American painter, printmaker, and textile artist Emma Amos is an insightful observer of Black experience. Her wide-ranging and often self-referential work emphasizes the intrinsic dignity of African Americans by countering negative stereotypes that too often undermine the values and virtues of Black history and culture. In Crown, Amos depicts the head of an African American woman seen from behind, emphasizing her large mane of natural (unaltered) hair, partly braided in cornrows. In contemporary Black culture, natural hair is seen by many as symbolic of racial pride and consciousness and integral to one’s personal identity. Here, the anonymous female subject serves as a symbol of affirmation and resistance, specifically the resistance to cultural suppression and the practice of being defined by others. Amos’ title suggests two distinct meanings, one referring to the braided portion of the subject’s hair, the second denoting the crown as a symbol of authority, understood here as self-determination.
