Visiting the Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch Exhibition

 

Recently I had the opportunity to visit the Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch exhibit at Spelman College’s Museum.At first glance, I was enamored by the realism and uniqueness from the sculptures in the exhibit in comparison to the statues I had familiarized myself with before. Growing up in New York, I was used to the stone, oxidized copper, and marble figures that made up the fountains at the parks. But what Prophet  depicted through her sculptures didn’t match the standards of European customs that the statues at the parks in NY had. Most of the figures she made were black or  brown and more intriguingly they were made from wood.

I was mainly captivated by a piece titled Congoalis which featured African Aristocracy. The piece’s description and artist statement incorporates a quote from a letter Prophet wrote to W.E.B Dubois “I believe it is the first time that this type of African has been brought to the attention of the world of modern time. Am I right? People are seeing the aristocracy of Africa”. The sculpture was unapologetically black, from the way the textured hair contrasted with the smooth skin to the stoic facial expression. I imagine these are characteristics that in me evoked pride, in people viewing at the time it was made, inspired displeasure and maybe even anger. Prophet made this sculpture out of cherrywood in 1931, a time when Black women were rarely given space in the art world, and yet she carved this piece anyway. Her work, Congolais especially, is an exemplar of exercising critical consciousness and having an oppositional mind. In an art world full of sculptures meant to represent European beauty and history, Prophet offers an alternative story, a story that has been left out. By naming this piece Congoalis Prophet directly references and honors Africa. This is significant to the time because similar to what Prophet was saying to Dubois, society doesn't get to see this part of Africa and African people. Being an oppositional mind, through her work Nancy Elizabeth Prophet critiques the erasure of African culture and history furthermore suggesting that rather than in the background it belonged at the center of artistic and cultural memory.

• Olivia Robinson CO’2029