Dr. Halona Norton-Westbrook, Toledo Museum of Art

About Dr. Halona Norton-Westbrook, Toledo Museum of Art

Dr. Halona Norton-Westbrook is Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Toledo Museum of Art

Alison Saar, Topsy and the Golden Fleece, 2017, wood, tar, steel, ceiling tin, wire, acrylic paint and gold leaf, 35-1/2 x 11-1/2 x-8 1/2 inches (Toledo Museum of Art, ©Alison Saar) — A Greek myth and the American anti-Slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin are combined to upend our own contemporary myths.

Turning Uncle Tom’s Cabin upside down

Alison Saar, Topsy and the Golden Fleece, 2017, wood, tar, steel, ceiling tin, wire, acrylic paint and gold leaf, 35-1/2 x 11-1/2 x-8 1/2 inches (Toledo Museum of Art, ©Alison Saar) — Jason and the Golden Fleece and the American anti-Slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin combine to upend our own contemporary myths

Turning Uncle Tom’s Cabin upside down, Alison ...

Faith Ringgold, Ben, c. 1978, soft sculpture/mixed media, 99.1 x 30.5 x 30.5 cm (Toledo Museum of Art, ©Faith Ringgold) — Buttons, flags, and booze — Ben conjures up a specific time and place.

Politics and humanity in 1970s New York

Faith Ringgold, Ben, c. 1978, soft sculpture/mixed media, 99.1 x 30.5 x 30.5 cm (Toledo Museum of Art, ©Faith Ringgold) — Politics, experience, and humanity on the streets of 1970s New York

Faith Ringgold, Ben

Duane Hanson, Executive, 1971, polyester resin and fiberglass, oil paint, mixed media with accessories, life size (Toledo Museum of Art, ©estate of the artist) — Museum visitors often mistake this sculpture for a real person

Disillusionment in 1970s America

Duane Hanson, Executive, 1971, polyester resin and fiberglass, oil paint, mixed media with accessories, life size (Toledo Museum of Art, ©estate of the artist) — Museum visitors often mistake this sculpture for a real person

Duane Hanson, Executive, originally titled, Another Day

Marisol Escobar, The Party, 1965-66, fifteen freestanding, life-size figures and three wall panels, with painted and carved wood, mirrors, plastic, television set, clothes, shoes, glasses, and other accessories, variable dimensions (Toledo Museum of Art, © artist’s estate) — At this party, everyone has the same face and seems profoundly alone.

Fashion & alienation in 1960s New York

Marisol Escobar, The Party, 1965-66, fifteen freestanding, life-size figures and three wall panels, with painted and carved wood, mirrors, plastic, television set, clothes, shoes, glasses, and other accessories, variable dimensions (Toledo Museum of Art, © artist’s estate) — At this party, everyone has the same face and seems profoundly alone.

Marisol, The Party