Wesley Clark Statement

Statement

Scientists say that every time we recall a memory we are in fact re-creating that memory—altering it, making the memory more self-centered—while history, by some definitions, is the effort to establish a “true memory.” So can a true history exist if no true memory can be made?

This question provides the basis of my aesthetic and use of invented narratives to create fictional artifacts. The narratives I create play a “Question and Answer” role in my process and dictate the markings made. For example, I may ask myself, “Why is the paint peeling off? Was this gouge from an axe or a rock?” The answer, “This object was abandoned in an area that over time became the hangout for groups of teenagers. They harass the paint, throw bottles and rocks at it, marring the surface.” This “Question and Answer” role of narrative guides my aesthetic choices; I weather, distress and‚ “age” the objects as it coincides with the developing narrative. In the context of the gallery, this aesthetic is intended to make the viewer think “antique,” and speculate as to how the object was used, its history and value. However, it is not important that my narrative comes across to the viewer nor am I interested in fooling the viewer into thinking these objects are originals. I simply want to construct objects that viewers imagine as having a history—a history that never existed—while in the context of the gallery.

The foundation of the work is to challenge and draw parallels between historical and contemporary cultural issues. My primary focus surrounds blacks in America and the African Diaspora. I examine the psyche of young black males feeling like a target and being targeted. I question tradition or the lack of tradition and the role it plays on ones values today. Objects that are antiques or antiqued are associated with historical relevance and wealth. By placing these issues in an antiqued object I am establishing the value in furthering a discussion around a particular issue. Analyzing historic and present social and economic disparities are what shape my conceptual process.

Consideration of materials occurs as I invent the object’s life and history. The materials are selected as a means to tell the story and chosen for their accessibility and workability. New materials, such as plywood, clue the viewer in to the modernity of the work and that they are on stage. These material clues support a fictitious narrative prompting the viewer to work through their own invented narrative.

artwork: New York, New York (The Stop & Frisk Gameboard), 24” x 24”, oil paint, acrylic, spray paint, plywood, 2013

To Be Black In White America – Artists Talk

More or Less, 2015, Archival print on semimatte paper 1/10, 33 1/3 x 50 in. (framed) by Wendel Patrick
More or Less, 2015, Archival print on semimatte paper 1/10, 33 1/3 x 50 in. (framed) by Wendel Patrick

 

To Be Black In White America

Artists Talk: July 24, 2016, 2:00 – 4:00 PM

RSVP REQUIRED (NO MORE SEATS AVAILABLE!)

Confirmed Artists

Wesley Clark
Linda Day Clark
Larry Cook (2016 Janet & Walter Sondheim finalist)
Nehemiah Dixon III
Wayson R. Jones
Wendel Patrick
Stephen Towns
 

About Exhibition

exhibition preview | about the artists

To Be Black in White America explores the politicization of the Black Identity in the United States. From legalized slavery to the most recent, hateful thing that Donald Trump said, a minority of Americans have been desperately and diligently fighting against a White power structure for equality throughout the nation’s relatively short history.

Exclamations comparing today’s events with those of the 1960’s are prevalent—from social media to the May 2015 cover of Time magazine, featuring the Freddie Gray protests. The truth is that we never left the Civil Rights Era completely in the past. Institutional racism and personal vitriol—which we have seen plenty of during the presidential campaigns—have always been present. They crop up when vile words provoke violence or when an act of violence incites protests.

While the subject matter surrounding White power structures is as vast as the Middle Crossing, the artists featured in this exhibition are able to identify and clearly express difficult but highly specific aspects of this struggle.

Galerie Myrtis and this exhibition are part of the 2016 Artscape Gallery Network

T Eliott Mansa Biography

T. Eliott Mansa

artwork | statement | bio | resume

Biography

T. Elliot Mansa (center) – image courtesy of oneunited.com
T. Eliott Mansa was born in Miami, Florida and is an alumnus of the New World School of the Arts High School. He received a Thalheimer Scholarship to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art but ultimately received his BFA from the University of Florida in 2000. He has also pursued is graduate education at the Yale School of Art.

His work, exploring familial and socio-political themes through the lens of West African myth and lore, has been exhibited at the ArtAfrica Fair and Prizm Art Fair during Art Basel, the David Castillo Gallery and the Miami International Airport, all in Miami, and the African American Museum of the Arts in Deland, Florida.

