Mickalene Thomas: Do I Look Like a Lady?

Sit in a multi-colored, patchwork armchair next to a pile of readable, sometimes-radical books (Toni Morrison, Alice Walker and a guide to being beautiful) while you watch Mickalene Thomas’ new, two-channel film at MOCA. Glimmering silkscreens of gorgeous women hang on the walls around you and lights are dim as the 12-minute pastiche plays out, female comedians on one side, singing divas on the other. Comedian Jackie “Moms” Mabley sings Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” in her own satirical style. “But more, much more than that, I wanted to do it his way. For what is a woman, what is she got, if not herself, then she has not … Let the record show, I wanted to do it hiiiiissss way.” Of course, empowerment is in question; doing it his way was the way to get ahead, Mabley implies. Thomas titled her show “Do I Look Like a Lady?” and the work portrays a group of powerful women still struggling against the status quo.