Renaissance: Noir

“It is my belief that our memories and experiences are directly responsible for who we become. What we are exposed to, what we read, the toys we play with as children, what we view… I attribute this thought to my deep-seated desire to make sure I’m sending a clear message (with my work) and that the message I am sending is “saying something” important; because if I believe we are shaped by our memories, as an artist, I must also believe that I too play a small part in shaping and shifting the views of anyone who comes in contact with my life’s work.

The primary theme that drives my art practice is celebrating the beauty of black childhood. I am devoted to creating portraits that are loosely inspired by works painted during the 15th-19th centuries with the specific intent of bringing to the forefront faces that were often under-celebrated in this style of work.

My camera remains my primary tool of communication, while my constant exploration of diverse ways of expression moves me to add several different layers using a variety of mediums. After a portrait session is complete, I typically digitally manipulate my subjects and unite them with other photographic components to achieve a work that is a new photographic expression. Often lending to them the eyes of someone their elder and more wise and almost always exaggerating their hair and features in a somewhat rebellious celebratory way (in doing so, I unapologetically honor traits and characteristics often deemed unsightly in Western culture). Thereafter, I may superimpose antique patterns and textures, vintage botanical and wildlife illustrations or hand-drawn digital illustration. If I feel I am not yet complete, after each portrait is refined and printed, I may combine paint and gilding adding ornamental elements inspired by 19th-century artworks.

It is my hope that with each theme I explore and with each portrait I create, something vital is etched into the memory of the viewer.” – Tawny Chatmon

“It is my belief that our memories and experiences are directly responsible for who we become. What we are exposed to, what we read, the toys we play with as children, what we view… I attribute this thought to my deep-seated desire to make sure I’m sending a clear message (with my work) and that the message I am sending is “saying something” important; because if I believe we are shaped by our memories, as an artist, I must also believe that I too play a small part in shaping and shifting the views of anyone who comes in contact with my life’s work.

The primary theme that drives my art practice is celebrating the beauty of black childhood. I am devoted to creating portraits that are loosely inspired by works painted during the 15th-19th centuries with the specific intent of bringing to the forefront faces that were often under-celebrated in this style of work.

My camera remains my primary tool of communication, while my constant exploration of diverse ways of expression moves me to add several different layers using a variety of mediums. After a portrait session is complete, I typically digitally manipulate my subjects and unite them with other photographic components to achieve a work that is a new photographic expression. Often lending to them the eyes of someone their elder and more wise and almost always exaggerating their hair and features in a somewhat rebellious celebratory way (in doing so, I unapologetically honor traits and characteristics often deemed unsightly in Western culture). Thereafter, I may superimpose antique patterns and textures, vintage botanical and wildlife illustrations or hand-drawn digital illustration. If I feel I am not yet complete, after each portrait is refined and printed, I may combine paint and gilding adding ornamental elements inspired by 19th-century artworks.

It is my hope that with each theme I explore and with each portrait I create, something vital is etched into the memory of the viewer.” – Tawny Chatmon

“It is my belief that our memories and experiences are directly responsible for who we become. What we are exposed to, what we read, the toys we play with as children, what we view… I attribute this thought to my deep-seated desire to make sure I’m sending a clear message (with my work) and that the message I am sending is “saying something” important; because if I believe we are shaped by our memories, as an artist, I must also believe that I too play a small part in shaping and shifting the views of anyone who comes in contact with my life’s work.

The primary theme that drives my art practice is celebrating the beauty of black childhood. I am devoted to creating portraits that are loosely inspired by works painted during the 15th-19th centuries with the specific intent of bringing to the forefront faces that were often under-celebrated in this style of work.

My camera remains my primary tool of communication, while my constant exploration of diverse ways of expression moves me to add several different layers using a variety of mediums. After a portrait session is complete, I typically digitally manipulate my subjects and unite them with other photographic components to achieve a work that is a new photographic expression. Often lending to them the eyes of someone their elder and more wise and almost always exaggerating their hair and features in a somewhat rebellious celebratory way (in doing so, I unapologetically honor traits and characteristics often deemed unsightly in Western culture). Thereafter, I may superimpose antique patterns and textures, vintage botanical and wildlife illustrations or hand-drawn digital illustration. If I feel I am not yet complete, after each portrait is refined and printed, I may combine paint and gilding adding ornamental elements inspired by 19th-century artworks.

It is my hope that with each theme I explore and with each portrait I create, something vital is etched into the memory of the viewer.” – Tawny Chatmon

“It is my belief that our memories and experiences are directly responsible for who we become. What we are exposed to, what we read, the toys we play with as children, what we view… I attribute this thought to my deep-seated desire to make sure I’m sending a clear message (with my work) and that the message I am sending is “saying something” important; because if I believe we are shaped by our memories, as an artist, I must also believe that I too play a small part in shaping and shifting the views of anyone who comes in contact with my life’s work.

The primary theme that drives my art practice is celebrating the beauty of black childhood. I am devoted to creating portraits that are loosely inspired by works painted during the 15th-19th centuries with the specific intent of bringing to the forefront faces that were often under-celebrated in this style of work.

My camera remains my primary tool of communication, while my constant exploration of diverse ways of expression moves me to add several different layers using a variety of mediums. After a portrait session is complete, I typically digitally manipulate my subjects and unite them with other photographic components to achieve a work that is a new photographic expression. Often lending to them the eyes of someone their elder and more wise and almost always exaggerating their hair and features in a somewhat rebellious celebratory way (in doing so, I unapologetically honor traits and characteristics often deemed unsightly in Western culture). Thereafter, I may superimpose antique patterns and textures, vintage botanical and wildlife illustrations or hand-drawn digital illustration. If I feel I am not yet complete, after each portrait is refined and printed, I may combine paint and gilding adding ornamental elements inspired by 19th-century artworks.

It is my hope that with each theme I explore and with each portrait I create, something vital is etched into the memory of the viewer.” – Tawny Chatmon

“It is my belief that our memories and experiences are directly responsible for who we become. What we are exposed to, what we read, the toys we play with as children, what we view… I attribute this thought to my deep-seated desire to make sure I’m sending a clear message (with my work) and that the message I am sending is “saying something” important; because if I believe we are shaped by our memories, as an artist, I must also believe that I too play a small part in shaping and shifting the views of anyone who comes in contact with my life’s work.

The primary theme that drives my art practice is celebrating the beauty of black childhood. I am devoted to creating portraits that are loosely inspired by works painted during the 15th-19th centuries with the specific intent of bringing to the forefront faces that were often under-celebrated in this style of work.

My camera remains my primary tool of communication, while my constant exploration of diverse ways of expression moves me to add several different layers using a variety of mediums. After a portrait session is complete, I typically digitally manipulate my subjects and unite them with other photographic components to achieve a work that is a new photographic expression. Often lending to them the eyes of someone their elder and more wise and almost always exaggerating their hair and features in a somewhat rebellious celebratory way (in doing so, I unapologetically honor traits and characteristics often deemed unsightly in Western culture). Thereafter, I may superimpose antique patterns and textures, vintage botanical and wildlife illustrations or hand-drawn digital illustration. If I feel I am not yet complete, after each portrait is refined and printed, I may combine paint and gilding adding ornamental elements inspired by 19th-century artworks.

It is my hope that with each theme I explore and with each portrait I create, something vital is etched into the memory of the viewer.” – Tawny Chatmon

“The paintings in the Two Fronts series are visual explorations of how African diaspora societies in the south are fighting social, economic, educational and psychological wars from within and without to survive. The honest and false narratives of history embodied in this series are primarily personified in patinated colossuses that symbolize the culture and realities of the populations they tower over, and the battles we’ve fought and continue to fight. We are at war on two fronts.

The extensions of the Two Fronts series are comprised of portraits that investigate the catalytic war that atmospheric conditions constantly wage on natural and man-made surfaces and structures. I’m using metal powders, chemical compounds, acrylic, and dry media on paper and canvas to recreate those aging and weathering effects on the faces of people, which are reminiscent of the erosive conditions that patina the lives of black people every day, everywhere.” – Alfred Conteh

“The paintings in the Two Fronts series are visual explorations of how African diaspora societies in the south are fighting social, economic, educational and psychological wars from within and without to survive. The honest and false narratives of history embodied in this series are primarily personified in patinated colossuses that symbolize the culture and realities of the populations they tower over, and the battles we’ve fought and continue to fight. We are at war on two fronts.

The extensions of the Two Fronts series are comprised of portraits that investigate the catalytic war that atmospheric conditions constantly wage on natural and man-made surfaces and structures. I’m using metal powders, chemical compounds, acrylic, and dry media on paper and canvas to recreate those aging and weathering effects on the faces of people, which are reminiscent of the erosive conditions that patina the lives of black people every day, everywhere.” – Alfred Conteh

“The paintings in the Two Fronts series are visual explorations of how African diaspora societies in the south are fighting social, economic, educational and psychological wars from within and without to survive. The honest and false narratives of history embodied in this series are primarily personified in patinated colossuses that symbolize the culture and realities of the populations they tower over, and the battles we’ve fought and continue to fight. We are at war on two fronts.

The extensions of the Two Fronts series are comprised of portraits that investigate the catalytic war that atmospheric conditions constantly wage on natural and man-made surfaces and structures. I’m using metal powders, chemical compounds, acrylic, and dry media on paper and canvas to recreate those aging and weathering effects on the faces of people, which are reminiscent of the erosive conditions that patina the lives of black people every day, everywhere.” – Alfred Conteh

“The paintings in the Two Fronts series are visual explorations of how African diaspora societies in the south are fighting social, economic, educational and psychological wars from within and without to survive. The honest and false narratives of history embodied in this series are primarily personified in patinated colossuses that symbolize the culture and realities of the populations they tower over, and the battles we’ve fought and continue to fight. We are at war on two fronts.

