not really decide that i would try to be an artist until i went to summer program in maine called skowheganthat is when i think i decided that i would just try. narrator: little did ellen know that "oh, susanna," her final painting at art school and the series of works she continued in skowhegan would rapidly make her name known in the cutthroat world of the new york art scene. zoe: that whole "oh! susanna" series in the mid-1990's was, i think, really grabbed everybody's attention in an undeniable way. narrator: ellen's piece "oh! susanna" takes its name from the enduringly popular 19th-century minstrel song. the lips and eyes in this work mimicked the work of comedians, dancers, and singers to represent black artists on stage. ellen: it is basically this top to bottom, left to right penmanship paper grid, and the in my skinnerally tone, brownish. and in that, i started as a map of my idea of what was a blonde lady. the lady seemed to be activating this minstrel show. zoe: there was something about coming across the braille-like detail of the eyes and the lips disembodied, and then once yo