Mickalene Thomas (American, born 1971). <em>Madame Mama Bush in Black and White</em>, 2007; printed 2011. Chromogenic print, Sheet: 18 3/4 x 23 1/2 in. (47.6 x 59.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mickalene Thomas, 2011.26. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , 2011.26_PS9.jpg)

Mickalene Thomas (American, born 1971). Madame Mama Bush in Black and White, 2007; printed 2011. Chromogenic print, Sheet: 18 3/4 x 23 1/2 in. (47.6 x 59.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mickalene Thomas, 2011.26. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , 2011.26_PS9.jpg)

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What is the relationship between Thomas and the models?

Thomas typically works with friends and family members as models for her paintings and photographs. Madame Mama Bush is Thomas's own mother, Sandra Bush. Bush herself worked as a fashion model in the 1970s.

Thomas has said: “I believe that the sitter has the power (or more power than I have) over what’s being presented. I’m not overly choreographing the women I work with; I’m really trying to capture a quality within them. They are presenting to me, through their lens, how they want to be represented."

Tell me more.

In this photograph, artist Mickalene Thomas has captured her mother. Her work often centers the black female body and it was this series of photos of her mother that inspired her in the first place.

She says: "By selecting women of color, I am quite literally raising their visibility and inserting their presence into the conversation… By portraying real women with their own unique history, beauty and background, I’m working to diversify the representations of black women in art.”

Who is the model in Mickalene Thomas' "Madame Mama Bush" portrait?

The model is actually Thomas' mother, who was a fashion model in the 1970s.

She's so regal! It feels like a great piece to put in conversation with a European Venus painting.

Great observation. And that is exactly what Thomas' work is all about. She purposefully utilized the composition and tropes of European paintings but inverts it by making the woman African American. "Madame Mama Bush" is indeed a modern day Venus harkening all the way back to the Renaissance.

Madame Mama Bush in Black and White

Mickalene Thomas

Photography

On View: American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Surface Tension

ARTIST Mickalene Thomas, American, born 1971

MEDIUM Chromogenic print

DATES 2007; printed 2011

DIMENSIONS Sheet: 18 3/4 x 23 1/2 in. (47.6 x 59.7 cm) Image: 16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm) (show scale)

SIGNATURE Signed, dated and titled in ink on verso.

COLLECTIONS Photography

ACCESSION NUMBER 2011.26

CREDIT LINE Gift of Mickalene Thomas

PROVENANCE April 28, 2011, gift of the artist to the Brooklyn Museum.

Provenance FAQ

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Surface Tension

CAPTION Mickalene Thomas (American, born 1971). Madame Mama Bush in Black and White, 2007; printed 2011. Chromogenic print, Sheet: 18 3/4 x 23 1/2 in. (47.6 x 59.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mickalene Thomas, 2011.26. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , 2011.26_PS9.jpg)

EDITION Edition: 9/15

IMAGE overall, 2011.26_PS9.jpg., 2018

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