The extensions of the Two Fronts series are comprised of portraits that investigate the catalytic war that atmospheric conditions constantly wage on natural and man-made surfaces and structures. I’m using metal powders, chemical compounds, acrylic, and dry media on paper and canvas to recreate those aging and weathering effects on the faces of people, which are reminiscent of the erosive conditions that patina the lives of black people every day, everywhere.” – Alfred Conteh

“The paintings in the Two Fronts series are visual explorations of how African diaspora societies in the south are fighting social, economic, educational and psychological wars from within and without to survive. The honest and false narratives of history embodied in this series are primarily personified in patinated colossuses that symbolize the culture and realities of the populations they tower over, and the battles we’ve fought and continue to fight. We are at war on two fronts.

The extensions of the Two Fronts series are comprised of portraits that investigate the catalytic war that atmospheric conditions constantly wage on natural and man-made surfaces and structures. I’m using metal powders, chemical compounds, acrylic, and dry media on paper and canvas to recreate those aging and weathering effects on the faces of people, which are reminiscent of the erosive conditions that patina the lives of black people every day, everywhere.” – Alfred Conteh

“My work explores the cultural disparity of self-realization, assimilation, and transnational identity as a Haitian immigrant. Using direct or implied human figures, I explore narratives of vulnerability, isolation, and alienation within various cultures across the globe.

Within the vocabulary of indigenous art and my dreams, I create whimsical forms resulting in a diary of self-mythology. These exchanges allude to a larger conversation about sea-level rise, environmental pollution, and the displacement between descendants of the African diaspora, and their physical environments. Through intensive detailed labor, my work mimics the current state of Black fragility.

I employ ceramics, illustrations, and prints to examine the realities of climate-gentrification, migration, and displacement within the Black diaspora communities. In addressing these issues, I merge my Afro-Caribbean culture with flora and fauna and draw from the concerns of the collective consciousness of my community.

In my quest to illustrate the impact of climate-gentrification, I present work with visual impact and sensitivity —and draw inspiration from the indigenous cultures of the Amazon, Aboriginal people of Australia, and the Yoruba tribe of West Africa.” – Morel Doucet

“My work explores the cultural disparity of self-realization, assimilation, and transnational identity as a Haitian immigrant. Using direct or implied human figures, I explore narratives of vulnerability, isolation, and alienation within various cultures across the globe.

Within the vocabulary of indigenous art and my dreams, I create whimsical forms resulting in a diary of self-mythology. These exchanges allude to a larger conversation about sea-level rise, environmental pollution, and the displacement between descendants of the African diaspora, and their physical environments. Through intensive detailed labor, my work mimics the current state of Black fragility.

I employ ceramics, illustrations, and prints to examine the realities of climate-gentrification, migration, and displacement within the Black diaspora communities. In addressing these issues, I merge my Afro-Caribbean culture with flora and fauna and draw from the concerns of the collective consciousness of my community.

In my quest to illustrate the impact of climate-gentrification, I present work with visual impact and sensitivity —and draw inspiration from the indigenous cultures of the Amazon, Aboriginal people of Australia, and the Yoruba tribe of West Africa.” – Morel Doucet

“My work explores the cultural disparity of self-realization, assimilation, and transnational identity as a Haitian immigrant. Using direct or implied human figures, I explore narratives of vulnerability, isolation, and alienation within various cultures across the globe.

Within the vocabulary of indigenous art and my dreams, I create whimsical forms resulting in a diary of self-mythology. These exchanges allude to a larger conversation about sea-level rise, environmental pollution, and the displacement between descendants of the African diaspora, and their physical environments. Through intensive detailed labor, my work mimics the current state of Black fragility.

I employ ceramics, illustrations, and prints to examine the realities of climate-gentrification, migration, and displacement within the Black diaspora communities. In addressing these issues, I merge my Afro-Caribbean culture with flora and fauna and draw from the concerns of the collective consciousness of my community.

In my quest to illustrate the impact of climate-gentrification, I present work with visual impact and sensitivity —and draw inspiration from the indigenous cultures of the Amazon, Aboriginal people of Australia, and the Yoruba tribe of West Africa.” – Morel Doucet

“My work explores the cultural disparity of self-realization, assimilation, and transnational identity as a Haitian immigrant. Using direct or implied human figures, I explore narratives of vulnerability, isolation, and alienation within various cultures across the globe.

Within the vocabulary of indigenous art and my dreams, I create whimsical forms resulting in a diary of self-mythology. These exchanges allude to a larger conversation about sea-level rise, environmental pollution, and the displacement between descendants of the African diaspora, and their physical environments. Through intensive detailed labor, my work mimics the current state of Black fragility.

I employ ceramics, illustrations, and prints to examine the realities of climate-gentrification, migration, and displacement within the Black diaspora communities. In addressing these issues, I merge my Afro-Caribbean culture with flora and fauna and draw from the concerns of the collective consciousness of my community.

In my quest to illustrate the impact of climate-gentrification, I present work with visual impact and sensitivity —and draw inspiration from the indigenous cultures of the Amazon, Aboriginal people of Australia, and the Yoruba tribe of West Africa.” – Morel Doucet

“My work explores the cultural disparity of self-realization, assimilation, and transnational identity as a Haitian immigrant. Using direct or implied human figures, I explore narratives of vulnerability, isolation, and alienation within various cultures across the globe.

Within the vocabulary of indigenous art and my dreams, I create whimsical forms resulting in a diary of self-mythology. These exchanges allude to a larger conversation about sea-level rise, environmental pollution, and the displacement between descendants of the African diaspora, and their physical environments. Through intensive detailed labor, my work mimics the current state of Black fragility.

I employ ceramics, illustrations, and prints to examine the realities of climate-gentrification, migration, and displacement within the Black diaspora communities. In addressing these issues, I merge my Afro-Caribbean culture with flora and fauna and draw from the concerns of the collective consciousness of my community.

In my quest to illustrate the impact of climate-gentrification, I present work with visual impact and sensitivity —and draw inspiration from the indigenous cultures of the Amazon, Aboriginal people of Australia, and the Yoruba tribe of West Africa.” – Morel Doucet

“I create portraits of African Americans to elevate the black body and offer a counter-narrative to the negative stereotypes associated with black people simply because of how they dress. The purpose of my work is to present positive imagery that celebrates the nuances of black culture expressed through fashion that acts as the individual’s signifier.

I strive to capture the essence of my subjects through photo-realistic portraits. I enhance the figure by rendering dramatic textured backgrounds with hues that complement their clothing and flesh tones.

When people outside of the African American race observe my work, I want them to try and figure out who the person is, while placing all preconceived notions and stereotypes aside. I hope they will recognize that one’s outward appearance should be considered a positive expression of self-identity, and not be threatened by it.

I hope African Americans will view my work with a sense of connectivity and pride—and discover a familiar face within it, one that is a reflection of themselves, a friend or family member.

When creating portraits, I work in collaboration with the sitter, who directs their pose and clothing, thus taking charge of their image. My friends and family members are often featured in my work. But I also venture outside of that circle, and deliberately select African Americans of varied skin colors to elevate and celebrate the diversity within our race.

My goal is to create paintings that are an authentic representation of the individual—one that is a true reflection of their attitude, personality, and style. In capturing the contemporary trends in black culture— in the future, I hope my work will be viewed as a historic record of the beauty, rhythm, and attitudes of blackness that were embraced during the twenty-first-century. ”  – Monica Ikegwu

“I create portraits of African Americans to elevate the black body and offer a counter-narrative to the negative stereotypes associated with black people simply because of how they dress. The purpose of my work is to present positive imagery that celebrates the nuances of black culture expressed through fashion that acts as the individual’s signifier.

I strive to capture the essence of my subjects through photo-realistic portraits. I enhance the figure by rendering dramatic textured backgrounds with hues that complement their clothing and flesh tones.

When people outside of the African American race observe my work, I want them to try and figure out who the person is, while placing all preconceived notions and stereotypes aside. I hope they will recognize that one’s outward appearance should be considered a positive expression of self-identity, and not be threatened by it.

I hope African Americans will view my work with a sense of connectivity and pride—and discover a familiar face within it, one that is a reflection of themselves, a friend or family member.

When creating portraits, I work in collaboration with the sitter, who directs their pose and clothing, thus taking charge of their image. My friends and family members are often featured in my work. But I also venture outside of that circle, and deliberately select African Americans of varied skin colors to elevate and celebrate the diversity within our race.

My goal is to create paintings that are an authentic representation of the individual—one that is a true reflection of their attitude, personality, and style. In capturing the contemporary trends in black culture— in the future, I hope my work will be viewed as a historic record of the beauty, rhythm, and attitudes of blackness that were embraced during the twenty-first-century. ”  – Monica Ikegwu

“Works in the I See God in Us series are not only layered in textures and techniques but also symbolism. The color blue is used throughout in varying shades. The color is a symbol of the night and representative of a magical and spiritual place; a place that is deeply grounded in cultural and oral histories that allow for the acceptance of magic in an otherwise rational world. The women in the works are magical beings that possess the power to transcend their black skin and existence in a spiritual form.  Through the weaving of history and storytelling,  they offer a new narrative on the power of women.

Working from oral traditions, vintage, and family photographs as a source of inspiration; my work explores the power of the narrative impulse. My process of layering various printmaking, drawing, sewing, collaging, and painting techniques allows me to create portraits that fuse the real and the fantastic. In my work, I combine signs and symbols to create a visual language. By fusing this language with oral storytelling, I offer identities and narratives for women of color.” – Delita Martin

“Works in the I See God in Us series are not only layered in textures and techniques but also symbolism. The color blue is used throughout in varying shades. The color is a symbol of the night and representative of a magical and spiritual place; a place that is deeply grounded in cultural and oral histories that allow for the acceptance of magic in an otherwise rational world. The women in the works are magical beings that possess the power to transcend their black skin and existence in a spiritual form.  Through the weaving of history and storytelling,  they offer a new narrative on the power of women.

