Bisa Butler "Safety Patrol"
- Image size: 10 3/4 in. x 10 in. Poster size: 12 in. x 12 in. (30.48cm)
- Materials: Premium Cardstock
- Print developed from Bisa Butler's The Safety Patrol, 2018, from the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection.
- In great condition never framed. Slightly bent corner tips/handling in white margin, image is brand new!!!
Bisa Butler’s quilts are exuberant, colorful, and almost photo-like—arresting and complex objects made entirely of fabric that has been carefully cut, layered, and stitched together. Through her works, often striking portraits, Butler depicts African American life in a way that invites viewers to deeply consider and invest in the lives of her subjects while also reframing historical narratives surrounding quilt making.
About this piece: "In The Safety Patrol, recently acquired by the Art Institute, Butler plays with artistic conventions and expectations, choosing seven children of varying ages as her subject. Set on background fabric with a subtle gray and white floral pattern, the children stand in a tight group and gaze out at the viewer, each dressed in brightly colored and patterned clothes that convey a sense of playfulness while commanding individual attention. One child stands in front of the others with his arms outstretched in a protective gesture, wearing a belt and sash that identify him as part of a school safety patrol, a group of children that protect fellow students and serve as leaders. His presence reminds viewers that children, black children especially, need to be seen, valued, and protected, while The Safety Patrol as a whole offers an imaginative glimpse into the complex and varied lives of youth. "
About the artist: "Also known as Mailissa Yamba Butler Date of birth 1973 Bisa Butler creates arresting portraits—composed entirely of vibrantly colored and patterned fabrics—that reimagine and celebrate narratives of Black life. Butler often works with photographs as source images, reimagining the figures captured as attentive portraits with layers of color and stitched details. She strategically selects fabrics, using the history or imagery of the prints to reinforce the stories she wants to communicate in each quilt. Layering materials and meanings, Butler brings to life personal and historical narratives of Black life and invites viewers to look closely and think deeply about the potential and purposes of portraiture. Butler’s work has been shaped by a variety of influences and experiences, key among them family photo albums, the philosophies of AfriCOBRA (the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists, established in Chicago in the late 1960s), Romare Bearden’s collages, Faith Ringgold’s mixed-media quilts, and Gordon Parks’s photographs. Butler earned her BFA at Howard University, Washington, DC, and her MA in arts education at Montclair State University, New Jersey. Trained as a painter, she shifted to quiltmaking during her graduate studies, when she made a quilt in honor of her grandmother. She has exhibited in group and solo shows across the United States as well as in China, England, Japan, and South Africa. In 2019, the Art Institute of Chicago acquired The Safety Patrol and in 2020 will host the first solo museum exhibition of Butler’s work Bisa Butler: Portraits."
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