Editing Renee Cox (section)

== Background ==
Cox has "dedicated her career to deconstructing stereotypes and to reconfiguring the black woman's body, using her nude form as a subject."<ref name=":0" /> She uses herself as a primary model in order to promote an idea of "self-love" as articulated by [[bell hooks]] in her book ''Sisters of the Yam'', because as Cox writes in an artist's statement, "slavery stripped black men and women of their dignity and identity and that history continues to have an adverse affect [sic] on the African American psyche." One of Cox's main motivations has always been to create new, positive visual representations of African Americans. In her article, "A Gynocentric Aesthetic", Cox argues that a shift to matriarchal art will transform aesthetic expressions to interact with daily life and society, rather than compartmentalized artistic discussions that emphasize beauty over process and expression.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cox|first=Renee|year=1990|title=A Gynecentric Aesthetic |jstor=3810155 |journal=Hypatia |volume=5 |issue=2|pages=43–62 |doi=10.1111/j.1527-2001.1990.tb00416.x|s2cid=143166388 }}</ref>

[[Greg Tate]], writer for ''[[The Village Voice]],'' wrote: "(Renee's) her own heroine. She's very much about using the work as a platform for self-love. And she's clearly having fun in her role playing. It's a very New York attitude: 'Yeah, so what? I'm Jesus. I'm [[Wonder Woman]]."

In addition to making art, Cox has curated and acted. She has done projects for Rush Art Gallery from its inception. In 1996 she curated an exhibition entitled ''No Doubt'' at [[The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum]] in [[Ridgefield, Connecticut]] and she co-starred in Bridgett Davis' independent film ''Naked Acts'', where she portrayed a photographer.