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An artist's gems
Exhibit uses symbols to highlight girls' strength
(Published February 9, 2004)

By MELISSA FERRARA
Staff Writer

Claudia Gibson-Hunter heard her students at Howard University discussing the marginalization of women in hip-hop music and videos.

She heard how disturbed they were at the treatment of black women, sparking her interest to watch some of these videos.

Gibson-Hunter, 50, found she agreed with her students – the portrayal of black women as sex objects was disturbing, and it led her to study the strength of black women and girls. These observations evolved into a study of black girls and a series of paintings depicting the study.

The paintings are on display for Black History Month in an exhibit called "Gemstones and Lace: A Series of Paintings Celebrating Black Girls" at the Capital Children’s Museum, 800 Third St. NE. The exhibit is scheduled to close Feb. 29.

"Ages 7 to 12 are powerful years for a young, black girl," Gibson-Hunter said. "I went to the playgrounds and observed their power and decided to capture that in painting, to go back to that period and try to recapture it."

A key to Gibson-Hunter’s art is her printmaking background. She placed adinkra symbols through the paintings. Viewers can see the symbols under the skin of the girls, in the natural backgrounds of sand and water or in the sky. Adinkra symbols are used in contemporary fabrics in Ghana, but their use in Africa goes back through history, Gibson-Hunter said.

"These symbols act as a lace formed by particles of the universe – stardust, echoes of ancestor knowledge," she said. "The girls are gemstones, catching the light, reflecting, fixed in their humanity, adamantly and exquisitely interwoven into the universe."

Sankosa, a bird that looks back toward its tail, is one of the symbols. She also inked dandelion leaves and printed them into paintings. Gibson-Hunter used the symbols to show the importance of looking back and going back to culture and history. She described both as sources of strength for African-Americans.

"Dandelions have very deep roots, as do African people," she said. "No matter what, we come back."

In addition to the paintings, about 30 books on black female heroines are available as part of the exhibit in a reading nook for elementary to middle school aged readers. There are also two stations where kids can create art with adinkra symbols or create their own symbol.

Gibson-Hunter is a mother of four, two boys and two girls. Her son Kamau is 22 years old and is currently working on a documentary film about Samba schools. Her son Muata is 11 and her daughters, Anoa and Thandiwe, are 16 and 13, respectoively.

Originally from Philadelphia, she earned her undergraduate degree at Temple University and came to the District to attend graduate school at Howard University, where she met her husband. She started teaching at Howard in 1999 and left teaching to pursue her art in 2002.

Gibson-Hunter is currently working to get more D.C. students into the museum to view her art and her message. She said finding bus transportation and the cost of entrance have been challenges in her attempts to increase student access. She said she sent information on her exhibit to recreation departments and art teachers to try to spark interest. The artist has also offered to come into the schools and explain her art and message.

In addition to her attempts to reach D.C. students, Gibson-Hunter is working on a new series of pieces, but says it is too early to reveal what the focus of them will be.