ArtistAziza Claudia Gibson-Hunter
Four Moments in the Sun
Date2003
MediumMixed media on canvas
Dimensions36 × 36 in. (91.4 × 91.4 cm)
Credit LineDC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank Collection
Object numberDCCAH2008.046
ClassificationsPaintings
Locations
- Child and Family Services Agency (200 I Street, SE)
Description“Four Moments of The Sun” is a part of the Gemstones and Lace series of 10 paintings. After years of training in printmaking, Gibson-Hunter felt caged in by the elaborate processes and wanted to attempt a more immediate medium. She chose acrylic paint. This series was her first in this medium.
The subject matter was Black girls. Gibson-Hunter sat in playgrounds and family gatherings memorized by the graceful, gestures, and the beauty, sassy, tenacious quality of the girls. In a society that continues to ignore and denigrate females with brown and black skin each of these girls stand as miracles, a testament to the power of their human spirits. Using photographs taken of friends and family, as inspiration. This was the first of the series. In it Gibson-Hunter pulled from a Kikongo cosogram denoting the cycle of life, and printed the leaf of dandelion plant (a personal symbol for the heartiness and tenacity of Black people) into the piece, as well as patterns from adinkra symbols. From this piece, Gibson-Hunter moved to a more playful pallet and increased the prevalence of adinkra symbols in subsequent paintings.
In 2004, this series was exhibited at the Capital Children's Museum and was the focus of delightful programming surrounding Black girls. Area schools brought scores of children to see the exhibition and partake in the activities offered by the museum.
