A few years back (August 2007), I wrote a M.I.S.S. Crew Art HERstory feature on Sister Corita Kent. This lady is an absolute inspiration so I was beyond excited when I saw this video of Aaron Rose discussing Corita’s work at CircleCulture in Berlin. Rose also reported on his MySpace blog that he has a short doc on Corita in the works. I. Cannot. Wait!!!

Back in March, M.I.S.S.’s own Lady Lexx posted about Niagara Detroit, as part of her Art Herstory series. First Ms. Detroit teamed up with Hysteric Glamour to produce a collection of tees and now Niagara has teamed up with Vans to create a limited set of slip ons. They are set to drop in June and I want them all!!

After much delay, I’m back with another edition of Art HERstory (hope you like the new header )!

In today’s post I want to touch on the importance of a muse and focus on the life of Renée Perle—muse to French photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue and designer John Galliano. Read on…

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Today’s featured artist should be particulary interesting for those of you in the textile design industry and/or if you’re a textile design student.

As a black woman artist, Alma Thomas encountered many obstacles. She did not, however, turn to racial or feminist issues in her art, instead she believed that the creative spirit is independent of race or gender (I LOVE that idea!). In her art, Thomas explores the power of color and form in luminous, contemplative paintings.

[Please note: Today's info was taken directly from: Smithsonian American Art Museum (No author is noted on the site). The article poses the right questions about Ms. Thomas' work and is very well written, helping us fully take in her amazing art.]

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Hey Ladies! So I thought I’d switch it up this week and give you Art HERstory homework (yep, you read right: homework!). Now, this isn’t that boring stuff you get at school…we don’t do boring here at M.I.S.S. Crew.

This first “assignment” (there will be more in the future!) is inspired by Keri Smith, an author/illustrator turned guerilla artist. I picked up her book, Living Out Loud –activities to fuel a creative life, (2003, Chronicle Books), a while back when I was in a creative slump and have been inspired by her ever since. Keri’s kind enough to share the things that fuel her creativity in this book and on her blog, The Wish Jar, and that’s where I got the idea for this Art HERstory Homework post. So read her bio after the jump and the assignment will follow (I promise, it WILL be fun!).

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Last week, I highlighted Sister Corita Kent, the most famous nun of the 1960’s and one of the most famous graphic artists in the country. This week, I’m highlighting another woman of God whose future-primitive style can be compared to the child-like yet genius work of Jean Michel Basquiat.

Sister Gertrude Morgan (1900-1980), a preacher, musician and poet, was a natural as an artist, although she got a late start, like many self-taught artists. Her paintings and drawings, often on found objects, are extremely religious yet flowing with happiness. It also offers a vivid self-portrait of herself and her life as a self-proclaimed missionary, as she appears in the majority of her figurative work. Read on…

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In my life, I’ve taken six different art history classes and let me tell you, even art students, as excited as we are about art, yawn our brains out over some of the art stuff in these textbooks. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Warhol, Pollock, Rivera and Caravaggio but why are some of the most amazing ladies overlooked?! Even one of my favorite artists, the widely-popular Frida Kahlo, only got about a page in my last 400 page art history book! Note to the peeps that write these books: Don’t take the term “His-tory” too literally!

Now, I’ve recently come across some wonderful ladies that have been slept-on by these textbooks and felt the need to spread their good names and beautiful art…so that’s where I come in.

My name is Lady Lexx and I’ll be your Art HERstory teacher on this lady-run blog. So let’s get started with Rose O’Neill after the jump!

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