GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The three Marys of the African-American community represent the three cultures of African antiquity: Egypt, Benin, and the Dogon of Mali. The woman in the center, the Dogon weaver of the "word," sits with a string running through her teeth, symbolizing the transferral of knowledge across generations and continents through the spoken word in folk tales, proverbs, and divine teachings. The quilt pattern receives dual meaning from its origins in Kuba design motifs and the patterns of a quilt crafted by the artist's own mother, Cora Biggers. Starry Crown, the name of a traditional spiritual, also refers to the headdresses of the women, crowns of their cultural glory.
Excerpt from
- Alvia J. Wardlaw, "John Biggers, Starry Crown," in Black Art, Ancestral Legacy: the African impulse in African-American art, ed. Robert Rozelle, Alvia Wardlaw, and Maureen A. McKenna (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1989), 192.
NOTES
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From 1989: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the artist via the Art Museum League Purchase Fund
The main source for this provenance is the Dallas Museum of Art Acquisition Record dated February 13, 1989. Copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records object file.
AUDIO ASSETS
Gallery talk with Roslyn Walker and Philip Collins: John Biggers' "Starry Crown" From Two Perspectives: A Conversation
13309446: UMO
Galley talk by Pilar Wong, McDermott Education Intern for Community Engagement; Starry Crown by John Biggers
13310233: UMO
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Texas State Historical Association~Check out this detailed biography of John Biggers.
- University Museum at Texas Southern University~Explore works by Biggers at Texas Southern University, where he was a long time professor and head of the Art Department.
- YouTube~View a discussion of Biggers' work by Richard Powell, art historian.
- C. G. O'Kelly Library~Peruse sources and information related to Biggers' murals at Winston-Salem State University.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1989.13
Category
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General Description
The three Marys of the African-American community represent the three cultures of African antiquity: Egypt, Benin, and the Dogon of Mali. The woman in the center, the Dogon weaver of the "word," sits with a string running through her teeth, symbolizing the transferral of knowledge across generations and continents through the spoken word in folk tales, proverbs, and divine teachings. The quilt pattern receives dual meaning from its origins in Kuba design motifs and the patterns of a quilt crafted by the artist's own mother, Cora Biggers. Starry Crown, the name of a traditional spiritual, also refers to the headdresses of the women, crowns of their cultural glory.
Excerpt from
- Alvia J. Wardlaw, "John Biggers, Starry Crown," in Black Art, Ancestral Legacy: the African impulse in African-American art, ed. Robert Rozelle, Alvia Wardlaw, and Maureen A. McKenna (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1989), 192.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Texas State Historical Association~Check out this detailed biography of John Biggers.
- University Museum at Texas Southern University~Explore works by Biggers at Texas Southern University, where he was a long time professor and head of the Art Department.
- YouTube~View a discussion of Biggers' work by Richard Powell, art historian.
- C. G. O'Kelly Library~Peruse sources and information related to Biggers' murals at Winston-Salem State University.
Notes
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From 1989: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the artist via the Art Museum League Purchase Fund
The main source for this provenance is the Dallas Museum of Art Acquisition Record dated February 13, 1989. Copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records object file.
AUDIO ASSETS
Gallery talk with Roslyn Walker and Philip Collins: John Biggers' "Starry Crown" From Two Perspectives: A Conversation
13309446: UMO
Galley talk by Pilar Wong, McDermott Education Intern for Community Engagement; Starry Crown by John Biggers
13310233: UMO
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1989.13
source file
object_notes_1_b-0084.xml.nores