Walking into an art gallery for the first time ever presented a sense of sophistication paired with fear in my mind. The walls that we had to be cautious not to touch, the whiteness of the interior that I was afraid to ruin, and the pristine works of art that lay in front of my eyes were intimidating. Nonetheless, I feel that the artist, Simone Leigh, didn’t want her viewers to feel that way. The inspiration for her artwork stems from feminism, African culture, and position against racism. Nonetheless, the most fascinating aspect of her life is that she never went to art school, showing how her architectural skillset for these sculptures stems purely from inspiration and a certain gifted vision. Perhaps her greatest honor is having one of her works being showcased on the High Line, but more on that significance later.

One thing that I took into observance when walking around the gallery was that all the sculptures were depictions of women. But as I got to look more in depth, I realized that they resembled pottery. The art of pottery is a delicate art that takes time and precision to create, which is probably what most people think of a woman when someone first sees her. Nevertheless, a majority of them have shapes of vases in the place of heads. One might think that this might signify the absence of the female mind, but I interpreted this as a symbol of the underestimation of women. The face-jug being hollow represented the knowledge that women had the capability to withhold, yet were never given the chance to. Through years and years of history, people have had the chance to give women that opportunity to fill that “empty jug” with knowledge and wisdom, but the heads still remain empty.

Perhaps that’s why the curator arranged the sculptures in an orientation to which it glares at the viewer, begging for us to give them a chance. Moreover, I found it significant that the back room had the largest piece of them all surrounded by two others which glared back. That’s why having Leigh’s Brick House placed on the High Line, in the midst of gigantic skyscrapers, is so significant: it shows that women and blacks have the ability to alter the norms and stand out. Moreover, the cornrows and straw skirts on most of the women signify the representation of African culture. It shows that this specific group of people have been neglected for as long as one can remember, but this exhibit calls for a change to such perceptions.