Pigment_fall winter 2020

FALL | WINTER 2020

pigment

ART • INNOVATION • CURATION



contents
The artists of Pigment International (Left - Right) Tyler Clark, Eddie Santana “Edo” White, Dana Todd
Pope, Dwight White, Angelica London, Lesley Martinez and Paul Branton – Photo by Joe Jones
VOLUME 2 - NUMBER 1
27 Capturing A Moment In Time
Cover art by Deborah Roberts Murals, the Movement and a Societal Maelstrom
“Fight the Power, “ mixed media 65”x45” COLLECTOR | Daniel T. Parker
Courtesy of the artist, Susanne Vielmitter Projects ARTS.BLACK
and Stephen Friedman Black Face: It Ain’t About the Cork
Black Fine Art Month | A CELEBRATION
34 The Florida Highwaymen
Artistic and Entrepreneurial Success
6 Pigment Year In Review 40 A TRIBUTE | Congressman John Lewis

10 PRINTMAKER | Thomas Lucas 42

13 Dawoud Bey | AN ARTIST’S PERSPECTIVE 43

17 49A Women’s Work | CELEBRATING BLACK WOMEN ARTISTS
Samella Sanders Lewis
Harmonia Rosales 52

Deborah Roberts 54

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 3

pigment editor’s page

ART • INNOVATION • CURATION This, our second issue of Pigment Magazine, is informed not just by our pursuit of telling
Fall | Winter 2020 authentic stories about the Black Fine Art ecosystem, but by two all-encompassing global events.
Vol. 2, No. 1 In late February, the world came to a standstill when a virus, COVID-19, spread from China across
Publisher/Editor the world. As of this writing, there are more than 83K cases of COVID- 19 diagnosed per day, and a
shocking worldwide death toll of nearly 1.1M.
Patricia Andrews-Keenan Then, in May, a locked-down worldwide audience witnessed the killing of George Floyd when a
Deputy Editor Minneapolis police officer leaned on his neck for nearly nine minutes. His last call was for his
Devorah Crable deceased mother. Heartbreaking! Worlds have never collided with such force or consequence.
Art Director Black rage and anguish spilled into the streets, but this time buttressed by people of every color,
faith, creed, and religion worldwide.
Tanya Lyda | Lydagraphics We’ve sought to capture this moment from the perspective of artists and learn what and how they
Contributing Writers are creating today in our piece, “Capturing a Moment in Time.”
We are also celebrating Black women artists. Why? They deserve it! From our matriarch, the multi-
Patricia Andrews-Keenan faceted Samella Lewis, to the self-described counter-hegemony ideologue Harmonia Rosales,
Devorah Crable women artists have been weaving Black Girl Magic into the art scene.
Thomas Lucas In this issue, you can experience the work of photographer and McArthur Genius grant awardee
Jessica Lynn Dawoud Bey highlighted, along with a Q&A about his process. You’ll meet the women behind the
site Art.Black, who are emphatic that critique of Black art must be within the purview of Black
Nalani McClendon critics. And, you’ll meet longtime collector Dan Parker, co-founder of Diasporal Rhythms in
Caira Moreira-Brown Chicago.
Since our premiere issue of Pigment Magazine in 2018, Pigment International has been to Miami Art
Halima Taha Week, with our exhibition at the Penthouse, and in 2019, we returned to Miami with an exhibition
Photographers| Videographers at Spectrum. We hosted Pigment Salon Talks during Prizm in Miami with artist Ted Ellis and author
Halima Taha; and in Chicago, featuring former NBA player and collector Darrell Walker. Also, read
John Alexander about the inaugural Black Fine Art Month hosted in October 2019, in partnership with the DuSable
Madison Burger Museum of African American History, a Smithsonian affiliate.
Devorah Crable Since this is a story still being written, there are questions that we can’t hope to answer today, but
the context artists provide is invaluable. Our hope is that each of us makes it through to learn the
Joe Jones answers.
Rodney Wright This issue has been funded, in part, by grants from the Joyce Foundation and Arts Work Fund, a
Chief Brand Officer partnership with the Arts for Illinois Relief Fund, the City of Chicago and the Department of
Devorah Crable Cultural Affairs.
Chief Financial Officer Patricia Andrews-Keenan
Phyliss North Publisher
Digital Marketing Director
Lesley Etherly
Digital Edition available

Websites
www.pigmentintl.com
www.blackfineartmonth.com
Follow @PigmentIntl on

Subscription Price – $25 Annual The Pigment Collective (Photo by Joe Jones)
Purchase magazine and merchandise Front Row – Tyler Clark, Patricia Andrews-Keenan, Devorah Crable, Lesley Etherly
Back Row – Eddie Santana White, Angelica London, Paul Branton, Phyliss North, Dana Todd Pope and Dwight White
at www.shop.pigmentintl.com

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“Rain Falls From the Lemon Tree”, Acrylic, Charcoal, Decorative Papers, Hand Stitching by artist Delita Martin

See all of our 2020 Salon Talks by visiting
http://bit.ly/PigmentYouTube

pigment 2019 YEAR IN REVIEW

Pigment International Milestones And Acomplishments

Pigment International formed an ADVISORY BOARD. Members are Patricia Jones Blessman, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist,
Philanthropist, Kodak Foundation, Art Collector; Shirley Evans Wofford, President of Lambent Risk Management; and Rodney
Herenton, Co-Chairman of Channing Management.
Salon Talk with Darrell Walker. The former NBA superstar and renowned Black Art collector, shared his journey from art enthusiast
to avid collector during an intimate Salon Talk with Tracie Hall, former Program Director, Culture, Joyce Foundation, titled IN
THE PAINT. The event was emceed by Dionne Miller, Sports Reporter Anchor ABC-7 and was held at Loyola University in Chicago.
It featured an exhibition and a motivational art-meets-life exchange with high school and college students.

The premier issue of Pigment Magazine won a 2019 OZZIE AWARD NOMINATION for layout and design.

Patron Salon Events

Pigment International PATRONS hosted private events to
introduce select art buyers to the Pigment Collective art-
ists. Patricia Jones Blessman, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist
and Philanthropist; Shirley Evans Wofford, Founder/CEO of
Lambent Risk; Ellen Rozelle Turner, President, The William
Everett Group; Thurman “Tony” Smith, SVP PNC Bank, and
Michael Woods; Daryl Newell, President Seaway Bank, and
Verlena Mooney Newell, Enterprise Sales Manager Comcast;
and Georgina Heard, Principal, Strategies for Sustainable
Solutions and Paul Labonne, Vice President at PNC Bank.

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The Pigment International Art Collective

The Pigment Collective enjoyed a robust year of exhibitions with high-profile invitations and recognition.
(1) The collective contributed artwork for the Grand Opening of ART IN MOTION (AIM). AIM is Chicago’s premier creative
arts school for young people co-founded by Grammy and Oscar winner Common. (2) Tyler Clark’s piece “Elegance” was
purchased for $13K by Essence Magazine owner,  Richelieu Dennis, during the Tina Knowles-Lawson and Richard
Lawson hosted “Wearable Art Gala” in LA . (3) Blake Lenoir’s work “Coercive Parental” was selected from 174
international entries as a “30 Under 30” emerging new artist by the Viridian Gallery in NYC. (4) Blake Lenoir joined
“EDO” White for an exclusive Andersonville Galleria exhibition.

(5-6) The Federal Reserve Bank’s Black Impact Group (BIG) presented a Pigment Collective Juneteenth exhibition
entitled “Liberation and Expression.” The Black Professionals Network at BMO Harris Bank invited the Collective to
present a Black History Month exhibit under the theme BOLD: Building Our Legacy Daily (7) The entire 12 member
Collective staged three strikingly displayed booths at the Gold Coast Art Fair, one of the most prestigious art events
in the Midwest.

