Wanda Ewing (1970–2013) was an artist born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. She considered her art to be "provocative with a political edge." A common message of her art was “I’m a proud black woman, and I’m going to be hard to ignore.” Ewing studied printmaking at

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

where she received her BFA in 1997. She received her MA and MFA in printmaking at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

in 2001 and 2002, respectively. She was a tenured professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she taught visual arts classes from 2004 to 2013. Ewing exhibited nationally and won several awards for her work.

Art

Style and philosophy

Ewing was a self-described "latch hook maven." She used collage, printmaking, latch hook, and other media to create her pieces. Her work explores issues of race, gender, sexuality, beauty, and identity. Her latch hook tapestries utilize traditionally erotic poses and powerful gazes to refute common stereotypes of Black women in media. Ewing's feminism played a major role in her art. Her art uses feminist form and content to "subvert stereotypical images of women." Mainstream media often shows Black women in a negative light by sexualizing and objectifying their bodies. It was Ewing's goal to transform those portrayals into positive ones. Her art depicts Black women as "self-assured" and confident.

Notable exhibits

*"Bougie" is a series of portraits which use

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

to comment upon beauty standards for Black women. This series was exhibited by the Sheldon Museum of Art in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

. It was featured in the public television segment ''Next Exit: Arts in Nebraska'' *"Black as Pitch, Hot as Hell" is a collection of paintings and prints showing curvy, Black women in a pin-up style. This series explores how race informs society's idea of female beauty. *"Video Grrrlzzz" is a collection inspired by video vixen

Karrine Steffans Karrine Steffans (born August 24, 1978) is an American author, most notably of the ''Vixen'' series of books. She has worked as an actress and as a video vixen, having appeared in more than 20 music videos. In 2007 and 2008, Steffans visited a n ...

. This series of drawings shows "barely-clad black women with punching-bag heads, a metaphor for how women have been treated in the hip-hop industry." This collection was considered too controversial and was rejected from a hip-hop exhibition.

Shows and gallery affiliations

Ewing's work is included in several collections including Richard M. Ross Museum in Delaware, Tama Art University Museum in Tokyo, Japan, and San Francisco Art Institute among others. Her work has been discussed and reviewed in various publications, most notably Maria Buszek's ''Pin-up Grrrls: Feminism, Sexuality and Popular Culture''. A selection of her printmaking was displayed at the International Print Center in New York in the mid-2000s. Her work continues to be exhibited and collected.

Scholarships, grants, and awards

*1995-1997 Undergraduate Merit Award Scholarship from

*1999 – 2002 Graduate Opportunity Fellowship for Graduate Study and Minority Tuition's scholarship from The University of Iowa School of Art and Art History *2003 Travel Grant from The Nebraska Women's Caucus for Art *2004 Recognition Award from the Roots and Crown:UNL Printmakers Exhibition *2006 Artist of the Year from the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. *2008 Purchase Award from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

*2009 Best Visual Artist and Best 2-D Artist from Omaha Entertainment Awards, Purchase Award from the Richard M. Ross Museum, and the Young at Heart Award from the Micro Museum. *2010 Research Grant from the University Committee on Research and Creative Activity at University of Nebraska at Omaha *2011 Individual Artist Grant from The Pollock Krasner Foundation, INC. *2013 Individual Artist Fellowship from The Nebraska Arts Council

Death

In May 2013, Ewing was diagnosed with stage four, small cell

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

. Wanda Ewing died December 8, 2013, at the age of 43 from complications with chemotherapy.

Legacy

Ewing was an ambassador for the Omaha arts community. She worked to create a space for artists of color in Omaha's visual arts scene. The presence of artists of color in Omaha grew under her care. The Union for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, Nebraska named a gallery in her memory. Ewing was the first full-time professor of color to receive tenure in the art department of a major state university. The University of Nebraska Foundation established an art scholarship in her name. Wanda Ewing's work continues to inspire women artists to "find their voice." ''Les Femmes Folles: Women in Art'', an organization inspired by an exhibition she curated under the same name, continues to support women in art in her honor.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ewing, Wanda 1970 births 2013 deaths African-American women artists American women painters University of Nebraska Omaha faculty San Francisco Art Institute alumni University of Iowa alumni Painters from Nebraska 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists American women academics 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American painters 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American artists