This itemset features 2D artworks related to the mother and child relationship from the University Museum at Texas Southern's collections. They range in medium, including prints, drawings, and paintings.
Curated By
Ben Schachter
Contributing Institution
Texas Southern University
Identifier
HCAC.TSU.IS.017
Rights
All rights held by the University Museum at Texas Southern. For permission to publish, distribute, or use this image for any other purpose, please contact University Museum, Texas Southern University umuseum@gmail.com Attn: Museum Director. Materials not created by Texas Southern University may still be under copyright. Additional materials may be presented for educational and research purposes in accordance with fair use under United States copyright law.
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Biggers completed work on this mural in 1959 after returning from his UNESCO fellowship in West Africa. Originally installed in the Samuel M. Nabrit Science Building on Texas Southern’s campus, it is now located in the University Museum. Mother Nature is at the center of this work, surrounded by embryos and skeletons, animals and fish, and men and women. It speaks to the interconnectedness of life.
Vital's painting depicts a bird feeding a worm to its three offspring, reflecting the theme of the mother & child(ren) relationship that often appears in TSU student work. The artist often featured animals and nature in his work. After his graduation, Vital taught art for many years at Texas Southern.
Tinker's drawing appears to portray three generations of women, with a baby, her mother, and her grandmother. The mother holds her daughter and her bottle; the grandmother stands behind them with her hands crossed. Dr. Biggers’ artwork often centered women and their contributions to the family and society. He passed these themes along to his students, who, like Tinker, frequently highlight the relationship between mother and child.
Donato’s painting portrays an elderly woman feeding hungry birds. This particular geometric style of painting is characteristic of students of Dr. Biggers who attended Texas Southern in the mid-to-late 1970s. The mother-child relationship is a common motif in the artwork of TSU students, usually a human mother and child or an animal mother and child. This painting seems to be unique in its depiction of a cross-species maternal relationship.
Tinker’s painting is a study of a section of her Hannah Hall mural. It depicts a naked woman bending over in front of a large globe. On the right side, the progression of human development, from embryo to fetus, is depicted. The final version of the mural features all of the pictured elements, but aligned differently and complemented by many additional images.
Mendoza's painting depicts an expecting mother gazing into the distance and wearing a traditional Mexican rebozo. Rebozos can be used by pregnant women to support their bellies, as this woman appears to be doing. Mother and child is a prevalent theme in art by Texas Southern Art Department students, found in drawings, sculptures, murals, and paintings.
Ross’s mural represents Black rural life in the early to mid twentieth century. The composition highlights the gendered division of labor, and how women’s work focuses on maintaining the home. Ross grew up in Huntsville, Texas, and this scene may represent his background and experiences.
Randolph’s painting shows a mother in an African dress wearing her child on her back with a chitenge. The wall is graffitied with words like pig, power, and love, and an image of a Black power fist. The work contrasts the African aesthetic of the figures with the African-American political graffiti, expressing an idea of global Blackness.
This drawing combines elements of traditional African sculpture and futuristic motifs. The figures’ faces resemble Ashanti akuaba (fertility dolls). The seated mother with a child is also a common motif in African sculpture, as seen in some works from the University Museum’s collection. The figures’ hair textures suggest a more futuristic design.
Texas Southern University students commissioned Biggers to paint this mural in the cafeteria of the student center. Composed of several distinct but interrelated images, Family Unity features several Afrocentric motifs that Biggers developed, including sacred geometry (checkerboards and spirals), shotgun houses, and husband-and-wife pairs. At the center is what Biggers called the “morning star,” which shows a couple embracing with their form suggesting a womb.
The graphic strength of Oliver's portraits is clearly evident in these two panels. By limiting his palette to black and white, the artist underscores the powerful gazes of the figures. Because of his enthusiasm and talent, Oliver was allowed to create additional murals when empty spaces were available.
