Several artists including some of Prairie View’s own professors recently exhibited their art work in the John B. Coleman Library. The artists purpose was to note the connections between Christianity and commerce. The extravaganza recognized the presence of church elders, while recognizing the importance of ancient tradition in present day worship.
The first artist to make a presentation was Memphis, Tennessee native, Michael D. Yates. Yates has been a photographer and graphic designer, as well as a mixed media artist for the past four years. One of his works was a piece called “Can I Live,” illustrating an image of the Bible. Yates explained that he experiments with a lot of color in his work as well as digital images.
Professor Harold Dorsey had a piece in the show called “Passion of Black Christ,” where he used symbolic images. In this piece, Dorsey paid homage to all “black Christs.” He used thorns around the heads of black men which symbolizes cruelty, and the color blue stating that, “Whenever blacks went to work for whites, they worked for pennies. When the black man got home, he got kicked in the butt by his wife. There was nothing else to do but go to the juke joint and listen to blues music.” He explained that Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were black Christs who brought truth and justice to the United States.
Frank D. Robinson Jr. is an alumnus of Memphis State University and works with collages and logos. One of his paintings featured in the show was called, “All Glitter Ain’t Gold.” Robinson often used keys in these paintings to symbolize the tears that unlock emotions. He turns “trash to treasure” by using such discarded items in his paintings that are used every day, such as skillets and drawers. He explained that, “These pieces are time capsules because they may not be used in fifteen years.”
From Monroe, Louisiana, came Vitus Shell, an alumnus of Memphis College of Arts who now attends University of Memphis with a major in print making, silk screening, and etching. “Believe” was the name of his painting displayed in the show. Shell is a graphic design artist whose paintings go through different stages. He pays homage to important people in history and gives them a chance to be appreciated in several of his works. He often paints these figures without eyes to give them a more generic look so that people can identify with them. Shell often uses the color brown in his pieces to symbolize the “dirty south” and ever since he has been in graduate school, has played around with graffiti. He states that, “I believe the problem with black communities is there is a gap between generations and through my paintings, I want to build a bridge for that gap so that we can grow as a people.”
Edward Swine from Mississippi has been a mixed media artist for the past five years. In his piece, “Welcome Home,” he used land from Mississippi in all of his images and symbols and from West Africa he used the ancient star which symbolizes guidance. Also in all of his paintings is the number 61, which symbolizes the interstate that runs through the Delta area. Swine showed pictures from his grandmother’s photo album as well as pictures already used in previous paintings.
Work by Elvira Clayton who is also a multi-media artist, with a background as a jewelry artist as well as a photographer was also exhibited. She described her work as very personal and being all about self-acceptance. She has created a collection of what she calls her mojo box series. In this box are pieces that include “Cinderella Story” and “Get My Mojo Back” because she explained that she went through a period of emotional and spiritual hard times resulting from a broken heart. “Growing up, no one on TV looked liked me and it was not until I was much older that I realized that you don’t have to look like Cinderella to be beautiful.” Clayton also collects items that end up in her work, such as jewelry, beads, and shells. She stated that, “Mojo is magic and occurs only in the state of surrender You have to have faith that everything is in divine order.”
Prairie View’s own Professor Ann Johnson also had work displayed. Johnson goes by the artist name “Soul Sister” and often paints with her feet. In her piece, “Unbalanced Faith,” Johnson depicted an unbalanced society using faith and Christian symbols. For example, the nails in this work of art represent crucifixion.
Prairie View professor Reverend Clarence Talley, Sr. explained that “ninety-nine percent of my work is of a religious nature.” While taking a trip to West Africa this past summer, Talley traveled to Ghana where he saw a number of businesses with religious passages for names of the stores. “The Lord is My Shepherd” and “God is my Provider” are two photographs demonstrated in his work from the exhibit taken during his Ghana trip. He stated that, “The owners of these shops believed that their businesses would receive protection by using these store names.” Talley also explained that he loves to use bright colors especially the color red.