An enduring legacy

Born in 1940 and raised in Poindexter Village, a historic and vibrant African American neighborhood not far from the CMA, Robinson began making art at age 3 and never stopped. Indeed, she coined the phrase raggin’ on to describe her conviction that her work would never come to an end because each new person who sees it adds a new perspective that they, in turn, pass on to another, and so on, in perpetuity.

It’s fitting that co-curators Carole M. Genshaft and Deidre Hamlar chose the phrase Raggin’ On as the title of the retrospective exhibition, on display at the CMA through Oct. 3, and book, which encompasses Robinson’s seven-decade career and begins a new phase in which her legacy passes to new generations.

Robinson examined her own life and researched the lives of her ancestors to compose, through an astonishing range of artistic techniques and processes, a much larger account of Black American history and culture that transforms her specific experience into terms that can be understood universally. Above all, Robinson credited memory, which she called the “energy of the ancestors,” as her greatest inspiration.

Thanks to that integrity, Robinson’s art resonates with broad audiences in its articulation of childhood memories, her authentic life as a single mother, and her struggles as a Black, female artist. Her intercontinental travels showed Robinson how different cultures have responded to their own histories. These experiences further enriched her work, which demonstrates both striking originality and a deep understanding of global art history.

While Robinson’s work graces public and private art collections throughout the country, visitors to Athens need look no further than Baker University Center. Embedded in the first floor is Robinson’s 2007 terrazzo installation Poindexter Village, which depicts the people and places of her childhood in Ohio’s first federally funded housing project. With this piece, Robinson hoped we would be moved to articulate our individual and communal histories, and to recognize them as gifts we’re obliged to pass on.