 My name is Orlando, and I'm part of the digital arts and team here at the Berklee Museum Our next artist is another special woman. You see there comes a point in a young person's life Where they have to answer the elusive question, what are you going to do for the rest of your life? And to be honest with you, I haven't answered that question yet But when I look at Dengue McCannon's life, I see an African-American woman who by no means limited herself Born on July 31st 1947 and raised in Harlem, New York That's right She was inspired to become an artist at the age of 10 and since has become a Author an illustrator a custom designer a muralist a printmaker and Much more in addition. She has appeared on various group shows It was part of the first group show a professional black woman artist here in New York City where we at Interestingly in all of her achievements, I have noticed that her works have stayed grounded on who she is a black African-American artist That's what I love about Dengue McCannon that she doesn't shy away from her love of her city her culture and who she is Mrs. Dengue McCannon, thank you for your work and your life and thank you for helping me answer that elusive question Please welcome Dengue McCannon So I have to ask a question that I didn't plan. Okay. Who are you wearing? You want to hear the whole story? Yes Okay I was in the Tate Museum in London last October And I was talking with one of the curators about upcoming African-American art show that they're planning one of the artists represented was Kay Brown and when they told me that I Got really I guess almost teary because I was very close to Kay And I was upset that she had passed before she saw this before she started her work was in the tape So when I came back I started thinking about where we at and this show and I said well I know everybody's not gonna be in the show so but I don't really feel right just me being here from where we at So I says, you know what I'm gonna create a piece I'm gonna put everybody's name on it and in this way we'll all come into the Brooklyn Museum like this me so We had like 45 members possibly 50 over the 26th history of the group on the front here are the 11 members that I know of who have passed On the sleeves I've embroidered the names of the 46 artists who were in the group over that period of time and then on the back I've put up posters letters and other things relevant to the group So I've achieved my goal Okay, I'm a curator that belongs in a museum Tell us about where we at where we at I Believe was the first woman's black women's artists collective founded in 1971 by myself Kay Brown and Faith Ringo and it started because I put out a call to Kay And asked her were there other women artists because at that time I was exhibiting As an artist, but I felt a little isolated because they weren't a lot of women Like for example where you see artists who I started with in 1965 or so When we had that first show at the St. Nicholas projects They seem like there were a lot of women, but by the time the winter came they had all disappeared and I was left Being the only woman member of where you see artists collective so I put out the core Faith put out the core Kay put out the core and They everybody agreed to meet at my studio, which was in the lower east side top floor Really bad building the day of the first meeting There were no lights in the house. I mean in the whole Apartment building. There was water dripping and yet women still came from that first meeting We decided that there was it was better for us to work as a group because we could accomplish more and I had exhibited at acts of art through a friend of mine Ellsworth Orsby who had commenced convinced Nigel that it was okay to let a woman to show because in those days women as artists was like a person non grata We were told that oh, you're just doing this and then you're gonna go off and have a family and forget all about your art and blah blah blah blah it wasn't a Profession that women were encouraged to deal with so but from that one show the show got so much Publicity we decided to stay together and over the years We Stay together. We did exhibitions all over. We got our 501 C Papers, so we were able to get funds. We did we were a very community based Organization we would go out into shelters into schools into parks and teach all manners of art and the unique thing about Where we at as an art group is that it did not disinclude visual artists included musicians and included bookkeepers and included Photographers and included dancers. We included any art form that there was you will always welcome and where we have and you did everything from thinking about child care to thinking about inviting people in to talk about how to Professionalize your portfolio or different sort of aspects of how to be an active working artist while you're still Having a family and raising kids and having a job. Yeah, cuz that that's really what made the difference People forget that back in the day the woman was Given the total task of child care of raising a child along with running the house That was solely a woman's domain and one of the reasons a lot of women didn't become artists is because that takes a lot of time And you don't really have much time left unless like me and some other and saying people we just don't sleep You just kind of work around it, but it's difficult. Did