Johnnie M. Maberry Gilbert

Jackson, Mississippi, artist Johnnie M. Maberry Gilbert shares her insights on drawing from literary and historical text for her inspiration in painting. Please see her collection of slavery-related paintings online exclusively on this site in the Image Gallery.

When did you start doing paintings based on slave narratives?

I began painting images based on slave narratives in 1992.

How did the idea first come to you?

In the summer of 1992, I attended the African-American Experience as It Relates to the American Experience Seminar at NYU. There were more than 20 participants, and I was the only visual artist in the group. The majority of the participants were historians. History was one of my least favorite subjects. However, I felt that, by some divine revelation, my purpose for attending this particular seminar would be made apparent.

So, how did the idea to do paintings based on slave narratives first come to me? Being introduced to the slave narratives at the NYU seminar opened a door for me that I had intentionally closed. My experience in history classes left me bored and uninvolved. Why had I not heard of these magnificent, inspiring, yet heart-wrenching stories of my people? I needed to read more, know more…. When I returned to Mississippi, I was not the same. I felt empowered by the knowledge I had gained. I wanted to share what I learned. I was inspired to create images that would motivate curiosity and offer a pathway to a more accurate history through the slave narratives.

How do you select the specific narrative(s) to paint?

Some stories are so powerful and so alive with description, that it would be almost criminal not to illustrate them. The stories that wrenched my heart the most were the ones that I chose to illuminate.

Tell us something about your creative process--from the time you identify a narrative you want to illuminate, how do you begin to visualize and then paint the picture?

My creative process begins with a prayer for guidance during the reading of the narratives. Images were conceived in my mind during the readings and note taking…sometimes, rough sketches scribbled on a note card, or in a notebook or on whatever was handy helped to guide the creative process.

Considering all the details and descriptions given by the speaker or author of the narrative, I immediately knew that the images should be realistic and representative, as well as, symbolic. The images needed to present, with clarity, scenes of a time that many disregarded, had little knowledge of, or discounted as insignificant. To accomplish the realism intent, I would go on an image search. I looked through my collection of photographs, or any sources that would offer a pose or expressions that may help clarify a narrative. My children also served as models.

The acrylic painting created as the introduction to the Narratives, Tears a Reflective Past, is, on the surface, of a once discarded, full-length, broken wall mirror. The mirror was a treasure find for me. As I looked at the 12 inches x 6 feet board with broken and missing mirror pieces, I visualized the broken lives of my ancestors incorporated between and throughout the broken and cracked mirror. I wanted anyone who viewed the images to become a part of the fractured lives represented through their own reflection. A summary of the first narratives that I read had to be placed on that wooden canvas.

Has your vision of slavery changed from the time you started, and, if so, how?

I had a vision of slavery that I submerged into my subconscious. I knew that slavery was a cruel and inhumane institution. When slavery was discussed occasionally, it was with anger and shame. I have a vivid memory (as an undergraduate student) of my psychology teacher asking the class about statistics concerning the number of broken homes in the black community. The statistics were high. "Why?" she wanted to know. No one offered a response. Timidly, I raised my hand and responded that our history was a history of families separated because of slavery. I offered more clarification. The professor agreed, and I wondered to myself, "Where did that come from?"

Since reading the narratives and creating the images, I clearly understand that the shame of slavery is not borne by my ancestors. My vision of slavery is confirmed and clarified as witness is given to man’s inhumanity to man through the narratives.

How do you think these paintings can enrich people’s understanding of the narratives and slavery in general?

An African proverb states, "Until the lion writes his own story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." African-American history and American history were written [for many years] from a European perspective. The accuracy of that history is questionable. Yet, that is the history that many Americans studied and grew up believing.

The narratives fill in voids and vital pieces of American and certainly African-American history. They offer a view from the perspective of those directly affected by the institution. Many of the "why" questions that cloud the mind about slavery are answered through the accounts given in the narratives. The paintings offer images that may inspire others to read the narratives.

Reading the narratives allows one to face the past. If we are to heal as a nation, we must be willing to face our past. Not only do we embrace the knowledge that is a part of our past, but we also begin to shed any unnecessary baggage that prevents us from moving forward towards a more positive future.

What do you hope that people will get from the work?

It is my hope that people will be able to see what a nation of people endured in their quest for freedom. It is also my hope that the stories of faith, hope, patience, endurance, and courage will inspire people. When people see the work, they should also see the kinship in the images. I hope people will feel that kinship and understand that, when we speak of being brothers, there is no separatism. The work begs us to be compassionate, kind, forgiving, and loving.

September 10, 2003