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pigment Reveal 2018
Pigment International hosted a three-day intimate salon event - The Miami Reveal – in December of 2018 that included
an exhibition of fine art by some of the preeminent African American artists in the country. The event was held at the
Penthouse Riverside Wharf during the internationally attended Art Miami and Art Basel week.
Exhibiting Pigment artists were: Paul Branton, Gerald Griffin, Jason E. Jones, Blake Lenoir, James Nelson, Dana Todd
Pope, Martha Wade, Minnie Watkins and Reisha Williams. Joining Pigment as invited guests were Nkosi Distinctive
Imported Crafts and artist Shawn Michael Warren.
There was special recognition of two acclaimed national artists – Frank Frazier and Gerald Griffin, who received the
Arts Pioneer and Arts Innovator Awards, respectively. Entertainment and guest appearances included Grammy Award-
Winning hip-hop artist, philanthropist, and politician Rhymefest, and Miami’s own Hip Hop artist Flo Rida.

The event included a Pigment International signature Salon Talk on collecting and valuing art with Diane Dinkins-Carr,
art appraiser; Russel Goings, retired financier and former board chair of the Studio Museum of Harlem; and noted
collector and co-founder of Chicago’s Diasporal Rhythms Dan Parker. The Salon Talk was moderated by September
Gray, owner of September Gray Fine Art Gallery in Atlanta.
The debut celebration closed with an intergenerational conversation between two esteemed artists – Martha Wade
and her father Eugene “Eda” Wade. The event was partially underwritten by ACURA/ NSX and the Miami Convention
and Tourism’s initiative “Art of Black.”

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Pigment Reveal Part Deux

The artists of Pigment International returned to Miami Art Week in 2019
for Miami Reveal Part Deux at Miami’s premier contemporary art show
Spectrum. Exhibiting Pigment International artists were Paul Branton,
Tyler Clark, Angelica London, Lesley Martinez, Dana Todd Pope, Dwight
White and Eddie “Edo” White. Guest artists were Najee Dorsey, Black
Art in America and Francis Annan Affotey of Ayzha Gallery in Milwaukee.

Additionally, Pigment International hosted a special Salon Talk during
the PRIZM Art Fair featuring Ted Ellis, artist and commissioner of the
400 Years of African-American History Commission and Halima Taha,
author of Collecting African American Art: Works on Paper and Canvas,
moderated by Pigment International founder, Patricia Andrews-Keenan.
Titled, The 1619 Project Salon Talk, the conversation centered on the
commemoration of the arrival of the first Africans to the British
colonies in America and how artists interpret this unique anniversary
and what it means at this pivotal point in our history.

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 9

A MASTER PRINTMAKER’S JOURNEY

TLhuomcasas

Interprets the work of the iconic Richard Hunt

By Thomas Lucas Thomas Lucas, founder Hummingbird Press
Richard Hunt is a world-recognized sculptor with more public
commissions than any other American artist. His signature abstract This was our opportunity to do something different, so we decided
works capture the essence of form with his skillful manipulation of to pull impressions off the surface of the etched silicon bronze plates
positive and negative space. His work is displayed alongside that before they were installed to create a series of unique relief prints.
of some of the world’s most acclaimed sculptors. We pulled two small editions of six with different papers.
I first met Richard while working as an assistant to the Philadelphia Our most recent project is one of the largest prints Richard has ever
artist John Dowell. We were working on a commission to be produced. It uses a refined collagraphic process that produces an
installed in Chicago. We were introduced when Richard attended the intaglio-based plate. The plate is roughly 24 x 36 inches printed on
reception where we staged the commission in John’s Philadelphia 30 x 40 paper. Now in his mid-eighties, I am still amazed that Rich-
studio. ard continues to push the boundaries with his studio practice while
I would later attend The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) possessing the technique of expressing his passion for exploring the
for graduate school. Richard and I reconnected and began to make fullest variety of ideas, concepts and approaches to his art.
prints together. After graduate school I began to pull prints at Anchor Works by Hunt are currently on display at September Gray Gallery in
Graphic’s workshop in Chicago. I had the opportunity to collaborate the exhibition the “Four Horsemen.” Also included are works by Sam
with other artists and produced prints for institutions including The Gilliam, Mel Edwards and William T. Williams. The show was arranged
National Museum of Mexican Art and The Art Institute of Chicago. by Curlee Holton of Raven Editions.
Richard has most often employed lithography for his prints,
although he has experimented with other mediums, including cast
paper and silicon carbide intaglio prints. He has produced dozens
of prints, which he has often referred to as he created his signature
sculptures produced throughout his prolific career as an artist.
Richard’s aesthetic sensibilities and creative thought processes are
easily recognized in his sculptural works, his drawings and prints. My
goal in the collaborative process with Richard is to push the enve-
lope of the print medium where possible. Two of the works in his
upcoming exhibition are relief prints. Part of a series of three, these
are the only relief prints Richard has ever created.
This project came about as the result of a project to etch a series
of drawings done by Richard onto the surface of silicon bronze
medallions for a sculptural baptismal pool at a church in Valparaiso,
Indiana. In a previous visit to his studio, I discussed with Richard the
possibilities of printing directly from the surfaces of his sculpture.

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Artist Richard Hunt

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 11

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pigment

Dawoud Bey Bey

Images courtesy of Stephen Daiter Gallery

Dawoud
Photographer

An artist’s By Nalani McClendon
perspective
makes the past What makes you curious as a photographer?
resonate now. Making photographs is my way of having a voice in the world, a way to make the things I
care about visible so that hopefully others can come to care about those things as well. My
curiosity as an artist is synonymous with my curiosity as a human being, and as a Black
person living in America.
You have called both New York City and Chicago home. How have New York City and
Chicago formed you as an artist? 
I’ve been living in Chicago now since 1998, coming here  to  take a position at  Columbia
College Chicago. Since moving to Chicago, I’ve worked to become a meaningful part of the
art and cultural community here. I’ve been on  the board of Hyde Park Art  Center for a
number of years and have created programs there, such as Ground Floor that attempt to
provide a platform and structure of support for Chicago-based artists.