Working from oral traditions, vintage, and family photographs as a source of inspiration; my work explores the power of the narrative impulse. My process of layering various printmaking, drawing, sewing, collaging, and painting techniques allows me to create portraits that fuse the real and the fantastic. In my work, I combine signs and symbols to create a visual language. By fusing this language with oral storytelling, I offer identities and narratives for women of color.” – Delita Martin

“Works in the I See God in Us series are not only layered in textures and techniques but also symbolism. The color blue is used throughout in varying shades. The color is a symbol of the night and representative of a magical and spiritual place; a place that is deeply grounded in cultural and oral histories that allow for the acceptance of magic in an otherwise rational world. The women in the works are magical beings that possess the power to transcend their black skin and existence in a spiritual form.  Through the weaving of history and storytelling,  they offer a new narrative on the power of women.

Working from oral traditions, vintage, and family photographs as a source of inspiration; my work explores the power of the narrative impulse. My process of layering various printmaking, drawing, sewing, collaging, and painting techniques allows me to create portraits that fuse the real and the fantastic. In my work, I combine signs and symbols to create a visual language. By fusing this language with oral storytelling, I offer identities and narratives for women of color.” – Delita Martin

“Works in the I See God in Us series are not only layered in textures and techniques but also symbolism. The color blue is used throughout in varying shades. The color is a symbol of the night and representative of a magical and spiritual place; a place that is deeply grounded in cultural and oral histories that allow for the acceptance of magic in an otherwise rational world. The women in the works are magical beings that possess the power to transcend their black skin and existence in a spiritual form.  Through the weaving of history and storytelling,  they offer a new narrative on the power of women.

Working from oral traditions, vintage, and family photographs as a source of inspiration; my work explores the power of the narrative impulse. My process of layering various printmaking, drawing, sewing, collaging, and painting techniques allows me to create portraits that fuse the real and the fantastic. In my work, I combine signs and symbols to create a visual language. By fusing this language with oral storytelling, I offer identities and narratives for women of color.” – Delita Martin

“Works in the I See God in Us series are not only layered in textures and techniques but also symbolism. The color blue is used throughout in varying shades. The color is a symbol of the night and representative of a magical and spiritual place; a place that is deeply grounded in cultural and oral histories that allow for the acceptance of magic in an otherwise rational world. The women in the works are magical beings that possess the power to transcend their black skin and existence in a spiritual form.  Through the weaving of history and storytelling,  they offer a new narrative on the power of women.

Working from oral traditions, vintage, and family photographs as a source of inspiration; my work explores the power of the narrative impulse. My process of layering various printmaking, drawing, sewing, collaging, and painting techniques allows me to create portraits that fuse the real and the fantastic. In my work, I combine signs and symbols to create a visual language. By fusing this language with oral storytelling, I offer identities and narratives for women of color.” – Delita Martin

“The impulses of both Afro-futurism and Afro Surrealism while just recently codified, have always existed in the Black collective unconscious. Born on November 9^th with his sun, moon and Mercury aligned in mystical Scorpio, Benjamin Banneker the Negro Mathematician and Astronomer marks a re-emergence of Afro-futurist thought in the new world. While creating the bust I was inspired by the classic correspondence between Banneker and Thomas Jefferson. In the letters he challenges Jefferson on the evils of slavery and the destruction of African humanity. With his magnificent imagination and curiosity, Banneker was able to craft a Black future that could exist outside white supremacy and servitude. Aesthetically, the bust attempts to capture the fierceness of his character and the clarity of his mind’s eye.” – M. Scott Johnson

“My aesthetic and philosophical explorations are shaped by the landscape of my atavistic memories. For the past 17 years, I have held a residency at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black culture in Harlem, New York. Having direct access to the world’s largest collection of manuscripts and artifacts from the African world has profoundly impacted my practice, facilitating a richer understanding of the revelatory power of Black aesthetic syncretism. A disciple of contemporary

Shona and Makonde sculpting techniques, I employ their interpretation of direct carving with Afro-diasporic sensibilities. I see my sculptures, paintings and photographs as votive offerings in the cosmic temple of the Black collective unconscious. Thematically, my work lives in the land of myth and enchantment, honoring the divine archetypes of a new Negro pantheon.

My most visceral and focused statements are achieved through improvisation.  Improvisation allows me to snatch an image at birth, creating a balance between imposing and communicating with the natural life force resonating from within my materials. Ultimately, what will always excite me is the opportunity to deconstruct/reconstruct inner visions and impulses unique to Black culture…the call and response/the space within space.” – M. Scott Johnson

“My aesthetic and philosophical explorations are shaped by the landscape of my atavistic memories. For the past 17 years, I have held a residency at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black culture in Harlem, New York. Having direct access to the world’s largest collection of manuscripts and artifacts from the African world has profoundly impacted my practice, facilitating a richer understanding of the revelatory power of Black aesthetic syncretism. A disciple of contemporary

Shona and Makonde sculpting techniques, I employ their interpretation of direct carving with Afro-diasporic sensibilities. I see my sculptures, paintings and photographs as votive offerings in the cosmic temple of the Black collective unconscious. Thematically, my work lives in the land of myth and enchantment, honoring the divine archetypes of a new Negro pantheon.

My most visceral and focused statements are achieved through improvisation.  Improvisation allows me to snatch an image at birth, creating a balance between imposing and communicating with the natural life force resonating from within my materials. Ultimately, what will always excite me is the opportunity to deconstruct/reconstruct inner visions and impulses unique to Black culture…the call and response/the space within space.” – M. Scott Johnson

“My aesthetic and philosophical explorations are shaped by the landscape of my atavistic memories. For the past 17 years, I have held a residency at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black culture in Harlem, New York. Having direct access to the world’s largest collection of manuscripts and artifacts from the African world has profoundly impacted my practice, facilitating a richer understanding of the revelatory power of Black aesthetic syncretism. A disciple of contemporary

Shona and Makonde sculpting techniques, I employ their interpretation of direct carving with Afro-diasporic sensibilities. I see my sculptures, paintings and photographs as votive offerings in the cosmic temple of the Black collective unconscious. Thematically, my work lives in the land of myth and enchantment, honoring the divine archetypes of a new Negro pantheon.

My most visceral and focused statements are achieved through improvisation.  Improvisation allows me to snatch an image at birth, creating a balance between imposing and communicating with the natural life force resonating from within my materials. Ultimately, what will always excite me is the opportunity to deconstruct/reconstruct inner visions and impulses unique to Black culture…the call and response/the space within space.” – M. Scott Johnson

“For years I have been fascinated with the story of High John, a Afro-Surrealist hero from African American Folklore. A shapeshifting African prince, High John would appear in the form of a great Black crow. When sorrows and toil were greatest, he would separate our enslaved ancestors from the physical world and transport their Astral bodies to a new place…a place of relief and shelter. While traveling with High John they would exist both in time and out of time. The consummate trickster High John could always stay one step ahead of both the Devil and White folk. High John reflects the deepest spirit of Black survival and parallel world building. Incorporating the Kongo Nkisi tradition of placing objects of power inside sculpture the bust is a Afro-diasporic devotional object.”

– M. Scott Johnson

“I am interested in our relationship to the ready-made and how they can become surrogates for their user’s ethnology and gender.  My work attempts to transcend didacticisms that are typically associated with anachronistic understandings of representation and instead aligns itself with ideas around the taxonomy of human difference. I am also interested in the interplay between the personal narrative and the imagined. And I use humor, increasingly important to the work, as it allows the viewer to ease into disconcerting motifs. Because I desire to make objects that have a life beyond that of my initial intent, the work-often probing and unsettling-poses questions rather than answers them. It shifts the beholder’s role from voyeur to participant, and complicates my personal relationship to the work.” – Felandus Thames

“I am interested in our relationship to the ready-made and how they can become surrogates for their user’s ethnology and gender.  My work attempts to transcend didacticisms that are typically associated with anachronistic understandings of representation and instead aligns itself with ideas around the taxonomy of human difference. I am also interested in the interplay between the personal narrative and the imagined. And I use humor, increasingly important to the work, as it allows the viewer to ease into disconcerting motifs. Because I desire to make objects that have a life beyond that of my initial intent, the work-often probing and unsettling-poses questions rather than answers them. It shifts the beholder’s role from voyeur to participant, and complicates my personal relationship to the work.” – Felandus Thames

“I am interested in our relationship to the ready-made and how they can become surrogates for their user’s ethnology and gender.  My work attempts to transcend didacticisms that are typically associated with anachronistic understandings of representation and instead aligns itself with ideas around the taxonomy of human difference. I am also interested in the interplay between the personal narrative and the imagined. And I use humor, increasingly important to the work, as it allows the viewer to ease into disconcerting motifs. Because I desire to make objects that have a life beyond that of my initial intent, the work-often probing and unsettling-poses questions rather than answers them. It shifts the beholder’s role from voyeur to participant, and complicates my personal relationship to the work.” – Felandus Thames

“I am interested in our relationship to the ready-made and how they can become surrogates for their user’s ethnology and gender.  My work attempts to transcend didacticisms that are typically associated with anachronistic understandings of representation and instead aligns itself with ideas around the taxonomy of human difference. I am also interested in the interplay between the personal narrative and the imagined. And I use humor, increasingly important to the work, as it allows the viewer to ease into disconcerting motifs. Because I desire to make objects that have a life beyond that of my initial intent, the work-often probing and unsettling-poses questions rather than answers them. It shifts the beholder’s role from voyeur to participant, and complicates my personal relationship to the work.” – Felandus Thames

