Faith Ringgold Dah #2, 1983 Acrylic on canvas Work: 188 x 147.3 cm
In 1983 Ringgold painted four abstract paintings which she named the Dah series. She refers to these works and others of this period as "painting the inside of my head”. Up to that point her art had always been about specific people and issues.
“In order to produce an abstract image in my painting I positioned myself close to the canvas and made strokes of color all over it, one color at a time, until I had covered the whole surface. When I finally moved away from the canvas, I was surprised and excited by the abstract composition I had created. There were all sorts of strange images there, so I was satisfied that I was indeed "painting the inside of my head" and not anything else. I made borders painted in gold or silver for these works from glued-on canvas. “
The title for the series is derived from Faith’s daughter, who was only one year old when she was asked what she thought of these paintings. She responded with "Dah."