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 13

I’ve also curated several exhibitions  there as well. Artists need Three Women at a Parade, Harlem, NY, 1978 - [Harlem, U.S.A.]
places where their work can gain an audience and provoke a conversa- A Boy in Front of Loew’s 125th Street Movie Theatre,
tion, and that’s one of the things I’ve worked very hard to create here in Harlem, NY 1976 - [Harlem, U.S.A.]
Chicago  through my  teaching, mentoring, lecturing, and creating
programs that address the needs of the art community.
I’m definitely a transplanted New Yorker. It’s where I was born and came
of age, where I had  the  community  that fostered and sustained  my
becoming an artist. I was formed by  the generation of artists  before
me who became my mentors: Black photographers like Roy DeCarava,
Louis Draper, Anthony Barboza, and artists,  such as Mel Edwards, Ed
Clark, Jack Whitten, Al Loving, and so many others who made  them-
selves available to us younger artists. It’s one of the reasons I try to con-
nect with and support younger artists myself; it’s how I came up. So I was
very much shaped by growing up in  the vast  social and cultural milieu
of New York, and  the various individuals who became my community,
photographers like Frank Stewart, Jules Allen, Carrie Mae Weems, and
others. I was fortunate in that there was a large community of artists and
photographers in New York, and a number of institutions that provided
a platform for us  to come  together.  Studio Museum  in Harlem was
absolutely central  to  that, along with  the Cinque Gallery, which was
founded by Romare Bearden, Ernie Crichlow and Norman Lewis, and
other spaces that existed when I was a young artist.
I was already a fully formed artist  and a 45-year-old adult  when
I moved  to Chicago, so I have certainly  not been shaped by  this
Midwestern city  to  the extent  that  I am [as] a byproduct  of New York. 
Chicago has been an incredibly supportive city; it has certainly embraced
my work. I always  thought  that  this city has a very strong infrastruc-
ture of support for the arts, and that has certainly been true in my case.
And there is also a very strong community of artists here that contribute to
making this city a vital place. I think it’s important that Black artists like
myself, Kerry James Marshall, Nick Cave and Theaster Gates continue to
be a presence in  this city as it helps  to give Chicago a presence in  the 
national and global art world ecology and conversation. And, of course,
Chicago is home  to a group of world-class museums, including  the Art
Institute of Chicago, MCA Chicago, the Smart Museum of Art and  the
DePaul Art Museum. Each of them have been supporters of my work, and
I’ve exhibited at each of them. I do wish Chicago had an institution like
Studio Museum in Harlem, one that provided real support for Chicago’s
Black artists, with residencies, exhibitions, programming and more.
How are you affected by imagined place through memory, e.g., your
shows, “Night, Coming Tenderly, Black” and “The Birmingham Project?
Since 2012, I’ve been working on a history project  that looks at how
different pieces of African-American history can be reimagined and
visualized in a way  that gives  them resonance in  the contemporary
moment. My initial project, “Harlem, USA,” was motivated by my own
family’s history in that community. My mother and father met there, and
my photographing there was a way for me to connect with that history
since I didn’t live or grow up  there myself. So I guess I’ve always been
interested in how place relates to history, I’m just looking at that in the
broader sense now.  My “Birmingham Project” looked back  to  that
moment in 1963 when six young African-Americans were killed in  that
city, in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, and in the streets
of the city afterwards. “Night Coming Tenderly, Black,” which was shown
at the Art Institute, looked at the place of the Underground Railroad in the

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A Man in a Bowler Hat, Harlem, NY 1976 - [Harlem, U.S.A.]

Northeastern corridor,  trying  to imagine  that journey  through  the byproduct of  that particular  moment in photography: small, black
eyes of fugitive slaves as  they moved  through  the darkened and white prints  that were influenced by what I’d been looking
landscape, intent on securing  their freedom. I’m currently making at up  to  that point.  They used a very particular photographic
photography in Louisana, photographing on and around  the land- language  that was consistent with what  the medium was  then.
scapes of several plantations, trying to see what I can make of that I wanted  to make a group of “classical” photographs of a commu-
history. In each case I’m working  to make  the African-American past nity  that was  then largely visually represented  through a frame of
resonate in the contemporary moment and to provoke a conversa- social pathology. The “Harlem Redux” photographs from 2014-2017
tion about that history. are very much about now, the way the Harlem community is being
You write in your book “Seeing Deeply” that you were affected by radically reshaped  through gentrification and  the influx of global
Roy DeCarava and other artists. What is it about Mr. DeCarava that capital.  As photographs  they represent  my  own sense of how  the
compels you to see the work in the way that you do see the world? medium of photography has changed over the past 40 years; those
Roy DeCarava was  the first African-American photographer  that photographs are very much a kind of contemporary photographic
I encountered who was using photography as an art form  to  talk object:  they are large scale and color. I wanted  the scale  to
about  the  things and people he cared about. He wasn’t a photo- embrace  the physicality of  the changing landscape, giving  the
journalist working on assignment; his work was entirely self- viewer space to enter into them.
motivated. And he developed an idiosyncratic visual and material How has teaching/working with students affected your work?
language through which to describe the Black subject and the world. Teaching has been a way for me  to keep in  touch with what
He was an artist using  the camera, and  that’s what I wanted  to be. young artists are  thinking, and also a way for me  to help  them
How do Harlem photos made from 2014-2017 differ from keep their work grounded in meaningful intention, to come to grips
the photos you made from 1975-1979 for the Studio Museum with the things that they care about, and to then work with them to
exhibition?   give  those ideas and concerns some compelling form. I’ve been 
The “Harlem, USA” photographs that I made in Harlem from 1975-1979 teaching now, in some form, since 1977, and I’m finally starting to
were  the first group of pictures I completed. They are very much a wind down after 22 years at Columbia College Chicago.

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 15

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A Woman’s WorkI N C E L E B R AT I O N O F B L A C K W O M E N A R T I S TS A N D L E G A C Y

By Debra Hand Dr. Margaret Taylor Goss Burroughs
Sculptor, Painter & Writer Someone claiming to be an expert in Black art without knowing the
legacy of Dr. Margaret Burroughs is the same as someone claiming
Welcome to Black Fine Art Month, a time chosen to celebrate Black to be an expert on the Underground Railroad without knowing about
artists globally and to be profoundly immersed in the beauty of our Harriet Tubman. The infrastructure for both freedom and culture
culture. This is a time to stop and reflect on those who came before had key female participants; some so significant that without their
us, and a time to plan how we will carry the legacy of our culture legacies, a complete story can never be told. In our quest for free-
forward. dom, Harriet Tubman’s story must be understood to even glimpse the
level of sacrifice made by individuals on behalf of our freedom. In the
But to perpetuate culture, we need more than artists. We also need arts, Dr. Burroughs’ story must be told to understand the evolution
collectors to be the keepers and protectors of that culture. Still, of Black cultural institutions that collectively represent our presence
artists and collectors, together, do not equal culture. There is, yet, in world culture.
another needed element. Culture is about community.
Dr. Burroughs figuratively tilled the soil and laid the cornerstones
We need platforms that bring us together around those ideals, and for what would become a foremost Black cultural institution on the
we need educational components that allow us to collectively examine museum-world landscape, and she did it during a time in American
and extract meaning from our shared experiences. We need plat- history when Black life remained heavily under the onslaught of
forms where our philosophies can be shared and synthesized into racial derision and abuse. Clinging to the vestiges of African
tangible paths forward for those coming behind us. culture that survived the horrors of slavery, Jim Crow and apartheid
Dr. Burroughs further dug through the wreckage and recovered
“To perpetuate culture, we need every artifact that she could find to prove to us our value, our beauty,
communally shared experiences our worthiness. She set out to repair our sense of selves by not only
that encompass and centralize putting the damage in perspective, but also by reinforcing within us
the truth of our power and majesty.
our shared ideals.”

Black Fine Art Month provides that platform. It carves out an allocat-
ed time and space for us to unite across the globe in celebration of
our visual arts’ culture. It provides the ceremonious spotlight and
platform to say thank you to our artists, collectors, galleries, fair
organizers, appraisers, curators, art publishers, writers, auctioneers,
cultural institutions, art teachers, administrators, volunteers, and
visitors who show up to encourage artists.

It is a time to say thank you to them for the work they do all year to
support Black culture, and to fight to ensure that Black artists are
acknowledged for their relevance in creating world culture. It is not
surprising that the vision for this month-long celebration comes to
us from the minds and hearts of three extraordinary Black women:
Patricia Andrews-Keenan, Devorah Crable and Phyliss North, who
founded the PIGMENT INTERNATIONAL arts organization. These
women stepped up to take on the role of cultivating an appreciation
for the artistry of Black creators, and in that work saw the critical
need for us to come together annually in a global celebration of our
creativity. Like so many other important women in art history, they
became the mid-wives for this historic proclamation.
These three women are echoing the work of another legendary
woman in the arts’, the late Dr. Margaret Burroughs. No proper
discussion of important women in the arts should really proceed
without an acknowledgement of her contribution to art history.