“I am interested in our relationship to the ready-made and how they can become surrogates for their user’s ethnology and gender.  My work attempts to transcend didacticisms that are typically associated with anachronistic understandings of representation and instead aligns itself with ideas around the taxonomy of human difference. I am also interested in the interplay between the personal narrative and the imagined. And I use humor, increasingly important to the work, as it allows the viewer to ease into disconcerting motifs. Because I desire to make objects that have a life beyond that of my initial intent, the work-often probing and unsettling-poses questions rather than answers them. It shifts the beholder’s role from voyeur to participant, and complicates my personal relationship to the work.” – Felandus Thames

“It is imperative that within the annals of social discourse and visual culture, African Americans have a voice in portraying and critiquing the world we live in. Without this, our democracy is denying essential input from the sector of the population for which civil liberties were created. This is as critical as ever at this time when civil rights in our country are being questioned and blatantly defunded and it is time for African Americans and all marginalized peoples to not only be heard but be recorded for their truths and historical significance.  It is my intent that my paintings reveal the dignity, significance, and genius of African Americans while evoking dialogue and reflection on the unending injustices committed toward us throughout the history of building America to the present day. Where we are as a people, where we have been and where we are going are complexly interwoven and inseparable.   With humor, seduction, and emotion I create narratives about the Black experience and throw them out to the audience and ask members to wrestle with any discomfort it might create. I want my work to be a catalyst for change by depicting the strength, bravery, heroics, and endurance of African Americans. As an artist who spent my early formative years in the Jim Crow south and who lived under the separate and unequal apartheid system of Los Angeles in the 50s, 60s, and 70s I feel qualified to critique the social impact of racism on America culture through my paintings.

For the entirety of my career as an artist, I have studied and learned from European centric art history which, minimalize the contributions of people of African descent. In my work, I consider the evolution of Black identity shaped by the slanted accounting of black contribution in the building of America and expose the inequity and marginalization bestowed on people of color with callous impunity. I feel very personally affronted by the racial injustices committed daily in cities throughout America. As I draw in the viewer with brilliant color and beauty, I invite and even challenge the viewer to face their own implicit bias around race, class, and gender in America as they consider the narrative I present within my work.  Was America’s advertising icon, Aunt Jemima, a maid of all work, joyful and loved by all? Or, is she a Black woman that was bought and sold symbolizing the power of the South – a symbol of white supremacy, leisure, abundance, and sexual order?  It is such issues that my work addresses.

For the vast majority of my work of the past 20 years, I have turned my attention solely to the African American experience, from the time we were driven to the slave traders’ ships to the present day. I question the myth that relegates blacks to a state of eternal servitude in which blacks viewed as property, as mere commodities. Through advertising, media and collectibles starting back in the late 1600s people of color were presented using derogatory images as bafoons, illiterates, and lazy loafers, oversexed criminals of inferior character and morals to discredit, demean, demoralize and dehumanize them. With my work, I hope to at least make a ripple in white Americans perspectives and perceptions of the African American.

I challenge the stereotypes and racial and sexual taboos that have gone unquestioned and accepted as reality for generation after generation. In short, it is my intent is to flip the racial taboos making some discernable impact on the social discourse and visual culture of modern America.” – Arvie Smith

“It is imperative that within the annals of social discourse and visual culture, African Americans have a voice in portraying and critiquing the world we live in. Without this, our democracy is denying essential input from the sector of the population for which civil liberties were created. This is as critical as ever at this time when civil rights in our country are being questioned and blatantly defunded and it is time for African Americans and all marginalized peoples to not only be heard but be recorded for their truths and historical significance.  It is my intent that my paintings reveal the dignity, significance, and genius of African Americans while evoking dialogue and reflection on the unending injustices committed toward us throughout the history of building America to the present day. Where we are as a people, where we have been and where we are going are complexly interwoven and inseparable.   With humor, seduction, and emotion I create narratives about the Black experience and throw them out to the audience and ask members to wrestle with any discomfort it might create. I want my work to be a catalyst for change by depicting the strength, bravery, heroics, and endurance of African Americans. As an artist who spent my early formative years in the Jim Crow south and who lived under the separate and unequal apartheid system of Los Angeles in the 50s, 60s, and 70s I feel qualified to critique the social impact of racism on America culture through my paintings.

For the entirety of my career as an artist, I have studied and learned from European centric art history which, minimalize the contributions of people of African descent. In my work, I consider the evolution of Black identity shaped by the slanted accounting of black contribution in the building of America and expose the inequity and marginalization bestowed on people of color with callous impunity. I feel very personally affronted by the racial injustices committed daily in cities throughout America. As I draw in the viewer with brilliant color and beauty, I invite and even challenge the viewer to face their own implicit bias around race, class, and gender in America as they consider the narrative I present within my work.  Was America’s advertising icon, Aunt Jemima, a maid of all work, joyful and loved by all? Or, is she a Black woman that was bought and sold symbolizing the power of the South – a symbol of white supremacy, leisure, abundance, and sexual order?  It is such issues that my work addresses.

For the vast majority of my work of the past 20 years, I have turned my attention solely to the African American experience, from the time we were driven to the slave traders’ ships to the present day. I question the myth that relegates blacks to a state of eternal servitude in which blacks viewed as property, as mere commodities. Through advertising, media and collectibles starting back in the late 1600s people of color were presented using derogatory images as bafoons, illiterates, and lazy loafers, oversexed criminals of inferior character and morals to discredit, demean, demoralize and dehumanize them. With my work, I hope to at least make a ripple in white Americans perspectives and perceptions of the African American.

I challenge the stereotypes and racial and sexual taboos that have gone unquestioned and accepted as reality for generation after generation. In short, it is my intent is to flip the racial taboos making some discernable impact on the social discourse and visual culture of modern America.” – Arvie Smith

“It is imperative that within the annals of social discourse and visual culture, African Americans have a voice in portraying and critiquing the world we live in. Without this, our democracy is denying essential input from the sector of the population for which civil liberties were created. This is as critical as ever at this time when civil rights in our country are being questioned and blatantly defunded and it is time for African Americans and all marginalized peoples to not only be heard but be recorded for their truths and historical significance.  It is my intent that my paintings reveal the dignity, significance, and genius of African Americans while evoking dialogue and reflection on the unending injustices committed toward us throughout the history of building America to the present day. Where we are as a people, where we have been and where we are going are complexly interwoven and inseparable.   With humor, seduction, and emotion I create narratives about the Black experience and throw them out to the audience and ask members to wrestle with any discomfort it might create. I want my work to be a catalyst for change by depicting the strength, bravery, heroics, and endurance of African Americans. As an artist who spent my early formative years in the Jim Crow south and who lived under the separate and unequal apartheid system of Los Angeles in the 50s, 60s, and 70s I feel qualified to critique the social impact of racism on America culture through my paintings.

For the entirety of my career as an artist, I have studied and learned from European centric art history which, minimalize the contributions of people of African descent. In my work, I consider the evolution of Black identity shaped by the slanted accounting of black contribution in the building of America and expose the inequity and marginalization bestowed on people of color with callous impunity. I feel very personally affronted by the racial injustices committed daily in cities throughout America. As I draw in the viewer with brilliant color and beauty, I invite and even challenge the viewer to face their own implicit bias around race, class, and gender in America as they consider the narrative I present within my work.  Was America’s advertising icon, Aunt Jemima, a maid of all work, joyful and loved by all? Or, is she a Black woman that was bought and sold symbolizing the power of the South – a symbol of white supremacy, leisure, abundance, and sexual order?  It is such issues that my work addresses.

For the vast majority of my work of the past 20 years, I have turned my attention solely to the African American experience, from the time we were driven to the slave traders’ ships to the present day. I question the myth that relegates blacks to a state of eternal servitude in which blacks viewed as property, as mere commodities. Through advertising, media and collectibles starting back in the late 1600s people of color were presented using derogatory images as bafoons, illiterates, and lazy loafers, oversexed criminals of inferior character and morals to discredit, demean, demoralize and dehumanize them. With my work, I hope to at least make a ripple in white Americans perspectives and perceptions of the African American.

I challenge the stereotypes and racial and sexual taboos that have gone unquestioned and accepted as reality for generation after generation. In short, it is my intent is to flip the racial taboos making some discernable impact on the social discourse and visual culture of modern America.” – Arvie Smith

“It is imperative that within the annals of social discourse and visual culture, African Americans have a voice in portraying and critiquing the world we live in. Without this, our democracy is denying essential input from the sector of the population for which civil liberties were created. This is as critical as ever at this time when civil rights in our country are being questioned and blatantly defunded and it is time for African Americans and all marginalized peoples to not only be heard but be recorded for their truths and historical significance.  It is my intent that my paintings reveal the dignity, significance, and genius of African Americans while evoking dialogue and reflection on the unending injustices committed toward us throughout the history of building America to the present day. Where we are as a people, where we have been and where we are going are complexly interwoven and inseparable.   With humor, seduction, and emotion I create narratives about the Black experience and throw them out to the audience and ask members to wrestle with any discomfort it might create. I want my work to be a catalyst for change by depicting the strength, bravery, heroics, and endurance of African Americans. As an artist who spent my early formative years in the Jim Crow south and who lived under the separate and unequal apartheid system of Los Angeles in the 50s, 60s, and 70s I feel qualified to critique the social impact of racism on America culture through my paintings.

For the entirety of my career as an artist, I have studied and learned from European centric art history which, minimalize the contributions of people of African descent. In my work, I consider the evolution of Black identity shaped by the slanted accounting of black contribution in the building of America and expose the inequity and marginalization bestowed on people of color with callous impunity. I feel very personally affronted by the racial injustices committed daily in cities throughout America. As I draw in the viewer with brilliant color and beauty, I invite and even challenge the viewer to face their own implicit bias around race, class, and gender in America as they consider the narrative I present within my work.  Was America’s advertising icon, Aunt Jemima, a maid of all work, joyful and loved by all? Or, is she a Black woman that was bought and sold symbolizing the power of the South – a symbol of white supremacy, leisure, abundance, and sexual order?  It is such issues that my work addresses.

