Aminah Robinson

Fourth Grade Art

Miss. Derrig
Who Was Aminah Robinson?
● Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson was born in
Columbus, Ohio, in 1940.
● She started making art when she was young with
the different mediums and techniques that she
was taught by her parents
● In high school, she started taking classes at
Columbus School of Art (now Columbus College ● She won several different grants and awards for
of Art and Design) and continued after she her art and has had her work exhibited in
graduated museums and galleries throughout the United
● She traveled to many different places, like Africa, States
and created work inspired by these journeys and
places She said drawing was "like breathing." And making
art was "a way of walking."
 Mediums She Used
● She used many different mediums: fabric,
needlepoint, paint, ink, charcoal, clay, found
objects, etc
● Hogmawg: a mixture of mud, clay, twigs, leaves,
lime, animal grease, and glue, that she learned
how to make from her father and used in both
2-dimensional and 3-dimensional works
● RagGonNons: the word she gave to her large
and complex works of art that were often on
fabric, which she embellished with buttons,
beads, and other found objects Her father taught her how to make her own paper and books
when she was young.
 Themes in her Art
● Created artwork that celebrated and
memorialized the neighborhood she grew up
in, Poindexter Village in Columbus
● Her work included themes of family,
ancestry, community, and her mentors
○ We’ll focus on the theme of mentors
for our art
● She was inspired by the African concept of
Sankofa, which is to understand the past in
order to go forward
One of the aims of her work was to "make art that fills in the blank
pages of African American history." and to reclaim what once had been
visible, with joy, not protest
Resources
https://art.state.gov/personnel/aminah_robinson/
https://www.npr.org/2021/10/01/1041301066/buttons-beads-and-bravado-celebrating-the-simple-joy-in-am
inah-robinsons-art
https://art.state.gov/personnel/aminah_robinson/
http://www.aminahsworld.org/index.php
https://hammondharkins.com/artists/aminah-robinson/
https://hyperallergic.com/605977/aminah-robinson-raggin-on-review-columbus/
http://database.aminahsworld.org/works/41