Dark Designs and Visual Culture

A collection of writings from the ‘90s by the popular Black feminist scholar and journalist on film, art, and politics.

Library Journal

A trenchant commentator on race, gender, media, and art (and daughter of artist Faith Ringgold, who figures strongly in her work), cultural critic Wallace was 26 when her book Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman (1979) announced her distinctive feminist voice and bold, confrontational style. These qualities are much in evidence in her new work, which assesses racist/sexist elements in popular culture, claims space for black feminists, and examines blackness and the visual arts. Included are over 50 articles, addresses, and interviews, written between 1989 and 2003 and in some cases not previously published, that encompass autobiography, literary and cultural theory, and critiques of films, performances, and other cultural phenomena. Wallace reviles all that enables racism and misogyny and has harsh words for those who, in her view, limit or misrepresent black intellectual and cultural discourse. Provocative and thoughtful, this compilation is recommended for academic libraries that serve programs in women's studies, African American studies, or the study of media and culture.-Janet Ingraham Dwyer, Worthington Libs., OH Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Michele Wallace is Visiting Professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University. She is the author of Invisibility Blues: From Pop to Theory and Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman. She has written for numerous popular and scholarly publications, including The Village Voice, The New York Times, Emerge, Aperture, Ms., October, and Renaissance Noire.