For the vast majority of my work of the past 20 years, I have turned my attention solely to the African American experience, from the time we were driven to the slave traders’ ships to the present day. I question the myth that relegates blacks to a state of eternal servitude in which blacks viewed as property, as mere commodities. Through advertising, media and collectibles starting back in the late 1600s people of color were presented using derogatory images as bafoons, illiterates, and lazy loafers, oversexed criminals of inferior character and morals to discredit, demean, demoralize and dehumanize them. With my work, I hope to at least make a ripple in white Americans perspectives and perceptions of the African American.

I challenge the stereotypes and racial and sexual taboos that have gone unquestioned and accepted as reality for generation after generation. In short, it is my intent is to flip the racial taboos making some discernable impact on the social discourse and visual culture of modern America.” – Arvie Smith

“It is imperative that within the annals of social discourse and visual culture, African Americans have a voice in portraying and critiquing the world we live in. Without this, our democracy is denying essential input from the sector of the population for which civil liberties were created. This is as critical as ever at this time when civil rights in our country are being questioned and blatantly defunded and it is time for African Americans and all marginalized peoples to not only be heard but be recorded for their truths and historical significance.  It is my intent that my paintings reveal the dignity, significance, and genius of African Americans while evoking dialogue and reflection on the unending injustices committed toward us throughout the history of building America to the present day. Where we are as a people, where we have been and where we are going are complexly interwoven and inseparable.   With humor, seduction, and emotion I create narratives about the Black experience and throw them out to the audience and ask members to wrestle with any discomfort it might create. I want my work to be a catalyst for change by depicting the strength, bravery, heroics, and endurance of African Americans. As an artist who spent my early formative years in the Jim Crow south and who lived under the separate and unequal apartheid system of Los Angeles in the 50s, 60s, and 70s I feel qualified to critique the social impact of racism on America culture through my paintings.

For the entirety of my career as an artist, I have studied and learned from European centric art history which, minimalize the contributions of people of African descent. In my work, I consider the evolution of Black identity shaped by the slanted accounting of black contribution in the building of America and expose the inequity and marginalization bestowed on people of color with callous impunity. I feel very personally affronted by the racial injustices committed daily in cities throughout America. As I draw in the viewer with brilliant color and beauty, I invite and even challenge the viewer to face their own implicit bias around race, class, and gender in America as they consider the narrative I present within my work.  Was America’s advertising icon, Aunt Jemima, a maid of all work, joyful and loved by all? Or, is she a Black woman that was bought and sold symbolizing the power of the South – a symbol of white supremacy, leisure, abundance, and sexual order?  It is such issues that my work addresses.

For the vast majority of my work of the past 20 years, I have turned my attention solely to the African American experience, from the time we were driven to the slave traders’ ships to the present day. I question the myth that relegates blacks to a state of eternal servitude in which blacks viewed as property, as mere commodities. Through advertising, media and collectibles starting back in the late 1600s people of color were presented using derogatory images as bafoons, illiterates, and lazy loafers, oversexed criminals of inferior character and morals to discredit, demean, demoralize and dehumanize them. With my work, I hope to at least make a ripple in white Americans perspectives and perceptions of the African American.

I challenge the stereotypes and racial and sexual taboos that have gone unquestioned and accepted as reality for generation after generation. In short, it is my intent is to flip the racial taboos making some discernable impact on the social discourse and visual culture of modern America.” – Arvie Smith

“To embolden, bolster, and affirm the prodigious spirit of Black people through communal preparation and a wholistic self-healing are at the heart my current work. Under the umbrella of preparation, inwardly focused themes around mental health, family history/legacy, self-respect and dignity, leadership, rebuilding the Black economy, and restoring relationships are touched on as a means of being solution-oriented.

A large portion of my work considers aging, weathering, and/or antiquing objects driven by fictional narratives; narratives that inform my aesthetic choices. However, I’m not concerned with the viewer engaging my narratives. More often than not, they’re just for me and my process. I work with them as a means of setting a stage for myself mentally — and every stage has its props and boundaries. Therefore I’m constantly questioning, “Does this idea/object fit within the boundaries of my stage and how?”. The objects (props) I choose to create are often ubiquitous, even mundane items with slight hybridity-like aspects incorporated. For the viewer, it’s the objects’ familiarity — loaded with preconceived notions and understandings — that allow entryway. The aesthetic choice of aging and weathering is about linking present-day content to historical issues, or ideas around value. Objects that are salvaged and displayed are deemed to possess a certain value or esteem. With the familiarity in place, the stage is set for viewers to explore that sense of value to be linked to with the “foreign” contemporary socio-political or socio-economic elements incorporated into the work.

Across my body of artwork, my conceptual foundation has been to draw parallels between historic and contemporary cultural issues faced by the people of the African Diaspora. One theme I continue to examine is the psyche of Black people who feel or are actually targeted by police or what I have deemed “subjective White authority.” The mistreatment and injustices faced by Blacks in the United States is nothing new—to Blacks anyway. But technological advances are helping others to see, across the nation and worldwide, just how severely disproportionately the “hammer of justice” falls on Blacks in this country.

My Open Season series is an ongoing compilation of memorials to the Black, unarmed men, women, boys and girls killed by police and other “authorities.” Each memorial takes the form of a colorful but distressed cube “embossed” with a target. Each cube it titled and stamped with the personal information of the dead: their initials, age at and date of death and the state that they died in.” – Wesley Clark

“To embolden, bolster, and affirm the prodigious spirit of Black people through communal preparation and a wholistic self-healing are at the heart my current work. Under the umbrella of preparation, inwardly focused themes around mental health, family history/legacy, self-respect and dignity, leadership, rebuilding the Black economy, and restoring relationships are touched on as a means of being solution-oriented.

A large portion of my work considers aging, weathering, and/or antiquing objects driven by fictional narratives; narratives that inform my aesthetic choices. However, I’m not concerned with the viewer engaging my narratives. More often than not, they’re just for me and my process. I work with them as a means of setting a stage for myself mentally — and every stage has its props and boundaries. Therefore I’m constantly questioning, “Does this idea/object fit within the boundaries of my stage and how?”. The objects (props) I choose to create are often ubiquitous, even mundane items with slight hybridity-like aspects incorporated. For the viewer, it’s the objects’ familiarity — loaded with preconceived notions and understandings — that allow entryway. The aesthetic choice of aging and weathering is about linking present-day content to historical issues, or ideas around value. Objects that are salvaged and displayed are deemed to possess a certain value or esteem. With the familiarity in place, the stage is set for viewers to explore that sense of value to be linked to with the “foreign” contemporary socio-political or socio-economic elements incorporated into the work.

Across my body of artwork, my conceptual foundation has been to draw parallels between historic and contemporary cultural issues faced by the people of the African Diaspora. One theme I continue to examine is the psyche of Black people who feel or are actually targeted by police or what I have deemed “subjective White authority.” The mistreatment and injustices faced by Blacks in the United States is nothing new—to Blacks anyway. But technological advances are helping others to see, across the nation and worldwide, just how severely disproportionately the “hammer of justice” falls on Blacks in this country.

My Open Season series is an ongoing compilation of memorials to the Black, unarmed men, women, boys and girls killed by police and other “authorities.” Each memorial takes the form of a colorful but distressed cube “embossed” with a target. Each cube it titled and stamped with the personal information of the dead: their initials, age at and date of death and the state that they died in.” – Wesley Clark

“To embolden, bolster, and affirm the prodigious spirit of Black people through communal preparation and a wholistic self-healing are at the heart my current work. Under the umbrella of preparation, inwardly focused themes around mental health, family history/legacy, self-respect and dignity, leadership, rebuilding the Black economy, and restoring relationships are touched on as a means of being solution-oriented.

A large portion of my work considers aging, weathering, and/or antiquing objects driven by fictional narratives; narratives that inform my aesthetic choices. However, I’m not concerned with the viewer engaging my narratives. More often than not, they’re just for me and my process. I work with them as a means of setting a stage for myself mentally — and every stage has its props and boundaries. Therefore I’m constantly questioning, “Does this idea/object fit within the boundaries of my stage and how?”. The objects (props) I choose to create are often ubiquitous, even mundane items with slight hybridity-like aspects incorporated. For the viewer, it’s the objects’ familiarity — loaded with preconceived notions and understandings — that allow entryway. The aesthetic choice of aging and weathering is about linking present-day content to historical issues, or ideas around value. Objects that are salvaged and displayed are deemed to possess a certain value or esteem. With the familiarity in place, the stage is set for viewers to explore that sense of value to be linked to with the “foreign” contemporary socio-political or socio-economic elements incorporated into the work.

Across my body of artwork, my conceptual foundation has been to draw parallels between historic and contemporary cultural issues faced by the people of the African Diaspora. One theme I continue to examine is the psyche of Black people who feel or are actually targeted by police or what I have deemed “subjective White authority.” The mistreatment and injustices faced by Blacks in the United States is nothing new—to Blacks anyway. But technological advances are helping others to see, across the nation and worldwide, just how severely disproportionately the “hammer of justice” falls on Blacks in this country.

My Open Season series is an ongoing compilation of memorials to the Black, unarmed men, women, boys and girls killed by police and other “authorities.” Each memorial takes the form of a colorful but distressed cube “embossed” with a target. Each cube it titled and stamped with the personal information of the dead: their initials, age at and date of death and the state that they died in.” – Wesley Clark

“To embolden, bolster, and affirm the prodigious spirit of Black people through communal preparation and a wholistic self-healing are at the heart my current work. Under the umbrella of preparation, inwardly focused themes around mental health, family history/legacy, self-respect and dignity, leadership, rebuilding the Black economy, and restoring relationships are touched on as a means of being solution-oriented.

