New York-based artist Mickalene Thomas is known for her elaborate paintings adorned with rhinestones, enamel and colorful acrylics. Her depictions of African American women explore notions of black female celebrity and identity while romanticizing ideas of femininity and power.

Mickalene Thomas earned her MFA at Yale University in 2002 and completed a residency at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. This lecture is sponsored by the Photography Department, the Art + Design Department, and the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media at Columbia College Chicago.

Recorded Thursday, March 18, 2010 at Columbia College Chicago - Stage 2.