Willie Little's exhibition of reclaimed sculptural assemblages and paintings, "Nodder Doll/Living Doll", is on view at the SF MOMA Artist's Gallery at Fort Mason through May 6, 2018.
Made in Japan in the 1950s, nodder dolls clutched fruits such as bananas, apples, and watermelons for stereotypical comic relief. In his Nodder Doll series, artist Willie Little uses multimedia assemblage and large-scale figurative portrait-like paintings on canvas and wood panel to celebrate, reclaim, and react to the social dilemmas we face today. Little confronts these representations of African American women and purposefully reclaims, re-presents, and ornately embellishes them; to elevate and celebrate their beauty.
Willie was also interviewed on Bolinas local radio 90.5 KVMR. His segment begins at the 32-minute mark.