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 17

In her living room, she began the first independent museum Mother and Child by artist Dr. Margaret Burroughs
totally devoted to the preservation and study of both African and There is a difference between the ability to create great art, and the
African American history and culture. She saw that the key to ability to create social change through art, and to actually change
presenting our culture and beauty on a world stage was to build lives through art. Not every artist makes it into the latter category,
institutions, and so she began the work. It is incredible, knowing but Dr. Burroughs is at the top of this category of artists; and this
what she was up against, that this one young female artist would category represents the highest achievement of any art form.
become the principal founder of the DuSable Museum, a co-founder For this reason, Dr. Margaret Burroughs remains one of the most
of the historic South Side Community Arts Center (the only important artists of the 21st Century. And so, as Black Fine Art
surviving Works Progress Act (WPA) Institution), a co-founder of the Month 2020 kicks off in honor of Black women, this is also a time to
Lake Meadows Art Fair (Chicago), the creator of the South Shore reflect upon the legacy that Dr. Burroughs left to us all.
Cultural Center Fine Arts Gallery, and much more. Given that women are literally the creators of life on Earth, it’s
She was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the National absurd that their contributions have been so consistently margin-
Commission on African-American History and Culture; she was alized throughout history. However, while systems may work to
the recipient of a Presidential Humanitarian Award, was given an marginalize a person’s contribution to history, wherever that
honorary Doctorate by the Art Institute of Chicago and had person has impacted others, their effect still exists in the realities
“Margaret Burroughs’ Day” proclaimed in Chicago by Mayor of those they’ve touched and, thus, it exists in the absolute truth of
Harold Washington, also later proclaimed in the State of Illinois by the physical universe.
Governor Pat Quinn. Her life is the subject of much writing Dr. Margaret Burroughs understood this concept well. To those
including a comprehensive book titled “South Side Venus” written coming behind her, she left us with this question in the form of a
by Dr. Mary Ann Cain, and a self-authored biography titled “Life With great poem: “What Will Your Legacy Be?” For Patricia Andrews-
Margaret.” Dr. Lonnie Bunch, the founding director of the Keenan, Devorah Crable, and Phyliss North, at least in part, Black
Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History Fine Art Month and the creation of PIGMENT INTERNATIONAL will be
and Culture, and currently the head of the Smithsonian, stated, included in theirs. I thank them for their vision.
“Margaret was one of the leaders in creating the African American
Museums Association (later renamed the Association of African
American Museums), which is really an important organization
that encourages and supports the preservation of culture around the
country, and Margaret was the leader.”

Dr. Margaret Burroughs by artist Minnie Watkins

18 FALL | WINTER 2020 PIGMENT MAGAZINE

Presents

“The Artist, The Art & The Conversation”

Be sure to visit
Art By Golden/Golden Galleries on Facebook,
to catch a glimpse of the next episode of our

portfolio on Social Justice, The Artist,
The Art and The Conversation.

Artist included in this project:

Ted Ellis Deborah Shedrick
Larry Poncho Brown Najee Dorsey
Paul Goodnight Charles Bibbs
Curlee Holton Thomas Elias Lockhart III
James Denmark George Hunt

For more information please call: Keith A Golden, Esq. 303.907.9413

[email protected]

IN CONVERSATION WITH

Samella

Lewis
By Patricia Andrews-Keenan
Artist and art historian Samella Sanders Lewis is renowned for her Samella Sanders Lewis
contributions to African American art and history. Born on February
27, 1924 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Lewis’ heritage led her to view What would you share with artists today about making their
art as an essential expression of the community and its struggles. voice heard in the conversation on how to change our country.
Lewis’ work is held in a number of important galleries and museums. What role must artists play?
Her art is deeply personal, with each piece embodying experiences I would tell them to take advantage of any opportunity to express
from her life. Lewis has been the recipient of numerous awards and their opinions with their voice and through their works. Do the kind
distinctions during her career. In 1995, she received the UNICEF of work that expresses serious ideas. Take hold of what is important
Award for Visual Arts, and from 1996 to 1997 she worked as a dis- to you and things that will be important to others. Create work that
tinguished scholar at the Getty Center for the History of Art and the will sustain ideas and perpetuate movements.
Humanities in Los Angeles. Scripps College has also named an aca- Mainstream museums - The Whitney, Guggenheim, NOLA Art
demic scholarship in Lewis’ honor. Museum - are being called out for a lot of things. Lack of people of
How did being a southerner shape your perspective? color in collections, as curators and administrators. Do we need to
Growing up in the south during the era of segregation and Jim Crow rely on museums to validate Black art and artists?
gave me a clear picture of the injustices that Black people had to While it would be nice to have more Black representation in the main-
face, and still face in this country which touts itself as the land of the stream museums, we don’t need to rely on them to validate Black
free. Seeing the conditions that black and poor people had to work art and artists. We have to utilize the resources that we have such as
under and live with daily helped to shape and define me as an artist. African American museums and galleries. Also, institutions of higher
I knew early on that I couldn’t just paint pretty pictures. Instead I had learning like Hampton University and Howard University have
to visually document these experiences that I felt and saw happen- wonderful art programs. There is also the David Driskell Center for the
ing all around me. While some things have changed over the years, Study of Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and The African
many things remain the same. This is why throughout my life I have Diaspora as well as community art centers like the Watts Towers Art
remained committed to using art as a means of educating, enlight- Center that we have here in Los Angeles.
ening and inspiring Black people, and all people who wish to make Publications like the International Review of African American Art
this a better world. and your publication Pigment International are also very important
You occupied so many spaces during your trailblazing career as in the validation of African American art and artists.
an artist, educator, author, art collector, art historian, curator,
movement founder, activist, museum founder. Which one of
those most define you? Which role is most uniquely you?
I would say being an artist defines me the most. It’s what I started out
doing since I was a little girl and it led to everything else. All of these
roles are uniquely me. It’s just been my evolution. First doing art, then
trying to educate people about my art and the art of other African
Americans past and present through books and magazines such
as the Black Art Quarterly, which evolved into the International
Review of African American Art which we started in the 1970’s and is
now published by Hampton University. Then, because of the lack of
diversity in the mainstream museums and galleries, we saw the need
to create such institutions in our own communities. We did this so
that the artists would have a place to exhibit their works and so the
community could have a place to come and experience these works.

20 FALL | WINTER 2020 PIGMENT MAGAZINE

Elizabeth Catlett was your mentor. What are “Field”, 1968, Linocut, 24”x18”
your thoughts on the role of mentors? Who
were some of your mentees? “I knew early on that I couldn’t just paint pretty
Mentors are very important. Mentors give us pictures…I had to visually document these
guidelines based on their experiences that help experiences I saw happening around me.”
us on our journey through life. If I didn’t have
Elizabeth to tell me things, I probably wouldn’t FALL | WINTER 2020 21
have noticed many of the things she introduced
me to, because they were not apparent in my
everyday life. Just looking at the sky, the sun and
the cosmos. She taught me how to see things
as visuals and then apply them. My most well-
known mentee was Allyson Saar who I taught
at Scripps College. As an educator I tried to be
a mentor to all of my students. Many have gone
on to have successful careers, if not as artists, as
curators, and other positions in the field of art.
You collect WPA and Harlem Renaissance art.
Do you have any favorite contemporary
artists?
Some of the artist that I like are Kerry James
Marshall, Mark Bradford, of course Alison Saar.
There are so many great young artists today, and
I wouldn’t want to leave anyone out.
You were influenced by so many cultures
having spent time in Taiwan, Brazil and Africa.
Which culture outside the U.S. most influenced
you? Why is it important for Black artists
to experience other cultures?
Africa has the resources that spoke to the early
traditions that I was interested in. While I have
been greatly influenced by the art and culture
of Brazil, the Caribbean, and even Asia, Africa is
the root of it all. It is important for Black artist to
experience these other cultures for their own
personal growth as an artist and as a person.
You work in a variety of mediums - watercolor,
linocut, woodblock, oil, pen and ink – do you
have a favorite/preferred medium?
My favorite medium to work in would probably be
oils, however being versatile and able to work in
different mediums has allowed me a broader
range of expression.
Dr. Margaret Burroughs spoke about legacy,
how would you sum up your legacy?
While it is up to others to determine my legacy,
I can only hope that my legacy will be significant
enough to inspire people and help them improve
their lives.

