Narrative and Seriality in Elizabeth Catlett’s Prints

Abstract

This article conceptualizes visual and textual iteration as a means of storytelling in the work of Elizabeth Catlett. Catlett addresses social change and has been associated with several artistic and political periods, including Social Realism, the Mexican School, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Black Arts Movement—a testament to her extensive range in championing marginalized peoples via prints and sculpture. The dominant figures in her work reflect not only inequalities inherent in systemic racism and instances of violence toward African Americans, but also beauty of Black and indigenous bodies and hope for the future. The role repetition plays in her artistic vocabulary, here inclusive of the written word and images, prove that “intertextuality” can occur within the frame of a single illustration.