T Eliott Mansa Statement

T. Eliott Mansa

artwork | statement | bio | resume

Statement

My artwork is a critique of destructive, economic power dynamics within urban communities. I have chosen to use a tobacco company that holds a 78 percent market share within the black community as a demonstrative and metaphoric example of the economic forces that profit from destruction within the community. Design elements derived from West African bocio sculptures are used to compose images of power objects, as a means of empowerment and change.

Advertisements for the tobacco company that are aimed at the urban communities are ritually cut and sutured as a way of illustrating the will to overturn present power dynamics and create new ones. Ubiquitous, discarded cigarette boxes are incorporated as a way to invoke the presence of community members as consumers. My work also refers to neoclassical busts, previously used to link the Caucasoid ethnographic type to power. The use of imitation of black granite and marble busts operates as a signifier for identity. Assembled, these elements operate as power objects to aid in the shedding of what Kenyan writer, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o called the “colonized mind.

artwork: Amazon Ochossi, Mixed media, 2013

Ronald Jackson Bio

Biography

Ronald Jackson grew up in a farming family in the rural Arkansas Delta and was the youngest of eleven siblings. From an early age, his preoccupation for being creative was apparent to all that knew him.

In 1988, Jackson moved to California immediately after high school, and started an Architectural Design program at Mission Viejo College. It was there that he took his one and only art class, which introduced him to oil painting. He became intrigued by the local Laguna Beach art scene. He eventually withdrew from the Architectural program, got married and joined the U.S. Army in 1992. In joining the Army, life took a turn for a new set of experiences and a series of challenging adventures. He maintained an interest in art, but mostly by observing the artwork of others.

In 2001, halfway through his military career, Jackson had an epiphany that inspired him to consider a post-military career as an artist and painter. However, he realized that he needed much development, and that there was little to no opportunity to attend art school while serving abroad. He therefore read, researched and studied all he could in order to experience significant growth as he worked towards improving his skill; while at the same time, managing multiple military deployments and frequent training exercises.

In 2010, he entered his first exhibition in a regional show, juried by Jennifer Glave Kocen of Glave Kocen Gallery and received the Best of Show award, marking the beginning of the public recognition of his work. In 2011, Jackson had his first solo exhibition at the Libertytown Arts Workshop, in which he displayed a series of works that included over forty paintings. In 2013, he returned to Libertytown for a second show which included nearly fifty new works. During time spent abroad, Jackson received an invitation to participate in a group exhibition titled “The Nude Collection” at Gallery Golmok in Seoul Korea. In February 2014, he gave his third solo exhibition at the Elegba Folklore Society in Richmond, VA, as part of collaboration with the Virginia Museum of

Fine Arts (VMFA). The exhibition addressed the themes of race, place, and identity through the arts. In 2014, Jackson was one of sixty artists to exhibit their work in Emergence 2014: International Artists to Watch at Galerie Myrtis in Baltimore, MD.

Jackson makes a point to present people of color in his work. Having a broad interest in various styles of art, his work sometimes blurs between fine art and illustration. He is inspired and influenced by contemporary artist such as Lucian Freud, Kent Williams, and Kerry James Marshall.

In May 2014, Jackson retired from the Army after 21 years of service.

Ronald Jackson Statement

Statement

Life is a continual experience of discovery. Contrasting things that are apparent or taught with personal discoveries creates 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 gives suggestion to what some of those experiences may be. My goal is to create work that is visually poetic, aiming to create an interactive experience in which the viewer is compelled to ponder possibilities that are reflections of their own experiences. I hope that my work can become a catalyst to trigger for the 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. It is my desire 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.

Arrival: Outside her door the world stood still, awaiting her arrival, 2024
Oil, acrylic and colored pencil on canvas
72 x 66 ″

Ronald Jackson

Ronald Jackson grew up in a farming family in the rural Arkansas Delta and was the youngest of eleven siblings. From an early age, his preoccupation with being creative was apparent to all that knew him.

My goal is to create work that is visually poetic, aiming to create an interactive experience in which the viewer is compelled to ponder possibilities that are reflections of their own experiences. I hope that my work can become a catalyst to trigger for the self-discovery of value, beauty, and significance among people who feel marginalized.

Jackson makes a point to present people of color in his work. Having a broad interest in various styles of art, his work sometimes blurs between fine art and illustration. He is inspired and influenced by contemporary artist such as Lucian Freud, Kent Williams, and Kerry James Marshall.

Badass: She never really knew how others viewed her, but in her mind she was a badass, 2024
Oil, acrylic, and colored pencil on canvas
72 x 66 ″