Elizabeth Schlatter, Deputy Director of University of Richmond Museums, asked me to respond to this photograph by William Anderson included in a traveling exhibition of the Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art, titled Memories and Inspiration.

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Joanna stands by the window, erect even in a moment of rest. 

She faces two panes of overexposed glass, the frame bisecting her head from her body. Her hands are placed on her aproned hip and window frame, but she does not lay her weight onto them. She stands upright, self-sufficient. 

Joanna’s folded sleeves are effortlessly secured by a practiced hand, as is her tightly bound hair. Each article of clothing reflects a strict utilitarianism which so thoroughly exudes from the woman that I think she must have a purpose in looking out the window. Such a woman does not spare a moment to offhandedly gaze out the window. 

Joanna wields meticulous control over her kitchen. Each tool and instrument seems to be nestled in it’s specific place, awaiting her need. As a result, the small space feels simultaneously cramped and sparse. The salt, sugar and pepper jars are precisely positioned in a neat group and dinner plates await their imminent use alongside assembled ingredients. Routine convenience dictates the organization of the space.

A drawer lies open at Joanna’s hip, itself an extension of her body. The kitchen is deeply embedded with her presence. The scene is set in a poor woman's kitchen, but William Anderson characteristically resists reductive imagery of poverty and reveals Joanna's character through her posture and surroundings.