”

Danielle Scott used photography as a medium to share her message and her ancestral lineage to the audience. 

“Photographed images do not seem to be statements about the world so much as pieces of it, miniatures of reality that anyone can make or acquire."

By capturing history and documentation of names, the audience is able to connect to it. These pictures and pieces of art become immortal even if the creator or the person being photographed isn't.

“The subsequent industrialization of camera technology only carried out a promise inherent in photography from its very beginning: to democratize all experiences by translating them into images”

There is no discrimination of who can or cannot be photographed. Everyone’s story can be kept or shared.