PIGMENT MAGAZINE

IN CONVERSATION WITH

Harmonia

Rosales
By Caira Moreira-Brown
Ever since she began her art career, Rosales’ main artistic concern Harmonia Rosales
has been focused on Black female empowerment in western cul- In your “The Birth of Oshun”, you replace Venus, the goddess
ture.  Her paintings depict and honor the African diaspora. The artist of beauty, fertility, and love with Oshun, the Yoruba goddess of
is entirely open to the ebb and flow of contemporary society which purity, fertility, sensuality, and prosperity. What is the purpose
she seeks to reimagine in new forms of aesthetic beauty, snuggled of this central replacement?
somewhere between pure love and ideological counter-hegemony. We are taught to categorize, choose and ultimately practice this
As a young girl, the Renaissance masters’ impeccable skill and tribalism against one another, especially when it comes to anything
composition fascinated her, but she could never relate because they that’s African. But we are all more alike than we care to believe. Where
depicted primarily a white male hierarchy and the idealized subor- did the original stories emerge from? I do not have that answer, but I
dinated woman immersed in Eurocentric conceptions of beauty. Her can at least show that we are more alike than we are different. What
message is not to create an ideal or to simply copy, but rather to better than to express that with the goddess of pure love because
create a sense of harmony, a yin to the yang.  that is where all my art stems from, pure love.
What does representation mean to you, specifically as a woman of The term Afro-Latina and Afro-Latinx have become more
color in a field that reflects America, white and male-dominated? prevalent in mainstream society, but how do you feel like
It means more than a pretty picture. It’s an experience, a reflec- the acceptance of darker beauty in Latin American cultures has
tion of the way we feel, think and see the world before us. Because changed?
currently, I see our empowerment is drawn from our ability to survive I truly believe there is a beginning of a positive change in how we
horrific torture...we are more than American victims. perceive darker beauty in Latin American cultures, from outside the
As a female artist and an artist of color, how do you confront, talk culture. However, there is still a very strong separation within the Lat-
about, and interact with colorism in your life and work? in community. Shadism is still very much present within.
I didn’t at first. However, I touched upon it in the painting “Beauty.”  Most of your work is very impactful on initial interaction from the
In fact, I have yet to fully have a platform to talk about colorism and subject matter, how do you want viewers to interact with your
my experiences. I hope to begin a conversation through art and/ work?
or speech in the very near future. It’s a delicate topic, but one that To continue an internal conversation and ask why. Why do I feel the
should be discussed freely and openly.  way I do? I want my art to heal all of us of every color and culture. To
The Italian Renaissance has a large impact and influence on your begin to tear down all we were taught in order to rebuild a stronger
work but involved in this art period is the influence of religion on foundation. One of inclusion, acceptance and equality. 
gender and colorism. What is your relationship with the Italian What does the rest of 2020 have in store for you? 
Renaissance? 2020 has proven to be unpredictable. So, I try every day to live as
It is not so much the Italian Renaissance as it is the value of the art- much in the moment as possible. Fortunately, it has not hindered
work. Society places such a grand price on art that depicts a white my ability to create, which is a blessing. I have begun to create more
male hierarchy riddled with religious symbolism that influences our digitally.  So, what’s in store...keep creating as much as my energy
perceptions today. The high value of white art, the power of white allows.
males, the European beauty aesthetic, consciously and subcon-
sciously, we are telling society what is more important and what is of
value. My interest is to challenge that perception while reimagining it
with the inclusion of ‘our’ values and sub-religions, our stories.

22 FALL | WINTER 2020 PIGMENT MAGAZINE

PIGMENT MAGAZINE “Birth of Eve” 23
FALL | WINTER 2020

Deborah

Roberts

THE WORST OF TIMES ARE THE BEST OF TIMES

By Devorah Crable

Deborah Roberts is humbly riding the crest of a recognition wave Deborah Roberts
by art world titans. The wave swelled in 2017 with a series of “Art should be viewed as an investment asset that can be transferred
fortuitous events that have cleared the way for a second wave amid the to the next generation, sold to pay for school, or leveraged for the
COVID-19 pandemic. Her standout work in the 2017 Volta New York down payment on a home.”
art fair exhibition entitled “Your Body is a Battle Ground” sold out. Roberts is now poised to present her first major solo museum exhi-
Studio Museum of Harlem Director Thelma Golden acquired several bition at The Contemporary Austin. The “I’m” exhibition is sched-
of her works for the museum’s permanent collection, an acquisition uled for a January debut—rescheduled from September due to the
and recognition that Roberts says is the highlight of her career to COVID-19 pandemic—and will remain on display through August
date. 2021. It includes her current signature collage work and will debut
“To be recognized by a major influencer like Thelma Golden is new art media, involving sound, text, and video sculptures. The em-
a dream come true because it opens doors and puts an artist on a bracing and showcasing of multiple styles of work simultaneously is
viable success path, but the artist must be ready to respond with a rarity that Roberts is grateful to experience.
a catalog of good work and a strong work ethic.” “My art responds to and is informed by what is happening now and
Roberts was ready with volumes of work and was later invited to how current realities—such as the Black Lives Matter movement and
participate in the museum’s “Fictions” exhibit. Her exhibited artwork racial and civil unrest—address my core themes of racial, gender,
captured the eye of major dealers Susanne Vielmetter in Los Angeles body, and beauty identity in contemporary society.”
and Stephen Friedman in London, who now represent Ms.Roberts. Her mixed media works on paper and canvas combine found materials
Favorable reviews by New York Magazine’s art critic Jerry Saltz sourced from photographs, magazines, literature, and the internet
created a buzz in the art community and her patron list subsequently with hand-painted details in striking figural compositions that invite
expanded to include celebrity collectors Jay-Z and Beyonce. viewers to look closely and to see through the layers.
This perfect professional storm of receiving national recognition “I desire for people to discover their humanity in my work by looking
from a major museum and critical acclaim combined with acquiring beyond the surface and the obvious to get to what is complex and
top representation and celebrity collectors known for breaking real.”
Sotheby Auction House records created a success wave that has yet Navigating art creation and her career during the COVID-19 pandemic
to ebb. crisis has been both “challenging and rewarding.” Roberts says art
In January 2018, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art presented the sales are down, but creativity is up.
“Deborah Roberts: The Evolution of Mimi” exhibition, which featured “The pandemic affords you the opportunity to isolate and spend critical
more than 50 works that she created between 2007 and 2017. The time immersed in the creative process to imagine and reimagine new
decade retrospective included a collectible companion art book that possibilities for your work,” says Roberts, who is known for her child-
traces her evolution from a figurative painter in the tradition like zest and zeal for life.
of Norman Rockwell’s Americana paintings to a preeminent contem- “This is a great time to hone skills, improve habits, and explore things
porary collage artist inspired by Romare Bearden. Roberts says of her you did not have time to do before the pandemic. It is a time to be
growth as an artist that it is highly unlikely that she will revisit her grateful that you can create.”
early figurative style of painting, which bodes well for collectors.
“My early work holds more value than my current work because my
former style will not be created again. I want to expand my expression
and the canon of my work, which helps to enhance the collectibility
of my work,” says Roberts.

“This is a great time to hone skills, improve habits
... a time to be grateful that you can create.”

24 FALL | WINTER 2020 PIGMENT MAGAZINE

“Red, White and Blue “– 2018
Courtesy of the artist Susanne Vielmitter Projects and Stephen Friedman

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 25

AAAM works as an advocate for the interests of institutions and individuals
committed to the support of African and African derived cultures.

