On the Cover

The painting on the cover, Revealed: Truths and Myths #2, was created by visual artist Joyce Owens. Owens writes, “My idea was to put a black face on a Renaissance painting to illustrate that the white aesthetic originates (and is perpetuated) through art. That if African Americans are not shown in positive visual images, in paintings, photographs and movies, etc. we will not exist in history except as how others choose to represent us. The Renaissance-inspired figure wears an African mask. What if African culture were as revered internationally as European culture and its imagery? Would people of the African Diaspora be accepted as the standard for beauty?”

Owens is an associate professor and curator at Chicago State University in Illinois. You can see more of her art in Steve Hochstadt’s article and at www.joyceowens.com.