Bisa Butler

Stitching History Together

- Jewels Dodson

Have you ever seen a picture of Frederick Douglass? I have, too. In most photographs, he is wearing a suit, carrying the weight of injustice in his furrowed brows, with an intensity in the eyes that permeates the photo’s grey glaze. He sits like a king upon his throne, looking every bit the legend he will become. Fiber artist Bisa Butler captures Douglass in a new light—literally. In her version, titled The Storm, The Whirlwind, and The Earthquake, Douglass is imposing, towering at seven feet tall. She used various grades of silk in hues of marigold, mauve, and magenta to create Douglass’s puckered lips, almond eyes, textured hair, and chiseled cheekbones. In Butler’s version, Douglass feels human, and not only does he appear to be debonair, he is so fly. If this version of Douglass appeared in my dating app, I would definitely swipe right.