AAAM salutes the work of

pigment

P.O. Box 23698 - Washington, D.C. 20026-3698 | 202.633.2869 |[email protected]

capturinga moment in time

“In terms of the African American experience
art has served as one of the best
ways to document our experience
and document it truthfully,”

Artist Dianne Smith, from 2007’s documentary “Colored Frames”

By Patrica Andrews-Keenan

We are living through history that literally has conflated before our eyes. A worldwide pandemic that calls to the
fore the historic and systemic disconnect between people of color and the broader society; health disparities
leading to premature deaths in the hundreds of thousands; a never to be forgotten eight minutes and 46 seconds;
protests across the world stemming from systemic racism sparked by American police brutality; weaponized
white women; looting; the sanctioning and inflaming of white supremacist by the current occupant of the White
House. Any of these things, taken singly, is more than enough to bear, but the fomenting of these long-festering
grievances at this moment in time is a mixture for disaster. With the world literally stopped in its tracks there was
no choice but to listen, and for once to hear.

In the 2007 documentary “Colored Frames”, artists reflected on the place of Black fine art and artists since the
civil rights movement, and riffed on their experiences, inspirations and influences. Self-described ‘people’s paint-
er’ and activist Benny Andrews (1930 - 2006), to whom the film is dedicated, spoke of having to ‘go out and fight’
for mainstream recognition of Black artists. The events of today could well be the response to their grievances.

Andrews was the co-chair of the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition (BECC) which protested a 1969 exhibition
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art entitled Harlem on My Mind: Cultural Capital of Black America, 1900-1968 (18
January to 6 April 1969). The protest resulted from conflicts between the Met and the Harlem art community after
the Met’s decision to exclude black artists, and the Harlem community, from an exhibit about Harlem. 

Two years later in 1971, fifteen Black artists withdrew from the Whitney Museum exhibition, Contemporary Black
Artists in America (6 April to 16 May 1971), opening. Their action was in sympathy with a BECC’s boycott and
demanded, among other things, that “Black art experts and consultants and or institutions must be involved in
the preparation and presentation of all art activities presented by white institutions and involving the black artist
and the Black community.”

Fast forward to 2020 and the vox populi will not be silenced. 15 Met staff members sent a letter urging the
museum’s leadership to acknowledge “what we see as the expression of a deeply rooted logic of white supremacy
and culture of systemic racism at our institution.” The Guggenheim Museum’s curatorial department in a 
letter described a work culture of “racism” and “white supremacy.” Current and former employees accused the
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art of “racist censorship” and “discrimination.” The director of the Museum
of Contemporary Art Cleveland for 23 years, resigned after having apologized to the artist Shaun Leonardo for 
canceling his exhibition  dealing with police killings of Black and Latino boys and men. Pigment wanted to
explore these questions and more.

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 27

“Monument Wars” from Divided We Fall, by artist Marcus Jansen

28 FALL | WINTER 2020 PIGMENT MAGAZINE

“Stars and Stripes” by artist Candace “Clee” Hunter

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 29

pigment asks Dupreé Armon Milwaukee | Photographer/Graphic Designer
How do you process, I hope to continue to create pieces that speak to the masses. As an
artist, I feel it is my duty to reflect on what’s happening now and I plan
how do you cope, to use my skills to uplift those in need. I’m gathering inspiration from
and how do you social media, processing the musings of other amazing artists helps
find your way to me along in my creative journey. Progression and love is what we all
the other side need in this moment, but I truly see the beginnings of a better nation.
inthe midst of Dawoud Bey Chicago |Photographer
this turbulence? I think we’re in a real  moment of paradigm shift. We’re looking at
a very different future going forward. Our work as artists will be
This question was more needed than ever. The question is going to be how that work
posed to Black Artists interacts with the public. The online space—which already is
important is going to become even more so. We need to begin to re-
across the country. ally think about ways in which we can use it (on-line) to continue to
As Smith says in the build community.
quote, artists will be Paul Branton Chicago | Artist
the ones to document Art has always been a comfort.  It doesn’t matter if the subject matter
these experiences in a is whimsical or somber, I find peace when creating. My entire life and
truthful and unvarnished career are predicated on honestly looking at both the present and
way. Take a moment to the future.  You have to visualize a greater tomorrow before you can
learn how they view create it.  My future looks great because I won’t allow it to be
otherwise.
the way forward. Tyler Clark Chicago | Multi-Media Artist
I have been emotional and faithful. The pain I feel for people that
are hurting has driven me to be a champion for their healing. I am
using my platfor and my art, to uplift and encourage people from a
faith perspective. I feel grounded. I have a life coach and a therapist.
This keeps me on track. I’m also growing in my faith and while I can’t
physically go to church I can pray, fast, worship and study. There is so
much spiritual warfare happening now, I refuse to allow that to take
me out.
Ted Ellis Houston | Artist
Change comes with action. People of all colors and ethnicities are
uniting with one voice for a common purpose and action, to end
police brutality, police murdering African Americans, mass incar-
ceration, racial policies and laws that continually discriminate and
disadvantage African Americans from having a quality of life that is
equal to others in a country that is supposed to be the land of oppor-
tunity. America must stand up together and demand justice for all.
When that change happens, it will be better for all.
Ellis has created a series of paintings focusing on frontline medical
professionals who are daily risking their lives to save others.
Gerald Griffin Chicago| Artist
My mood during this time of upheaval has been varied ... rang-
ing from concern, to anger, to rage, to reflection, to hope, to inspi-
ration and back again.  I’ve been reminded of the sad reality of the
stagnation of progress in human relations currently on display. My
vision stems from a place within... it is a reflection of the world around
me, expressed with symbolic references to my history and that of my
ancestors. I’m seeking to engage myself and others to reflect on the
residual ghosts of our histories that continue to shape the time in
which we exist, and the future we aspire to create. In short, the Para-
digm Shift continues.

30 FALL | WINTER 2020 PIGMENT MAGAZINE

By artist Dupree Armon

Michael Gunn Chicago | Photographer Angelica London Chicago | Artist | Educator
As a man of faith, as well as a photographer, I’ve been trying to look I’d like to think, over time, we will emerge into a world that is more
past the obvious negative forces of the virus and the bigger virus com- loving, mindful of the time you spend with others, and tolerant, but
ing out of the White House. I cannot see what the future holds now, I really don’t know. What I am sure of though is that 2020 will be a
but that’s alright! I don’t have to know. That’s the exciting part! God’s time we look back on forever, as a period where there was a shift in
got this!!! our collective consciousness around the world.

Barrett Keithley Chicago | Artist | Muralist Yaoundé Olu Chicago Artist | Afrofuturist | Cartoonist
My mood has been a rollercoaster. I’m angry, I’m hurt, I’m sad, and I am an optimist, and I’m able to see the good that can, and hope-
most of all excited. The excitement comes from wanting to take all of fully, will result from the upheavals that we are experiencing. The
my emotions and act!  I am continuing to share my craft by creating world is going through a major change, and people are waking up
a platform “Paint The City,” for myself and other artists to showcase to observe tears in the social fabric that they did not see before. The
our talents in the wake of the current socio-economic climate.  spate of police killings, the gaining of multicultural allies, and the
Keithley has enlisted artists across Chicago to paint murals on boarded dissembling of social structures that were previously held sacred,
up buildings that were vandalized during rioting associated with pro- like ‘white supremacy,’ are surprising outcomes. I believe we will
tests of George Floyd’s death. experience more pain as a result of the pandemic and its economic
and social consequences, but I also think this is an opportunity for
lasting positive change as we search for solutions in addressing the
challenges. There is a saying that it is ‘always darkest before dawn.’
I am looking toward the light that is just over the horizon; I believe
that after the smoke of confusion and upheaval clears, the righteous
path will ultimately prevail.

