In our culture, black women are not seen as important entities to help preserve and protect the African American culture, but are seen and treated as sexualized objects. Negative stereotypes govern the black woman. Strong public disinterest in uplifting black women has detached them from their true identity and history of existing as queens. Conceptual and performance artist, Lina Iris Viktor, denounces these shortcomings by pulling from Dogon and Ancient Egyptian history and influencing a new wave of black queens. Viktor’s work places black women in composed scenes that emphasize the poise and gracefulness of queens. My project examines Viktor's and one of her works in order to understand what it means to be objectified and how to overcome it. I hope to discover a new definition of identity and how the absence of positive images influences it. I also seek to determine the economic, social and political circumstances required for black women to recombine the history of being black queens with themselves.
