Upcoming Residency 3

I can't quite shake the anxiety of my work.  For the last several months I've been pushed to look at Blake and Goya's art in getting ideas for the scrolls.  The passion and drama in their illustrations particularly as they address war and spirituality gave me ideas for layout and design.

In addition to that my mentor Cullen Washington has completely pushed me into considering conceptual art in getting my message out. What that message is I'm still trying to investigate. What I do know is that it involves giving voice to the experiences a generation of African American men my age had when we were coming of age in the 1980's. And it involves doing things that speak truth to power when it comes to racist propaganda that permeates our culture.

I've done several projects that don't involve rendering the figure and instead I've been using a lot of found objects and materials. I was a bit hesitant to go beyond rendering the figure and doing what I consider familiar but Cullen pushed me to do abstract pieces, try tear and paste and make things that are nostalgic to me as a starting point. I looked to Bearden, Rauschenberg and Dadism to give me ideas and inspiration. I hope the experience will be well received.  In pushing me I've rediscovered my love of creating art for art's sake.