To be Moveth like the Wind 2022

Editor: So, this is Lanise Howard's 2022 piece, "To be Moveth like the Wind," made with oils and acrylics. I’m really struck by the almost dreamlike quality of the scene and this separation between two groups of people. What's your take? Curator: The division into two panels, each featuring figures walking across a grassy landscape, definitely evokes a sense of transition. Given Howard's interest in narratives of Black identity, how do you think we can view this piece in relation to movement, freedom, and perhaps even displacement within the African diaspora? Editor: That’s interesting! The figures, especially on the right side, holding hands, makes me think about togetherness, a journey shared by women and men in pursuit of something. Is the artist using the figures’ arrangement in some symbolic way? Curator: Exactly. The arrangement of the figures – the groupings, the holding of hands – could be interpreted as symbolic gestures, embodying concepts of unity and shared experiences of identity and resistance. Could this formation, in your view, suggest strategies of resilience, echoing communal strengths that emerged within historical oppression and segregation? Editor: That makes sense, especially considering the almost ethereal, timeless quality of the clothing they wear, or don’t wear. So much history is suggested by the images and relationships. It creates tension because of all of its unknown meaning, but meaning seems really key. Curator: The title "To be Moveth like the Wind" is so important in how we can decode this imagery as well. This movement signifies agency. Where do you think the artist sits in their personal expression and also as an act of resistance that seeks empowerment for all of us to find inspiration within this artwork? Editor: That’s really helpful in understanding where this artwork fits into a wider conversation, especially knowing that narrative tradition is such a huge part of our collective experience. Curator: I completely agree. By looking through the lens of movement and historical struggle we also invite our audience into discussions of Black identity as lived and self-defined experience.