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Barbara Chase-Riboud: Novelist, Poet, Sculptor By Alexandra Grabbe
Barbara Chase-Riboud is one of those rare overachievers who are so low-key in the pursuit of their goals that few people recognize the full extent of their accomplishments. Six novels, three books of poetry and a 2022 memoir titled "I Always Knew" constitute an impressive body of work; Chase-Riboud, based in Paris, is also a sculptor. The Museum of Modern Art in New York showcased her work last fall with “The Encounter: Barbara-Chase Riboud/Alberto Giacometti.” Her writing and her sculpture are motivated by the same relentless urge — to make Black Americans aware of their history and to encourage them to take pride in their heritage. In 1979, Chase-Riboud wrote a historical novel that turned its author into a celebrity. "Sally Hemings" tells the story — based on conjecture — of Thomas Jefferson's mistress, a slave and the half-sister of his deceased wife. Explaining Sally Hemings became almost a mission. Chase-Riboud is quoted in the New York Times of June 2, 1981, as saying, "The fact that Jefferson is great is not in dispute, and the fact that Sally Hemings is Black is not in dispute. But the blending of great and Black seems to be what makes people climb the wall. It has to do with American historical attitudes, and it has to do with race. One of the ironies is that Sally Hemings was three-quarters white; she was Black because she was defined by her society as being Black." Chase-Riboud's memoir is composed of letters to her mother, Vivian Mae, and reveals the author's behind-the-scenes emotions before and after the publication of her bestseller.
In 1977, she describes what success feels like, calling herself an "accidental" historian: "Nobody said, 'Be careful because your primary goals and your personality as an artist will be eclipsed for a while and your life will be changed forever.'" In 1994, Chase-Riboud returned to art full time. Individual pieces, such as the "Malcolm X" series, reflect the artist's concern with Black American history but were not created as political statements per se. She asks the question of what qualifies as "Black art." She set out to prove there was no such thing and "the idea that there was, was as stupid as listing rhythm and blues and pop music separately, one for Blacks and one for Whites."
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