The Personal and Political Art of Anna U Davis
by Timothy Brown
There is a widely-held notion that art should not be informed by politics. In this view, politics is seen as propaganda that undermines the integrity of art, which should rise above practical concerns of the state. Reality Check, an exhibition of work by Anna U Davis, challenges this perception by embracing their interconnection. As Davis states:
“Art serves a dual purpose for me. It is a vehicle to express my socio-political views and a coping mechanism.”
For Davis, this duality involves her subjectivity, working through traumatic experiences, coupled with a keen sense of the objective conditions that impact our lives on a systemic level. Her dialectical approach to art therefore begins with an awareness of art and politics as a “perceived” contradiction, which (ultimately) is a false dichotomy that must be overcome through direct action—most importantly, through her art. As Karl Marx once remarked about dialectical materialism:
“The philosophers have interpreted the world, the point however is to change it.”
Anna U Davis. Diffusion of Responsibility, 2021, acrylic, ink pen and cut paper collage on canvas 74 X 147 inches
Davis addresses the passivity and indifference that hinder human action in her monumental work Diffusion of Responsibility. “Diffusion of responsibility” is a sociopsychological phenomenon whereby an individual assumes that other people are responsible for taking necessary action. The work contains 36 of her signature Frocasian characters, all rendered with gray-toned skin inspired by her interracial marriage. These gray tones unite them in their common humanity, yet each figure is a floating signifier, conceptually tied to their existential moorings, yet revealing a degree of “slippage” that leaves their unique situations in flux. Rather than be anchored to a resolute state of being, they function as dyadic “signs” that embody decision and indecision. Collectively, the paintings engender a process of signification (semiosis), as the “diffusion of responsibility” passes from one subject to the next. The irreducibility of each representation suggests that any one of these “personas” can be us as well.
By inviting us to acknowledge the implications of our actions, Davis offers a feminist critique of society—one that illuminates the complex relationship between our individual struggles and larger issues, such as gender inequality, racial discrimination, and climate change. In other words, “the personal is political.” By placing her art at the intersection of these three societal challenges, Davis echoes views held by other feminists, such as bell hooks, who articulated the interconnection of race, class, and gender by what she termed the “white-supremacist-capitalist-patriarchy.” As hooks explained:
“I wanted to have some language that would actually remind us continually of the interlocking systems of domination that define our reality and not to just have one thing be like, you know, gender is the important issue, race is the important issue…”
Anna U Davis. Shark-cuteri, 2016. acrylic, ink pen and cut paper collage on canvas. 72 x 96 inches.
Another work informed by Davis’s own tripartite model of feminist critique is Shark-cuteri. The painting features a reclining nude woman whose body parts are labeled like slabs of meat. The limbs of this figure are like cut-out appendages reminiscent of commodity fetishism. Four male figures with voracious appetites loom over her fragmented and dehumanized body as they partake of this display of meat and female flesh. As discussed earlier in Notes on the Female Gaze, this depiction speaks to a long tradition of patriarchal sensibilities that serve to normalize the male gaze while objectifying women for pleasure and consumption. Normally, the male gaze is hidden, but Davis artfully dissects for us a hyperreal vision of her body, giving visceral form to the psychological and ideological underpinnings of these projections. The sexualized nature of this tradition is thereby extended into the marketplace, revealing the dual manner in which the objectification of women is perpetuated by sexism and capitalism.
Anna U Davis, Biosphere, 2021, acrylic, ink pen, pumice and cut paper collage on canvas, 72 x 72 inches
The conceptual depth of Davis’s work is vividly defined by her strong command of multimedia and the ingenious techniques by which she renders her subjects. Similar to what Clemente Greenberg called the “self-critical” tendency in modernist painting, Davis’s technical facility spurs her to push the boundaries of her art, leading to surprising results. For example, you may notice that the glossy surfaces of her work give the illusion of having been painted on glass rather than on canvas; this involves a technique of adding varnish to each layer or application. When viewed as dyadic signs, these glossy surfaces provide a window/mirror effect. For instance, in her work Biosphere, which addresses climate change, what appears as a “window” into a picturesque and timeless landscape (reminiscent of Claude Lorrain) also functions as a “mirror” that compels us to look at our own reflection and consider the temporality of our existence, as well as the consequences of what may happen if we do not take climate change seriously.
The works of Anna U Davis offer a wealth of beauty unto themselves, but are also invitations to look, think, and act. Through a process of imaginative identification, viewers can connect to each painting subjectively and enjoy their unique aesthetic virtues, while never losing sight of the urgent social conditions that impact us all—regardless of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, region, or country of origin.