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 31



“Beyond COVID-19” by artist Linda Chandia
Couresty of KNEXT Art Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

Linda Chandia South Africa | Artist Joseph Randall Chicago | Artist
With all the issues that the world has gone through, it is time to have I am Reflective. Cautious. Inspired. Optimistic...this period ignites
a right attitude to keep balance, reason and hopefulness. One needs the creative juices. We’re witnessing the consequences of the racially
to rise above the situation. Hopefulness should be built upon ground insensitive branding of products that depicted Blacks in images that
that is solid and strong, and if a person has a hopeful attitude, one satisfied white impressions of Black people. Corporate, media and
will no doubt achieve success. We need to stand tall against any form financial businesses will have to bow to this never before seen
of injustice to leave a better world for our children. millennial-driven multi-cultural movement.
Charly Palmer Atlanta | Artist Ariana Vaeth Milwaukee | Artist
I am experiencing lots of contemplation, self-examination and reali- Quarantine has reminded me there are people who are uncondi-
zations as an artist. There is something important that I have to say, tionally rooting for me.  I’ve learned to forgive myself and move on.
and I need to say it now. I am in a constant (state) of creativity. It’s I must worry about what is right and not the perception of goodness.
not who I am to do nothing. Stillness, prayer, meditation, then get-
ting back to work have kept me grounded during this time. It’s crit- Diana Shannon Young Riverside, CA | Artist
ical not to spend too much time in negativity. In terms of the future After the George Floyd murder, I feel a new inspiration to create more
I’m afraid to think about it for too long, it gets bleak at times and if I and develop even more avenues for presenting my work to the public.
allow myself to think too much, it seems like something that I don’t I am inspired to create work with a message, as well as aesthetically
want to see. pleasing pieces to soothe my own soul and bring a semblance of
Palmer’s piece “In Her Eyes“ was featured on the July (2020) cover of serenity and well-being to the viewer. Being close to nature awak-
Time Magazine. The flowers in his work are a recurring theme and rep- ens my spirit and my creativity. My goal for myself and others is to be
resent life, death, love, beauty and joy. kinder, be more loving, be more empathetic, be more involved, put
myself out there and live in moment.

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 33

Murals, According to scholars the African- American community mural movement
Movemetnhte got its start in Chicago in the 1970s with the creation of the “Wall of Respect”
MaaeSlosctiertoaanmld by the artists’ cooperative, the Chicago Mural Group. Co-founded by
William “Bill” Walker, the group’s goal was to engage city neighbor-
By Patricia Andrews-Keenan hoods in the creation of public artworks that were accessible, that
“mirrored the people’s pride and plights, and that were spatially and
politically transformative.”
Walker has often been called the forefather of the community mural move-
ment and art historians often compare him to Mexico’s Diego Rivera, who
he and his contemporaries studied. The mural movement quickly spread
across the country, and this year murals told the story of the racial unrest
that gripped the country following the killing of George Floyd by police,
and the global devastation wrought by COVID-19.
The most emblematic of the murals was created June 5 when Washington,
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed a two-block-long section of 16th Street
NW Black Lives Matter Plaza and painted the words “Black Lives Matter” in
35-foot yellow capital letters, along with the flag of Washington, D.C. along
the street. Similar murals sprung up across the country. Many murals were
created to support first responders and to cover up boarded-up buildings
that had been damaged by looting.
We’ve assembled images of murals from artists, all reflecting resilience and
hope in less than hope filled times.

34 By artist Vedale Hill PIGMENT MAGAZINE
FALL | WINTER 2020

End Racial Justice – Artists of Paint the City

PIGMENT MAGAZINE Child with Fist – By artist Max Sansing 35
FALL | WINTER 2020

Dr. Burroughs – By artist Dorian Sylvain Vedale Hill
By artist Max Sansing was born and raised on Milwaukee’s east side in the River-
west Neighborhood. Growing up impoverished and constantly
By artist Rahmaan Statik moving, he finally found stability through art. He graduated
from the Milwaukee High School of the Arts and earned a Bach-
elor of Fine Arts from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.
Vedale has provided well-received art instruction at many schools
and community centers and organizations in Milwaukee. His
natural ability to connect and communicate with urban youth
has helped him become a sought-after educator and has driven
him to found Jazale’s Art Studio, where he works with the youth
of Bronzeville and surrounding neighborhoods. His latest mural
was commissioned by the City of Milwaukee and funded by the
Greater Milwaukee Foundation.
Dorian Sylvain
is a painter whose color and texture explore ornamentation,
pattern and design as identifiers of cultural and historical
foundations. She is a studio painter and muralist, as well as
an art educator, curator, and community planner. Much of her
public work addresses issues of beautification, inspired by color
palettes and patterns found throughout the African diaspora
and particularly in architecture. Core to her practice is collabo-
rating with children and communities to elevate neighborhood
aesthetics and foster shared understanding. Recently, Sylvain
founded the South Side “Mural Moves” to address the environ-
mental aesthetic of Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood to
benefit the families, individuals, and businesses that together
create this unique and historical lakefront community.
Max Sansing
is a Chicago-based fine artist and one of the city’s most prolific
and talented muralists. His distinct aesthetic fuses the color-
drenched dynamism of street art with the technical elegance of
photo-realism. Born and raised on the South Side by two artistic
parents, Sansing discovered his passion and creative gift at an
early age. During his youth, he was involved with several graffiti
crews and taught himself oil painting before completing formal
training at the American Academy of Art. In addition to his studio
practice, Sansing is frequently commissioned to create large-
scale murals and experiential installations across the country.
Rahmaan Statik
Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, surrounded by urban
art and public murals, Rahmaan Statik became inspired to be
involved with the subculture of Street Art. A consequent arrest
for “vandalism” put him on a mission to legitimize the produc-
tion of aerosol murals. This became the main focus of his work.
Public murals that fuse the graffiti aesthetic with a classical train-
ing received from the American Academy of Art. As co-founder
of R.K Design, a graphic arts, and mural collective, Statik has
produced over 400 murals, received mural commissions for
corporate clients, and also produced illustrations, brand
identity, print projects for publications, organizations, and
events.

36 FALL | WINTER 2020 PIGMENT MAGAZINE



Artist Dwight White II

Dwight White II
Ever since he studied Sociology and human behavior, Dwight White II has been inspired by how one can capture truth visually.
He loves the challenge of taking the patron beyond just seeing the art - he believes they should feel it. His confidence and
commitment to his craft are inspiring as he embraces his function in society to document the history of connected experiences
through art. White partnered with the Murals for Medical Relief campaign, in a project to fundraise for area hospitals during
the COVID-19 pandemic while honoring health care workers with public art in the Illinois Medical District. His mural was based
on a health care worker in his apartment building, who he’s regularly seen coming home late from hospital shifts. “It’s all
about raising awareness. I think that all these murals have in common is that they’ll bring people a lot of joy,” White said.

38 FALL | WINTER 2020 PIGMENT MAGAZINE

Paint the City

Barrett Keithley
is a self-taught artist born on Chicago’s South Side. His passion for art began when he
was a child reading and writing poetry. His early influences were poems and writings
by Langston Hughes and James Baldwin. Like Hughes and Baldwin, Keithley conveys
stories within his body of work. He paints stories about growing up in the area of the
south side known as the “Wild Hundreds” that depict the lack of opportunities and
resources within his neighborhood. Following the killing of George Floyd, Keithley and
his partner created “Paint the City” to replace images of desolation and destruction
on buildings looted and covered with plywood after the unrest, with images of hope
and unity. The long-term goal of “Paint the City” is to create equal opportunities and
resources for Black people within the art community and support local businesses.
Turning outdoor spaces into galleries, he says, is one way the arts community can
rebound post-COVID-19.
“Boards of Change”
Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot launched the “Boards of Change” project, a civic engagement
initiative to encourage participation in not only the 2020 U.S. Census, but also in
democracy as a whole through actions such as registering to vote. Paint the City
founders, Barrett Keithley and Missy Perkins, worked with the city to convert their
plywood murals to voting booths linked to a voter registration hotline, and stationed
in Daley Plaza.