A large portion of my work considers aging, weathering, and/or antiquing objects driven by fictional narratives; narratives that inform my aesthetic choices. However, I’m not concerned with the viewer engaging my narratives. More often than not, they’re just for me and my process. I work with them as a means of setting a stage for myself mentally — and every stage has its props and boundaries. Therefore I’m constantly questioning, “Does this idea/object fit within the boundaries of my stage and how?”. The objects (props) I choose to create are often ubiquitous, even mundane items with slight hybridity-like aspects incorporated. For the viewer, it’s the objects’ familiarity — loaded with preconceived notions and understandings — that allow entryway. The aesthetic choice of aging and weathering is about linking present-day content to historical issues, or ideas around value. Objects that are salvaged and displayed are deemed to possess a certain value or esteem. With the familiarity in place, the stage is set for viewers to explore that sense of value to be linked to with the “foreign” contemporary socio-political or socio-economic elements incorporated into the work.

Across my body of artwork, my conceptual foundation has been to draw parallels between historic and contemporary cultural issues faced by the people of the African Diaspora. One theme I continue to examine is the psyche of Black people who feel or are actually targeted by police or what I have deemed “subjective White authority.” The mistreatment and injustices faced by Blacks in the United States is nothing new—to Blacks anyway. But technological advances are helping others to see, across the nation and worldwide, just how severely disproportionately the “hammer of justice” falls on Blacks in this country.

My Open Season series is an ongoing compilation of memorials to the Black, unarmed men, women, boys and girls killed by police and other “authorities.” Each memorial takes the form of a colorful but distressed cube “embossed” with a target. Each cube it titled and stamped with the personal information of the dead: their initials, age at and date of death and the state that they died in.” – Wesley Clark

“To embolden, bolster, and affirm the prodigious spirit of Black people through communal preparation and a wholistic self-healing are at the heart my current work. Under the umbrella of preparation, inwardly focused themes around mental health, family history/legacy, self-respect and dignity, leadership, rebuilding the Black economy, and restoring relationships are touched on as a means of being solution-oriented.

A large portion of my work considers aging, weathering, and/or antiquing objects driven by fictional narratives; narratives that inform my aesthetic choices. However, I’m not concerned with the viewer engaging my narratives. More often than not, they’re just for me and my process. I work with them as a means of setting a stage for myself mentally — and every stage has its props and boundaries. Therefore I’m constantly questioning, “Does this idea/object fit within the boundaries of my stage and how?”. The objects (props) I choose to create are often ubiquitous, even mundane items with slight hybridity-like aspects incorporated. For the viewer, it’s the objects’ familiarity — loaded with preconceived notions and understandings — that allow entryway. The aesthetic choice of aging and weathering is about linking present-day content to historical issues, or ideas around value. Objects that are salvaged and displayed are deemed to possess a certain value or esteem. With the familiarity in place, the stage is set for viewers to explore that sense of value to be linked to with the “foreign” contemporary socio-political or socio-economic elements incorporated into the work.

Across my body of artwork, my conceptual foundation has been to draw parallels between historic and contemporary cultural issues faced by the people of the African Diaspora. One theme I continue to examine is the psyche of Black people who feel or are actually targeted by police or what I have deemed “subjective White authority.” The mistreatment and injustices faced by Blacks in the United States is nothing new—to Blacks anyway. But technological advances are helping others to see, across the nation and worldwide, just how severely disproportionately the “hammer of justice” falls on Blacks in this country.

My Open Season series is an ongoing compilation of memorials to the Black, unarmed men, women, boys and girls killed by police and other “authorities.” Each memorial takes the form of a colorful but distressed cube “embossed” with a target. Each cube it titled and stamped with the personal information of the dead: their initials, age at and date of death and the state that they died in.” – Wesley Clark

“In “Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood” Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson describe the posing and posturing of black men as a tool “to communicate power, toughness, detachment, and style-self – a carefully crafted persona that is key to the negotiation of black urban environments.” I am interested in how photography encapsulates this persona—specifically within prison and club photography aesthetics. Posing for the camera provides an outlet in which the subject can reclaim agency.

Eternal Splendor explores the cultural aesthetic of “club” photography to examine how urban culture and incarceration systems become entwined through backdrops. The backdrop is central for its relationship to the formal, social, and cultural aspects of photographic history. I employ elements of pictorial realism and fantasy to examine the broader questions of status, individualism, and materialism within black culture.” – Larry Cook

“In “Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood” Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson describe the posing and posturing of black men as a tool “to communicate power, toughness, detachment, and style-self – a carefully crafted persona that is key to the negotiation of black urban environments.” I am interested in how photography encapsulates this persona—specifically within prison and club photography aesthetics. Posing for the camera provides an outlet in which the subject can reclaim agency.

Eternal Splendor explores the cultural aesthetic of “club” photography to examine how urban culture and incarceration systems become entwined through backdrops. The backdrop is central for its relationship to the formal, social, and cultural aspects of photographic history. I employ elements of pictorial realism and fantasy to examine the broader questions of status, individualism, and materialism within black culture.” – Larry Cook

“In “Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood” Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson describe the posing and posturing of black men as a tool “to communicate power, toughness, detachment, and style-self – a carefully crafted persona that is key to the negotiation of black urban environments.” I am interested in how photography encapsulates this persona—specifically within prison and club photography aesthetics. Posing for the camera provides an outlet in which the subject can reclaim agency.

Eternal Splendor explores the cultural aesthetic of “club” photography to examine how urban culture and incarceration systems become entwined through backdrops. The backdrop is central for its relationship to the formal, social, and cultural aspects of photographic history. I employ elements of pictorial realism and fantasy to examine the broader questions of status, individualism, and materialism within black culture.” – Larry Cook

“In “Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood” Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson describe the posing and posturing of black men as a tool “to communicate power, toughness, detachment, and style-self – a carefully crafted persona that is key to the negotiation of black urban environments.” I am interested in how photography encapsulates this persona—specifically within prison and club photography aesthetics. Posing for the camera provides an outlet in which the subject can reclaim agency.

Eternal Splendor explores the cultural aesthetic of “club” photography to examine how urban culture and incarceration systems become entwined through backdrops. The backdrop is central for its relationship to the formal, social, and cultural aspects of photographic history. I employ elements of pictorial realism and fantasy to examine the broader questions of status, individualism, and materialism within black culture.” – Larry Cook

“Life is a continual experience of discovery, contrasting things that are apparent or taught with personal discoveries that create a perspective that is unique to every individual.

Being mainly a figurative artist, I seek to capture intimate settings to use as a gateway to ponder the complexities of the human experience, as well as the society that influences them. A comprehensive catalog of unique experiences is veiled behind every silent gaze of the human expression. In my work, the figure’s environment suggests what some of those experiences may be. My goal is to create visually poetic work, aiming to create an interactive experience in which the viewer is compelled to ponder possibilities that are reflections of occurrences in their own lives. I hope that my work can become a catalyst to trigger for self-discovery of value, beauty, and significance among people who feel marginalized.

As a self-taught artist and painter, I find the process of manipulating paint on the canvas as being more critical than the materialization of the image. The practice of studying design and composition influences me to alter reality which can add a mystical quality to my work. I seek to master the element of mood and emotion rather than mastering the painting of objects. Every application and technique discovered adds depth to my artistic voice, increasing my capacity to communicate in both direct and subtle fashion.

For me, the overwhelming appeal of creating art is its legacy quality. The idea of being able to paint years beyond retirement age and having a lifetime’s body of work representing my time on earth is priceless.” –  Ronald Jackson

Nelson Stevens was born in 1938 in Bed-Sty, Brooklyn, New York. One of his earliest childhood memories was of drawing in chalk on the sidewalk in front of his home. “After completing our drawings, we would go up to the roof to look down at it—those were my first murals,” noted Stevens. In the fourth grade, Nelson won a spot in the Museum of Modern Art’s Saturday art classes for children. He was inspired by Picasso’s Guernica, which was on display at the time.

In 1956, after entering the jazz nightclub scene in Utica, Stevens began painting murals on the walls of nightclubs stating, “Those were the nightclubs in Utica where I could eat free.” With the support of the artistic community, Stevens’ college studies and chance of a timely graduation became manageable while coexisting with his artistic expression.

After moving to Cleveland, Ohio years later, Stevens became a middle school teacher and in 1963 Stevens returned to his Utica roots by painting the coming attractions for the Jazz Temple Club on a refurbished UPS truck. During his time in Cleveland, Nelson taught classes at the Karamu House, the oldest African-American theatre in the United States, where many of Langston Hughes’ plays were performed in their infancy. “For three years,” stated Stevens, “I was a sponge. Eight artists I met from a cooperative art studio run by Joe Moody taught me all that I had missed in my undergraduate studies. They taught me all that they knew.”

Soon, the Board of Education in Cleveland placed Stevens at the Cleveland Museum of Art so that he could expand his knowledge of art history and art documentation. Guided by Director Sherman Lee, Nelson cites the wisdom of Sherman Lee and Hal Workman as what gave him the critical taste of theory coupled with the technique of the modern era. Nelson later enrolled in graduate school at Kent State University in order to earn his Masters of Fine Arts in painting, printmaking and art history.

