Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson

Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson (1940-2015) creating in her space, photographed by Jeff Bates, Columbus Alive.

Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson was more than the BFF of fellow Black woman visual artist, Faith Ringgold. She was a multidisciplinary artist/storyteller engaging in sculpture, printmaking, collage, painting— all direct descendants of drawing while also incorporating craft, stitchery. Her works are large scale, full of color, shape, and movement, beads and buttons.

The Teachings, wood and hogmawg with music box and found objects, Collection of Karen and Les Benedict, Symphonic Poem, pg 73.

Brenda Lynn Robinson was born on February 18, 1940 in Columbus, Ohio, the middle child of three daughters to school custodian Leroy Edward William Robinson and seamstress Helen Elizabeth Zimmerman Robinson.

Left: Brenda Lynn Robinson age 10. Top right: Robinson receiving an honorary degree from the Columbus College of Art and Design, May 2002, Bottom right: Robinson instructing how to use a spindle at Columbus Recreation and Parks program, 1979, Symphonic Poem. 

In Symphonic Poem, a catalogue published by the Columbus Museum of Art, Robinson said, “I began drawing at the age of three. My father would give me wood to paint on and paint in little enamel tins. My studio was under my bed. I wouldn’t allow anyone to mess with my paints or my brushes and my materials. I never had any doubt in my mind that I would be an artist.”

A detail of Journeys began in 1968, Symphonic Poem, pg. 65. 

Robinson had her first art exhibition at age eight— strung up on a clothesline as people attended church. She attended Columbus Art School (now the Columbus School of Art) and studied art history and philosophy at Ohio State University. She married Korean War Vet, Clarence Robinson and had a son, Sydney Robinson (1967-1994). Active duty Clarence has the family shifting from place to place with Robinson working as a draftsman in Boise, Idaho, illustrating in Biloxi, Mississippi, and lecturer at University of Puerto Rico in Aquadilla. After their divorce, Robinson moved back to Columbus and taught at Columbus Recreation and Parks for nineteen years. During a trip to Egypt (with funds raised by friends), she is christened “Aminah,” legally adding this to her name in 1980.

Child of the Field, paint on pellon, 73 1/2” x 35 1/2,” from Symphonic Poem, pg 90. This is one of several works about her son, Sydney who suffered from depression and died at age 27. See her Sydney’s Memorial Piece, comprised of many birthday and holiday cards she made for him here.

Her works combine ancestral spirituals and travels to her father’s birthplace in Sepalo Island, Georgia (only accessible by boat or ferry) to parts of Africa and Israel as well as her community/roots in Columbus, Ohio. She integrated art history, literature, and civil rights, her colorful, abstract figures retelling folklore and biographical stories. The impeccably detailed lines, the playful palettes, clashing of patterns engage her many interests together. The Teachings shows a congealed gathering of migrating, close-knit bodies in handmade clothing, a sculpture of earthy orange and browns using hogmawg (her signature combination of dyes, sticks, mud, grease, lime, and etc.) with buttons and gems taking on mosaic.

A part of Dad’s Journey, started 1972, button beaded RagGonNon Music Box POP Up book, cloth, thread, beads, buttons, paper, paint, graphite, and music boxes, 28 1/2” x 172,” Symphonic Poem, pg 78-79. 

My Mother’s Friends, paint on cloth, 40” x 169,” Collection of Rocky and Suzy Saxbe, Symphonic Poem, pg 93.

Sophie, a book illustrated by Robinson, originally published in 1989, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson was awarded several honors including a Pollack-Krasner Grant, MacArthur Genius Grant, and the Ohio Arts Council Grant. She exhibited all over the United States and is included in several public and private collections. She died on May 22, 2015.

In honor of Robinson's legacy, the city of Columbus launched an artist-in-residence program for emerging Black artists who engage in storytelling and heritage, making work and staying in Robinson’s home.