you work in a studio? Did you work out of your apartment? I always worked out of my apartment I did have a residency in the early days at the Henry Street settlement But I didn't really like Residencies because you have to get up you have to put your clothes on then you have to go out in the street Face all those crazy people on your way to the studio when you work in the studio. You just get up That makes sense We love this photograph. I can't really remember where we were But that was probably most of the group at that particular time and judging by the youthful look on These wonderful people it was probably around 75 great photograph Also, one of our favorite pieces of ephemera from the show What a great exhibition cooking and smoking. Yeah, and not only was it a great exhibition because one of the things about the feminist issue and Black women issue is that we did not want to separate ourselves from the men. This was hosted at where you see Gallery and myself and Kay were the only women members to this day Of the gallery and they were very supportive of us And you did an exhibition called one plus one equals three which is also a lot around the idea of family and yeah Bring in everybody along true and it was also great because we did a lot of installations. We did Installations way before anybody else that I can think of did installation You also understand we're the first to have real food at your openings. Yes, because Wine and cheese don't really get it And the other thing is is that a lot of us particularly artists we Food was kind of a scarcity So we would go to openings to fill up for the evening and since all of us This was very natural we cooked we just started cooking at the art shows and we found that that brought even more people in because now Not only their heart is food This is one of the the works that the Brooklyn Museum was lucky enough to acquire several years ago as part of our black arts movement collection and It is a piece that I have grown to love over the past few months working at it worth it looking at it Living with it. I wondered if you could tell us a little bit about your What you envisioned when you made this piece? Okay, now first of all remember I figured out yesterday that I create this piece Well, I was 24 so it's okay. If I don't remember everything 24 years old yeah, I was floored myself, but anyway I Believe I created this because at the time the roles of women were so limited and I felt that women should be able to do everything women can do everything women can also lead Revolutions so you see this woman in her stance. She's a revolutionary sister Her head headpiece I've often been questioned about because they asked me if I was trying to decapitate her No, I wasn't the top of it falls down Because I don't drive I drove once in my lifetime I don't drive today and I had to transport these pieces So to make it feasible and I can't remember how I figured out how to do that I put a hinge on her head so the head head would Fall down. I mean would flow down rather than fall off Where were you carrying it? Hmm? How are we in like not in a car? No, I didn't have a car so you carried it like I depended on cabs and the generosity of friends and People don't always you know if you have something that's problematic you have a problem getting it from one place to the other so I Made the head so it went down our conservator is going to be interested in this story Our cons our conservator is going to be interested in this story. I told her okay Yeah, okay, and it's also she's Constructed out of nails screws all kinds of things in the hardware store which also during that time We really weren't welcome in the hardware store. So sometimes I would go in there just to work their last nerve Started collecting all these I found the metal pieces I was drawn to and all the different shapes and sizes of the screws and I started making these Symbolizes and this was one of them that belt that she is wearing was My version of a belt that a lot of we a lot of us wore at that particular time Probably inspired by the black rotation movies a bandolier. Huh a bandolier. Yeah, and What women were wearing was real belts, but they had the with the bullets But the powder was taken out somebody had told me some of those belts have come from the Vietnam War and I couldn't afford one. So I found The Chinese had come up with a cheap Invitation so I bought one I wore it for a while and then as I was constructing this piece. I said well What could is a warrior and you don't have any artillery? So I put the belt on that And I also love you said that the um the top is also you're you're thinking about the top Was made from flag poles The that had found probably in the garbage a whole bunch of flags I cut off took the flags off and then the pole did you give him to faith? Hmm. No No, but I remember faith had gotten arrested and had gone down to the tunes and all that so that was probably in my mind while I was doing this and I kind of made it in reference to the Statue of Liberty because I said everybody come well Now a lot of people come to America through the Statue of Liberty We are born here, and we don't have those same rights so That's why that's up there your revolutionary sister is a Statue of Liberty Our Statue of Liberty and she's not standing near this placid she's ready for action Thank you, Dinga. Thank you very much