At the start of 1969, Professor Stevens drove from Kent State in Ohio to Boston Massachusetts to find a job at the College Art Association Conference. After meeting Jeff Donaldson, Nelson was informed that he needed to move to Chicago: “the ground zero for the art movement.” The same day, Stevens was offered and accepted a position at Northern Illinois University an hour outside of Chicago, Professor Stevens then joined AfriCOBRA (African Community of Bad Relevant Artists), an artistic collective based in Chicago. Said Stevens, “Immediately after joining AfriCOBRA, I realized that it was helping my academic experience because the idea of critiquing became about improving our pieces with no reference to ourselves or our personalities.” His membership in AfriCOBRA gave Stevens the idea to create a course of study in his teaching that was aligned with the work of each individual student.

In the summer of 1972, Stevens signed his employment contract with the college of Amherst in Massachusetts, making the African-American Studies Department a powerhouse and a leader in African-American studies in universities around the country.

Since 1969 and up until his retirement in 2003, Stevens taught two core theories of thought: one of history, which was rooted in African-American Art of the Western Hemisphere and one of technique, which focused on figure drawing.

In 1973, Professor Stevens made a deal with a student to teach a class that would help students create a magazine vibrant with political energy. Stevens agreed on the condition that he would do a series of interviews with the revamped DRUM magazine. That same year, Stevens formed a program of mural creation in Springfield, Massachusetts with art students from the college of Amherst. Over the course of four years, the students under Nelson’s program created and completed thirty-six indoor and outdoor murals in the area. Said the Professor, “The objective of the program was to make the black community an outdoor gallery, so that each mural would be treated with the care of a stained glass window.” Stevens had just been introduced to doing professionally physical murals by Dana Chandler the summer before, which subsequently birthed his mural Work to Unify the African People. During this process, Stevens was recognized in the competition for Centennial Visions publication to celebrate the Tuskegee Institute’s one-hundred year anniversary.

In 1993, Stevens initiated the Art in the Service of the Lord project—a successful series of calendars that were commissioned to African-American artists in order to create works for a Black Christian Fine Arts Calendar. For four consecutive years, the project distributed around 15,000 copies of each completed calendar. “It is still one of my proudest efforts and productions,” claimed Stevens.

After retiring from the Amherst College in 2003, Professor Stevens relocated to Owings Mills, Maryland. His early and more recent works have been collected by the Smithsonian, Kent State University, Fisk University, Karamu House in Cleveland, the Chicago Institute of Art and the Brooklyn Museum. In addition to his AfriCOBRA membership, he belonged to the College Art Association and the National Conference of Artists.

Stevens has modeled his works around his family and the individuals and communities who have contributed to both his personal achievements and the success of his students.

Nelson Stevens was born in 1938 in Bed-Sty, Brooklyn, New York. One of his earliest childhood memories was of drawing in chalk on the sidewalk in front of his home. “After completing our drawings, we would go up to the roof to look down at it—those were my first murals,” noted Stevens. In the fourth grade, Nelson won a spot in the Museum of Modern Art’s Saturday art classes for children. He was inspired by Picasso’s Guernica, which was on display at the time.

In 1956, after entering the jazz nightclub scene in Utica, Stevens began painting murals on the walls of nightclubs stating, “Those were the nightclubs in Utica where I could eat free.” With the support of the artistic community, Stevens’ college studies and chance of a timely graduation became manageable while coexisting with his artistic expression.

After moving to Cleveland, Ohio years later, Stevens became a middle school teacher and in 1963 Stevens returned to his Utica roots by painting the coming attractions for the Jazz Temple Club on a refurbished UPS truck. During his time in Cleveland, Nelson taught classes at the Karamu House, the oldest African-American theatre in the United States, where many of Langston Hughes’ plays were performed in their infancy. “For three years,” stated Stevens, “I was a sponge. Eight artists I met from a cooperative art studio run by Joe Moody taught me all that I had missed in my undergraduate studies. They taught me all that they knew.”

Soon, the Board of Education in Cleveland placed Stevens at the Cleveland Museum of Art so that he could expand his knowledge of art history and art documentation. Guided by Director Sherman Lee, Nelson cites the wisdom of Sherman Lee and Hal Workman as what gave him the critical taste of theory coupled with the technique of the modern era. Nelson later enrolled in graduate school at Kent State University in order to earn his Masters of Fine Arts in painting, printmaking and art history.

At the start of 1969, Professor Stevens drove from Kent State in Ohio to Boston Massachusetts to find a job at the College Art Association Conference. After meeting Jeff Donaldson, Nelson was informed that he needed to move to Chicago: “the ground zero for the art movement.” The same day, Stevens was offered and accepted a position at Northern Illinois University an hour outside of Chicago, Professor Stevens then joined AfriCOBRA (African Community of Bad Relevant Artists), an artistic collective based in Chicago. Said Stevens, “Immediately after joining AfriCOBRA, I realized that it was helping my academic experience because the idea of critiquing became about improving our pieces with no reference to ourselves or our personalities.” His membership in AfriCOBRA gave Stevens the idea to create a course of study in his teaching that was aligned with the work of each individual student.

In the summer of 1972, Stevens signed his employment contract with the college of Amherst in Massachusetts, making the African-American Studies Department a powerhouse and a leader in African-American studies in universities around the country.

Since 1969 and up until his retirement in 2003, Stevens taught two core theories of thought: one of history, which was rooted in African-American Art of the Western Hemisphere and one of technique, which focused on figure drawing.

In 1973, Professor Stevens made a deal with a student to teach a class that would help students create a magazine vibrant with political energy. Stevens agreed on the condition that he would do a series of interviews with the revamped DRUM magazine. That same year, Stevens formed a program of mural creation in Springfield, Massachusetts with art students from the college of Amherst. Over the course of four years, the students under Nelson’s program created and completed thirty-six indoor and outdoor murals in the area. Said the Professor, “The objective of the program was to make the black community an outdoor gallery, so that each mural would be treated with the care of a stained glass window.” Stevens had just been introduced to doing professionally physical murals by Dana Chandler the summer before, which subsequently birthed his mural Work to Unify the African People. During this process, Stevens was recognized in the competition for Centennial Visions publication to celebrate the Tuskegee Institute’s one-hundred year anniversary.

In 1993, Stevens initiated the Art in the Service of the Lord project—a successful series of calendars that were commissioned to African-American artists in order to create works for a Black Christian Fine Arts Calendar. For four consecutive years, the project distributed around 15,000 copies of each completed calendar. “It is still one of my proudest efforts and productions,” claimed Stevens.

After retiring from the Amherst College in 2003, Professor Stevens relocated to Owings Mills, Maryland. His early and more recent works have been collected by the Smithsonian, Kent State University, Fisk University, Karamu House in Cleveland, the Chicago Institute of Art and the Brooklyn Museum. In addition to his AfriCOBRA membership, he belonged to the College Art Association and the National Conference of Artists.

Stevens has modeled his works around his family and the individuals and communities who have contributed to both his personal achievements and the success of his students.

Nelson Stevens was born in 1938 in Bed-Sty, Brooklyn, New York. One of his earliest childhood memories was of drawing in chalk on the sidewalk in front of his home. “After completing our drawings, we would go up to the roof to look down at it—those were my first murals,” noted Stevens. In the fourth grade, Nelson won a spot in the Museum of Modern Art’s Saturday art classes for children. He was inspired by Picasso’s Guernica, which was on display at the time.

In 1956, after entering the jazz nightclub scene in Utica, Stevens began painting murals on the walls of nightclubs stating, “Those were the nightclubs in Utica where I could eat free.” With the support of the artistic community, Stevens’ college studies and chance of a timely graduation became manageable while coexisting with his artistic expression.

After moving to Cleveland, Ohio years later, Stevens became a middle school teacher and in 1963 Stevens returned to his Utica roots by painting the coming attractions for the Jazz Temple Club on a refurbished UPS truck. During his time in Cleveland, Nelson taught classes at the Karamu House, the oldest African-American theatre in the United States, where many of Langston Hughes’ plays were performed in their infancy. “For three years,” stated Stevens, “I was a sponge. Eight artists I met from a cooperative art studio run by Joe Moody taught me all that I had missed in my undergraduate studies. They taught me all that they knew.”

Soon, the Board of Education in Cleveland placed Stevens at the Cleveland Museum of Art so that he could expand his knowledge of art history and art documentation. Guided by Director Sherman Lee, Nelson cites the wisdom of Sherman Lee and Hal Workman as what gave him the critical taste of theory coupled with the technique of the modern era. Nelson later enrolled in graduate school at Kent State University in order to earn his Masters of Fine Arts in painting, printmaking and art history.

At the start of 1969, Professor Stevens drove from Kent State in Ohio to Boston Massachusetts to find a job at the College Art Association Conference. After meeting Jeff Donaldson, Nelson was informed that he needed to move to Chicago: “the ground zero for the art movement.” The same day, Stevens was offered and accepted a position at Northern Illinois University an hour outside of Chicago, Professor Stevens then joined AfriCOBRA (African Community of Bad Relevant Artists), an artistic collective based in Chicago. Said Stevens, “Immediately after joining AfriCOBRA, I realized that it was helping my academic experience because the idea of critiquing became about improving our pieces with no reference to ourselves or our personalities.” His membership in AfriCOBRA gave Stevens the idea to create a course of study in his teaching that was aligned with the work of each individual student.

In the summer of 1972, Stevens signed his employment contract with the college of Amherst in Massachusetts, making the African-American Studies Department a powerhouse and a leader in African-American studies in universities around the country.

Since 1969 and up until his retirement in 2003, Stevens taught two core theories of thought: one of history, which was rooted in African-American Art of the Western Hemisphere and one of technique, which focused on figure drawing.

In 1973, Professor Stevens made a deal with a student to teach a class that would help students create a magazine vibrant with political energy. Stevens agreed on the condition that he would do a series of interviews with the revamped DRUM magazine. That same year, Stevens formed a program of mural creation in Springfield, Massachusetts with art students from the college of Amherst. Over the course of four years, the students under Nelson’s program created and completed thirty-six indoor and outdoor murals in the area. Said the Professor, “The objective of the program was to make the black community an outdoor gallery, so that each mural would be treated with the care of a stained glass window.” Stevens had just been introduced to doing professionally physical murals by Dana Chandler the summer before, which subsequently birthed his mural Work to Unify the African People. During this process, Stevens was recognized in the competition for Centennial Visions publication to celebrate the Tuskegee Institute’s one-hundred year anniversary.

