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For the Hat Ladies series, Moos paired women from the church randomly. To create the portraits, she set up a makeshift studio in a church hallway. Using simple lighting and her 4x5-inch camera, she photographed the women of the church over a period of eight weeks in 2000. Dressed in suits and dresses of bright colors or elegant black, wearing scarves, stoles, necklaces, earrings, and ornate brooches, the women gaze at the viewer with dignified expressions or warm smiles. The hats are festooned with beads, feather, lace, fur, bows, ribbons, and silk flowers. Tellingly, one young woman appears without a hat; in Ms. Maiden and Mrs. Maiden, Ms. Maiden, presumably the daughter of the elder woman on the right, represents a younger generation of women who may resist the tradition of wearing extravagant hats to church.
The pairing in Mrs. Rose and Mrs. Pleasant implies that there is a relationship between the two sitters that may or may not actually exist. [1] By using a neutral background, Moos centers nearly all of the meaning in the image on dress, posture, and expression. In this case, the hats demand attention, particularly the feathered creation worn by Mrs. Pleasant on the right. In fact, Mrs. Pleasant is known for arriving late for church services, creating a dramatic entrance that ensures that the full congregation will focus on her elegant attire. [2] The practice of wearing hats to church is known to be fiercely competitive.
In Mrs. Rose and Mrs. Pleasant, petite Mrs. Rose on the left wears a ribbed emerald green sweater dress and gold jewelry. Her black hat is embellished with gold beads that form asymmetrical shapes, and it tilts dramatically. Mrs. Pleasant, solid and statuesque, wears an ivory suit with gold accents and gold necklaces with jeweled pendants. Her hat is crafted from emerald green feathers, from which spring smaller pink and green feathers attached by wires. The result is that feathers seem to float above and around Mrs. Pleasant’s head, giving her the appearance of an exotic bird. Cibachrome is known for its colorfast properties, so the vibrant colors in the photograph will remain true for years.
The emphatic frontality of the two figures, which recalls the paintings of royals and nobles by the northern Renaissance artist Hans Holbein, imparts dignity and nobility to the two women. Mrs. Rose offers the viewer a half smile, but Mrs. Pleasant is more reserved, projecting an air of strength and pride. Indeed, the women of the church are known for their strength and pride; in the 1960s, the New Pilgrim Baptist Church was a center of the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham. [3]
Notes:
[1] Robert Hobbs, Julie Moos: Hat Ladies (Birmingham, AL: Birmingham Museum of Art, 2002), 13.
[2] Hobbs, Julie Moos , 10.
[3] Hobbs, Julie Moos , 9.
ProvenanceBefore 2008
Robert C. Hobbs (born 1946) and Jean Crutchfield, Richmond, VA. [1]
From 2008
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Robert C. Hobbs and Jean Crutchfield. [2]
Notes:
[1] Deed of Gift, Object File.
[2] See Note 1.
Exhibition History
DepartmentAmerican Art
Mrs. Rose and Mrs. Pleasant
Artist
Julie Moos
(born 1965)
Date2000-2001
Mediumchromogenic color print
DimensionsFrame: 41 1/8 x 53 1/8 in. (104.5 x 134.9 cm)
Image (visible): 34 x 46 in. (86.4 x 116.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Jean Crutchfield and Robert Hobbs in honor of Nik Millhouse
CopyrightCourtesy of Fredericks & Freiser
Object number2008.3.3
DescriptionA Canadian-born artist who was living in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2000, Julie Moos was invited by a member of the New Pilgrim Baptist Church to photograph women in the predominantly African American congregation who were celebrated for their elaborate hats. Moos is known for photographing people in pairs; other series focus on high school “friends and enemies” or employers with their domestic servants.For the Hat Ladies series, Moos paired women from the church randomly. To create the portraits, she set up a makeshift studio in a church hallway. Using simple lighting and her 4x5-inch camera, she photographed the women of the church over a period of eight weeks in 2000. Dressed in suits and dresses of bright colors or elegant black, wearing scarves, stoles, necklaces, earrings, and ornate brooches, the women gaze at the viewer with dignified expressions or warm smiles. The hats are festooned with beads, feather, lace, fur, bows, ribbons, and silk flowers. Tellingly, one young woman appears without a hat; in Ms. Maiden and Mrs. Maiden, Ms. Maiden, presumably the daughter of the elder woman on the right, represents a younger generation of women who may resist the tradition of wearing extravagant hats to church.
The pairing in Mrs. Rose and Mrs. Pleasant implies that there is a relationship between the two sitters that may or may not actually exist. [1] By using a neutral background, Moos centers nearly all of the meaning in the image on dress, posture, and expression. In this case, the hats demand attention, particularly the feathered creation worn by Mrs. Pleasant on the right. In fact, Mrs. Pleasant is known for arriving late for church services, creating a dramatic entrance that ensures that the full congregation will focus on her elegant attire. [2] The practice of wearing hats to church is known to be fiercely competitive.
In Mrs. Rose and Mrs. Pleasant, petite Mrs. Rose on the left wears a ribbed emerald green sweater dress and gold jewelry. Her black hat is embellished with gold beads that form asymmetrical shapes, and it tilts dramatically. Mrs. Pleasant, solid and statuesque, wears an ivory suit with gold accents and gold necklaces with jeweled pendants. Her hat is crafted from emerald green feathers, from which spring smaller pink and green feathers attached by wires. The result is that feathers seem to float above and around Mrs. Pleasant’s head, giving her the appearance of an exotic bird. Cibachrome is known for its colorfast properties, so the vibrant colors in the photograph will remain true for years.
The emphatic frontality of the two figures, which recalls the paintings of royals and nobles by the northern Renaissance artist Hans Holbein, imparts dignity and nobility to the two women. Mrs. Rose offers the viewer a half smile, but Mrs. Pleasant is more reserved, projecting an air of strength and pride. Indeed, the women of the church are known for their strength and pride; in the 1960s, the New Pilgrim Baptist Church was a center of the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham. [3]
Notes:
[1] Robert Hobbs, Julie Moos: Hat Ladies (Birmingham, AL: Birmingham Museum of Art, 2002), 13.
[2] Hobbs, Julie Moos , 10.
[3] Hobbs, Julie Moos , 9.
ProvenanceBefore 2008
Robert C. Hobbs (born 1946) and Jean Crutchfield, Richmond, VA. [1]
From 2008
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Robert C. Hobbs and Jean Crutchfield. [2]
Notes:
[1] Deed of Gift, Object File.
[2] See Note 1.
Exhibition History
Status
Not on viewCollections