"Unveiled Sept. 20 during a symposium, "Toni Morrison: Literature and Public Life," the large, high-contrast images painted on wood panels - first envisioned as murals, now referred to as tableaux - frame the entrance to a public meeting space. On the left is Morrison, M.A. '55, with hands clasped, while opposite her is a young Black woman, unknown to most observers, wearing bold blue sunglasses."
"The second visage belongs to London Smith, an Ithaca High School senior who provided early inspiration for a group of student artists contemplating a mural honoring Morrison. In a photo of Smith wearing the sunglasses and a flower, members of a new club open to all students, Creatives of Color, saw a literary allusion - a modern reference to Morrison's novel "The Bluest Eye" - and an authenticity that resonated with their thinking about the writer."
Toni Morrison Hall on North Campus features new large, high-contrast portraits in the residence hall lobby. The images, painted on wood panels and described as tableaux, frame the entrance to a public meeting space. One panel depicts Toni Morrison with hands clasped; the opposite shows Ithaca High senior London Smith wearing bold blue sunglasses. Colorful flowers surround both faces and intersperse with fragments from Morrison's 1983 short story "Recitatif," referencing a young girl's recurring dreams about an orchard. The project grew from a student club, Creatives of Color, and involved collaboration between upstate and downstate teens. Wright helped lead the project and the portraits aim to connect Morrison's legacy with new generations of New Yorkers.
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