In 1993, Stevens initiated the Art in the Service of the Lord project—a successful series of calendars that were commissioned to African-American artists in order to create works for a Black Christian Fine Arts Calendar. For four consecutive years, the project distributed around 15,000 copies of each completed calendar. “It is still one of my proudest efforts and productions,” claimed Stevens.

After retiring from the Amherst College in 2003, Professor Stevens relocated to Owings Mills, Maryland. His early and more recent works have been collected by the Smithsonian, Kent State University, Fisk University, Karamu House in Cleveland, the Chicago Institute of Art and the Brooklyn Museum. In addition to his AfriCOBRA membership, he belonged to the College Art Association and the National Conference of Artists.

Stevens has modeled his works around his family and the individuals and communities who have contributed to both his personal achievements and the success of his students.

Nelson Stevens was born in 1938 in Bed-Sty, Brooklyn, New York. One of his earliest childhood memories was of drawing in chalk on the sidewalk in front of his home. “After completing our drawings, we would go up to the roof to look down at it—those were my first murals,” noted Stevens. In the fourth grade, Nelson won a spot in the Museum of Modern Art’s Saturday art classes for children. He was inspired by Picasso’s Guernica, which was on display at the time.

In 1956, after entering the jazz nightclub scene in Utica, Stevens began painting murals on the walls of nightclubs stating, “Those were the nightclubs in Utica where I could eat free.” With the support of the artistic community, Stevens’ college studies and chance of a timely graduation became manageable while coexisting with his artistic expression.

After moving to Cleveland, Ohio years later, Stevens became a middle school teacher and in 1963 Stevens returned to his Utica roots by painting the coming attractions for the Jazz Temple Club on a refurbished UPS truck. During his time in Cleveland, Nelson taught classes at the Karamu House, the oldest African-American theatre in the United States, where many of Langston Hughes’ plays were performed in their infancy. “For three years,” stated Stevens, “I was a sponge. Eight artists I met from a cooperative art studio run by Joe Moody taught me all that I had missed in my undergraduate studies. They taught me all that they knew.”

Soon, the Board of Education in Cleveland placed Stevens at the Cleveland Museum of Art so that he could expand his knowledge of art history and art documentation. Guided by Director Sherman Lee, Nelson cites the wisdom of Sherman Lee and Hal Workman as what gave him the critical taste of theory coupled with the technique of the modern era. Nelson later enrolled in graduate school at Kent State University in order to earn his Masters of Fine Arts in painting, printmaking and art history.

At the start of 1969, Professor Stevens drove from Kent State in Ohio to Boston Massachusetts to find a job at the College Art Association Conference. After meeting Jeff Donaldson, Nelson was informed that he needed to move to Chicago: “the ground zero for the art movement.” The same day, Stevens was offered and accepted a position at Northern Illinois University an hour outside of Chicago, Professor Stevens then joined AfriCOBRA (African Community of Bad Relevant Artists), an artistic collective based in Chicago. Said Stevens, “Immediately after joining AfriCOBRA, I realized that it was helping my academic experience because the idea of critiquing became about improving our pieces with no reference to ourselves or our personalities.” His membership in AfriCOBRA gave Stevens the idea to create a course of study in his teaching that was aligned with the work of each individual student.

In the summer of 1972, Stevens signed his employment contract with the college of Amherst in Massachusetts, making the African-American Studies Department a powerhouse and a leader in African-American studies in universities around the country.

Since 1969 and up until his retirement in 2003, Stevens taught two core theories of thought: one of history, which was rooted in African-American Art of the Western Hemisphere and one of technique, which focused on figure drawing.

In 1973, Professor Stevens made a deal with a student to teach a class that would help students create a magazine vibrant with political energy. Stevens agreed on the condition that he would do a series of interviews with the revamped DRUM magazine. That same year, Stevens formed a program of mural creation in Springfield, Massachusetts with art students from the college of Amherst. Over the course of four years, the students under Nelson’s program created and completed thirty-six indoor and outdoor murals in the area. Said the Professor, “The objective of the program was to make the black community an outdoor gallery, so that each mural would be treated with the care of a stained glass window.” Stevens had just been introduced to doing professionally physical murals by Dana Chandler the summer before, which subsequently birthed his mural Work to Unify the African People. During this process, Stevens was recognized in the competition for Centennial Visions publication to celebrate the Tuskegee Institute’s one-hundred year anniversary.

In 1993, Stevens initiated the Art in the Service of the Lord project—a successful series of calendars that were commissioned to African-American artists in order to create works for a Black Christian Fine Arts Calendar. For four consecutive years, the project distributed around 15,000 copies of each completed calendar. “It is still one of my proudest efforts and productions,” claimed Stevens.

After retiring from the Amherst College in 2003, Professor Stevens relocated to Owings Mills, Maryland. His early and more recent works have been collected by the Smithsonian, Kent State University, Fisk University, Karamu House in Cleveland, the Chicago Institute of Art and the Brooklyn Museum. In addition to his AfriCOBRA membership, he belonged to the College Art Association and the National Conference of Artists.

Stevens has modeled his works around his family and the individuals and communities who have contributed to both his personal achievements and the success of his students.

Nelson Stevens was born in 1938 in Bed-Sty, Brooklyn, New York. One of his earliest childhood memories was of drawing in chalk on the sidewalk in front of his home. “After completing our drawings, we would go up to the roof to look down at it—those were my first murals,” noted Stevens. In the fourth grade, Nelson won a spot in the Museum of Modern Art’s Saturday art classes for children. He was inspired by Picasso’s Guernica, which was on display at the time.

In 1956, after entering the jazz nightclub scene in Utica, Stevens began painting murals on the walls of nightclubs stating, “Those were the nightclubs in Utica where I could eat free.” With the support of the artistic community, Stevens’ college studies and chance of a timely graduation became manageable while coexisting with his artistic expression.

After moving to Cleveland, Ohio years later, Stevens became a middle school teacher and in 1963 Stevens returned to his Utica roots by painting the coming attractions for the Jazz Temple Club on a refurbished UPS truck. During his time in Cleveland, Nelson taught classes at the Karamu House, the oldest African-American theatre in the United States, where many of Langston Hughes’ plays were performed in their infancy. “For three years,” stated Stevens, “I was a sponge. Eight artists I met from a cooperative art studio run by Joe Moody taught me all that I had missed in my undergraduate studies. They taught me all that they knew.”

Soon, the Board of Education in Cleveland placed Stevens at the Cleveland Museum of Art so that he could expand his knowledge of art history and art documentation. Guided by Director Sherman Lee, Nelson cites the wisdom of Sherman Lee and Hal Workman as what gave him the critical taste of theory coupled with the technique of the modern era. Nelson later enrolled in graduate school at Kent State University in order to earn his Masters of Fine Arts in painting, printmaking and art history.

At the start of 1969, Professor Stevens drove from Kent State in Ohio to Boston Massachusetts to find a job at the College Art Association Conference. After meeting Jeff Donaldson, Nelson was informed that he needed to move to Chicago: “the ground zero for the art movement.” The same day, Stevens was offered and accepted a position at Northern Illinois University an hour outside of Chicago, Professor Stevens then joined AfriCOBRA (African Community of Bad Relevant Artists), an artistic collective based in Chicago. Said Stevens, “Immediately after joining AfriCOBRA, I realized that it was helping my academic experience because the idea of critiquing became about improving our pieces with no reference to ourselves or our personalities.” His membership in AfriCOBRA gave Stevens the idea to create a course of study in his teaching that was aligned with the work of each individual student.

In the summer of 1972, Stevens signed his employment contract with the college of Amherst in Massachusetts, making the African-American Studies Department a powerhouse and a leader in African-American studies in universities around the country.

Since 1969 and up until his retirement in 2003, Stevens taught two core theories of thought: one of history, which was rooted in African-American Art of the Western Hemisphere and one of technique, which focused on figure drawing.

In 1973, Professor Stevens made a deal with a student to teach a class that would help students create a magazine vibrant with political energy. Stevens agreed on the condition that he would do a series of interviews with the revamped DRUM magazine. That same year, Stevens formed a program of mural creation in Springfield, Massachusetts with art students from the college of Amherst. Over the course of four years, the students under Nelson’s program created and completed thirty-six indoor and outdoor murals in the area. Said the Professor, “The objective of the program was to make the black community an outdoor gallery, so that each mural would be treated with the care of a stained glass window.” Stevens had just been introduced to doing professionally physical murals by Dana Chandler the summer before, which subsequently birthed his mural Work to Unify the African People. During this process, Stevens was recognized in the competition for Centennial Visions publication to celebrate the Tuskegee Institute’s one-hundred year anniversary.

In 1993, Stevens initiated the Art in the Service of the Lord project—a successful series of calendars that were commissioned to African-American artists in order to create works for a Black Christian Fine Arts Calendar. For four consecutive years, the project distributed around 15,000 copies of each completed calendar. “It is still one of my proudest efforts and productions,” claimed Stevens.

After retiring from the Amherst College in 2003, Professor Stevens relocated to Owings Mills, Maryland. His early and more recent works have been collected by the Smithsonian, Kent State University, Fisk University, Karamu House in Cleveland, the Chicago Institute of Art and the Brooklyn Museum. In addition to his AfriCOBRA membership, he belonged to the College Art Association and the National Conference of Artists.

Stevens has modeled his works around his family and the individuals and communities who have contributed to both his personal achievements and the success of his students.