Willie Birch (American/New Orleans, b. 1942), "For Sassy (Sarah Vaughn)", 1992, papier-mâché, mixed media and plexiglass, signed, titled and dated on right side, h. 25 5/8 in., w. 21 in., d. 12 5/8 in Provenance: Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, LA; Collection of Noted Preservationist and Aesthete Dorian M. Bennett, New Orleans. Note: Willie Birch was born in New Orleans and grew up in the Magnolia housing projects of the city where his artistic talents were apparent early in life. Birch attended Southern University in New Orleans, studying under sculptor Jack Jordan. From 1962 to 1965, Birch served in the United States Air Force, allowing him to return to SUNO and complete his BA in painting under the G.I. Bill in 1969. Birch later enrolled under full scholarship at the Maryland Institute College of Art and received his MFA in 1973. Moving to New York in 1975, Birch developed friendships with a number of now prominent African American artists, including David Hammons, Faith Ringold and Dawoud Bey. In 1984, Birch was appointed adjunct professor at Touro College in the Bronx. That same year, he began using papier-mâché and created a series of sculptures that explored black identity and culture, inspired by African designs and the papier-mâché crucifix on view in St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans during the 1984 World’s Fair. This work for the first time combined his fine art background with his interest in folk art. Birch states: “Some part of me is always searching for a metaphor, and paper became a metaphor to me for what is fragile and what is wasteful in this culture, and the idea of challenging what is considered precious.” Throughout the mid-1990s and following a return to his hometown of New Orleans, Birch continued to create powerful papier-mâché sculptures of African American figures such as the one offered here. Ref.: Lash, Miranda. "Willie Birch." 64 Parishes. www.64parishes.org. Accessed July 30, 2020. Rubin, David S., Leslie King-Hammond, et al. Celebrating Freedom: The Art of Willie Birch. New Orleans, LA: Hudson Hills Press, 2004. “Willie Birch: Looking Back 1978-2003.” Arthur Roger Gallery. www.arthurrogergallery.com. Accessed July 30, 2020