John Biggers ,Starry Crown
Introduction of the artist
John Biggers was born in North Carolina in 1924, the youngest of seven children. Whereas Biggers' earlier works convey a sense of burden and ordeal is drawings of life in Africa and his later works exude affirmative power, balance, dignity, and position connection to the earth. In the 1980s, particularly following his retirement from nearly thirty-five years of teaching art at Texas Southern University in Houston, he developed a flattened, geometric style in which pictorial space represents not physical depth but a kind of mystical dimension where history and the ever-generative cosmos meet. Exploring the African American experience and African heritage, his work is a testimony to the power of transformation and the triumph of the spirit.
Interpretations: Starry Crown
The name Starry Crown comes from a traditional spiritual of the same name. While the images have many different meanings, the work is mainly about creation and the continuity of tradition through the spoken language. The three women reflect Biggers' perception of black women as the promoters of continuity and moral knowledge. Knowledge moves across generations and continents through the spoken word, the weaving of words, and the craft of weaving itself which refers to the creativity of women. The string is a metaphor for life.
The quilt also reflects continuity because Biggers believes it is the most precious and continuous of the art experiences of person's of African descent in North America. He said, "The quilt was a prayer for poor women. They didn't have anything else to cover their children with." The cotton coming from the inner part of the quilt on the center woman is glowing with light: "God created light." The stars refer to Heaven as does the blue at the top of the painting. The pots represent the twelve months and the boat represents a journey across the seas or the journey through life. If you look closely at the original work, you can see a cow and two goats in the skirt of the figure on the right. The animals represent those present in the manger at Jesus's birth. They also refer to the way in which we are connected to other creatures.
