In a new documentary on artist Elizabeth Catlett, Heather Nickels, a curator at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, remarks that Catlett’s mission as a sculptor and printmaker was to excavate the stories of “nameless and faceless” Black women.
Standing Strong, directed by Kevin Kelley — and screening at the Des Moines Arts Center on Nov. 19 — highlights Catlett’s indispensable place in American art history. The first Black woman to receive a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa in 1940, Catlett was born in 1915 to the children of freedmen in Washington D.C.
Her art was often deeply political, focused on the concerns of Black mothers living through the 20th century.
“After I decided to be an artist, the first thing I had to believe was that I, a Black woman, could penetrate the art scene,” she said in 1976, “and that, further, I could do so without sacrificing one iota of my Blackness or my femaleness or my humanity.”
She joined a Mexico City artists collective known as Taller de Gráfica Popular in the 1960s and ’70s. When the University of Iowa Museum of Art purchased a set of her prints in 2006 — part of an expansive Catlett collection now featured in the Stanley Museum of Art — the artist turned the funds into a scholarship for students of color studying printmaking at UI.
After a long career as a sculptor and art professor, Catlett passed away in 2012 at the age of 96. While she wasn’t allowed to live on the University of Iowa’s campus during her tenure, Catlett is now the namesake of a UI residence hall, completed in 2017.
“I didn’t think I was the voice to speak for Elizabeth Catlett initially,” filmmaker Kevin Kelley admitted. But since “there was nothing [yet] done on her,” the Des Moines native and his producing partner, Marie Wilkes, forged ahead, “looking for Black female voices” to tell Catlett’s story with integrity.
These voices include Nickels as well as Dr. Stella Jones, a New Orleans gallery owner and associate of Catlett’s. Lena and Michael Hill, the authors of Invisible Hawkeyes, which chronicles Black University of Iowa students in the early 20th century, are also featured. Audio and video of Catlett is woven throughout, excerpted from an interview filmed by one of her sons.
According to Wilkes, she and Kelley “want Ms. Catlett to shine.” The film, centered around the oft-forgotten legacy of this trailblazing artist, vividly illuminates a looming figure in art history.
Those interested in seeing the film and hearing from Wilkes and Kelley can register for the free event on the Des Moines Art Center website.
This article was originally published in Little Village’s September 2023 issue.
