Ark of the Covenant1980Sheet: 13 x 17 3/8 " (33 x 44.1 cm)
Frame: 15 7/8 x 20 " (40.3 x 50.8 cm)Crayon, pencil, gold paint on cardGift of the artist1982.2.101531561388Minnie EvansDrawingsCopyright for this work is under review. WilmingtonWilmingtonUnited StatesNorth CarolinaPaintingsWilmingtonObject information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgMinnie Evans worked for many years as a domestic and later gatekeeper for Airlie Gardens. She began painting late in life as the result of an apocalyptic vision. She traces her ancestry back to Trinidad and it is suggested in HEAVENLY VISIONS that her imagery might be a racial memory (influenced) By the Yoruba culture which had a strong presence along the Atlantic coast and in Trinidad. According to Thompson, the "shouters of Trinidad employ "geometric" patterns filled with myriad mystic ciphers and notations. IN Youruba culture, white is the "symbolic color of good character" and a frontal, searching gaze and sealed lips were elevated expressions of great character, which might explain Evans' use of white people in her associations with Gog and goodness. Her use of eyes is explained thus: become link between three presences: Object, and viewer and divine presence.19801980 1982 2 1 Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgMinnie Evans worked for many years as a domestic and later gatekeeper for Airlie Gardens. She began painting late in life as the result of an apocalyptic vision. She traces her ancestry back to Trinidad and it is suggested in HEAVENLY VISIONS that her imagery might be a racial memory (influenced) By the Yoruba culture which had a strong presence along the Atlantic coast and in Trinidad. According to Thompson, the "shouters of Trinidad employ "geometric" patterns filled with myriad mystic ciphers and notations. IN Youruba culture, white is the "symbolic color of good character" and a frontal, searching gaze and sealed lips were elevated expressions of great character, which might explain Evans' use of white people in her associations with Gog and goodness. Her use of eyes is explained thus: become link between three presences: Object, and viewer and divine presence.