©lesliepetersonsapp Incogito 10x8 Acrylic on panel

A voluptuous, glamorous woman leans against the doorframe, silhouetted by the bathroom light. Over her shoulder we see, hanging on the shower curtain rod, a maid’s uniform. 

In conversation about classic film noir, a common subject is that actors and actresses of color were relegated into narrow stereotyped roles, often as domestic servants of white protagonists. But of course, this didn’t just happen in the movies, it happened in real life, too. African Americans had limited opportunities and were often employed as domestics in white households. What individuality was denied or hidden?

I see a dynamic, powerful, sexy woman who has to masquerade as a demure, uniformed domestic by day- but who knows what mischief or adventures she may be involved in after hours.

And... who knows what she may know about her employers…?

 

Today is the last day of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. In celebration of this, I am featuring Marc Chagall.

Marc Chagall The Birthday 1915

 Marc Chagall is one of the twentieth century’s most famous artists, and probably the most famous artist that is associated with being Jewish. He is considered a Modernist, a Cubist, a Symbolist, a Fauvist, and sometimes “Naïve” painter, who is also well known for his stained glass windows.

Marc Chagall I and the Village 1911

He was born in 1887 in Belarus, and migrated to France in 1910. He escaped Nazi persecution to the US in 1941, returning to France in 1948, where he lived the rest of his very long life, dying in 1985. 

Marc Chagall The Fiddler 1913

 
His subject matter is wide and free-wheeling, and although he was not a practicing Jew, he wove images of the memories of his Hasidic upbringing in Belarus when he was young.

Marc Chagall Solitude 1933

 I am inspired by Chagall’s work and sometimes wish I could break up space with such aplomb. 

 

I love the air of mystery, sadness, joy, romance and spiritualism that his work combines. Maybe someday I will get there, too!

Aleko and-His Wife Zemphira from an Old Russian Tale

Marc Chagall Blue Village 1975

Marc Chagall The Circus 1964