Paint the City

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 39

PDAANRIELKTE. R Reflections & Lessons
From A Passionate Collector

By Devorah Crable
Daniel T. Parker is highly regarded for his robust art collection that covers every square inch of wall and floor space in
hisexpansive Kenwood, Chicago home. The composite collection illuminates the rich arc of the Black art tradition from
ancient traditional African art to contemporary art expressions. Indigenous African art of antiquity, including wood sculptures
and carvings, pottery, furniture, textiles, tapestries and musical instruments are interspersed with paintings, drawings
and sculptures created by African American and African diaspora artists. Each work has its unique collector’s acquisition
story and history.
Parker’s appreciation of art was seeded at an early age by his mother who collected objets d’art from antique and second
hand stores. The eldest of six siblings, his job was to clean the collectibles and make sure the younger ones did not break
the precious items. Later, he was greatly influenced by his high school art teacher, Dr. Margaret Burroughs, Black culturalist
and cofounder of the DuSable Museum of African American Art and History who, in Parker’s adult life, became a trusted art
collector, muse, and valued mentor: “She told us about the beauty of ourselves and our rich history as Black people. She did
not begin with the color and paint on canvas; she began with us saying [we] were beautiful, that our full lips, broad noses,
thick curly hair and dark skin was our beauty!”

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A dearth of Black art books, combined with the need to catalogue
his vast collection prior to downsizing his home, compelled Parker to
“immortalize” his personal art museum in a book, “African Art: The
Diaspora and Beyond.” Parker says the art collector plays a powerful
and vital role in the advancement of Black art. He believes those with
substantive collections should promote, archive and share their
collections.
“Loaning art from your personal collection to museums and galler-
ies,” he says, “gives Black artists greater exposure among those that
value, buy and showcase art.”

Parker would, himself, become a teacher using art as a tool to build Collecting art has become a vocation for Parker, who says he evolved
both self-esteem and cultural appreciation among Black students. from an art enthusiast to habitual learner to a near art addict with the
“The study of Black art gives them a sense of pride,” he said, “a sense balancing point being the reality of having to pay the bills. Appreciating
of ownership, and a sense of having a position in this world, not at how his art collecting journey has enriched his life, he offers these tips
the bottom of the ladder but at the top.” to the flowering collector:
Motivated by Dr. Burroughs’ lessons and the images of Black people Buy what you like. No one can duplicate the emotional or spiritual
depicted in her massive home art collection, Parker revisited his connection you have with a piece of art. And you are the one who will
mother’s passion with renewed and inspired interest. He, too, live with it every day.
scoured secondhand shops for Black art and searched for books to Learn about the artist’s background. Explore the person’s history
learn more about Black artists and the “primitive” art created by and evolution as an artist. Did the artist attend school or was the artist
Africans. The term “primitive” held negative connotations for Park- self-taught? Was the work commissioned? Has the artist received
er until his research and travels to Africa revealed a deeper under- awards and recognition? Is the artist an influencer or thought leader?
standing that became foundational for defining the purpose of his See where the artist exhibits. Find out what galleries or museums or
traditional African art collection and art activism. other exhibit spaces carry the artist’s work. See who else collects the
“Primitive means the first. We [Black people] were the first to do artist’s work. The artist may not be in a museum or gallery but may
art, and the discoveries of art in caves are the oldest in Africa. That be found in private collections. Gather information about the artist from
[learning] gave me a personal uplift that I could then give to others gallery owners or books. If the artist is living, visit the artist’s studio and
that this isn’t just primitive art, but this is first art created by Black develop an artist/collector relationship.
hands, and that says something profound.” Learn about the artist’s scope. Is the artist local, and if so, does the
Parker says even though documented history shows the genesis of artist plan to stay local? Many artists opt to stay in the community and
all art is attributable to Black people, Black art does not receive just align with a school or community center to teach art. Others have a
recognition by many mainstream high art institutions. He and three wider perspective and will choose to have their work scattered around
other Black art collectors decided to change that dynamic through the world.
their creation of Diasporal Rhythms, a not-for-profit organization Have your collection appraised, archived and insured. Know the
that is committed to expanding appreciation of contemporary visual value of your collection, whether you are collecting for passion or
art created by artists of the African diaspora. The organization hosts for investment purposes. Certificates of authenticitare necessary to
workshops, seminars and art tours of homes and galleries, but its secure investment acquisitions, and be sure to buy insurance. Parker
auctions move the Black art value needle. says he learned the hard way that insurance is mandatory. He almost
“Local art auctions garner the attention of gallerists, museums and lost his collection in a house fire, but with the “overwhelming humanity
larger auction houses,” says Parker. “When you create an environ- of Chicago’s Black art community,” he was able to salvage and restore
ment where individuals enter a bidding war for art, you increase the most of his prize collection.
value of that art and recognition of the artist, and this allows us to
chip away at the racism that exists in the art world.”

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 41

ARTS.BLACK

In Celebration of Cultural Criticism

Jessica Lynne, Co-Founder & Co-Editor, ARTS.BLACK

Taylor Aldridge and Jessica Lynne

Whenever I am asked to reflect on ARTS.BLACK, the journal I co-founded in 2014 with Taylor Aldridge, I always start at the
beginning of our friendship. As two young, Black women navigating the art world(s) as administrators, curators, and writers, our
excitements and concerns placed us along shared paths. Up until that point, several friends and colleagues had articulated a com-
mon belief that a friendship between Taylor and me was inevitable.

They were correct.

What began as an evening of laughter, critique, questioning, and fellowship resulted in a journey that has transformed me as a
thinker and writer. I feel it important to begin with this story of friendship because, as I have learned and continue to lean into, deep
wells of friendship are irreplaceable sites of care, love, and intellectual partnership. The story of ARTS.BLACK is a story of Black cul-
tural production just as much as it is a story of two people working to manifest a community and vision that honors our full selves.
Publishing slowly and with high intentionality, ARTS.BLACK is a growing repository for contemporary criticism that takes seriously the
rigor of Black writers. I could not have expected to be at the helm of the quiet force it has become. Situated at the nexus of media
and the arts, the journal is cultivating a digital ecology that prioritizes slow reading, slow looking, and slow writing that allows for
multiple entry points into the objects, films, and performances that comprise the contemporary.
Through this work, I have refined my own voice as a critic. I have found a personal mission in a criticism that embraces tenets of
Black Feminism(s) in order to most expansively engage with the world around me. And, as my personal mission has sharpened,
ARTS.BLACK has sharpened. (I am sure Taylor would express similar sentiments.) I take great comfort in placing ARTS.BLACK within
a tradition of Black textual production—across the geographies of the Black Diaspora and across multiple generations—that has
always been present, always breathing, regardless of its recognition by or within the “mainstream.”
As the journal approaches its sixth year of operation, there are many questions I am encouraged to ask: how can we continue to
serve Black writers? Through what other forms can our aims be activated? What resources do we actually need as publishers and
editors? These are questions of practicality, and, they are questions of possibility.
I look forward to welcoming the answers that will arise as imagination and friendship continue to guide this endeavor into new
terrain.

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BlackFace:It Ain’t About the Cork
The primary issue with the   ‘Blackface’ stereotype, is how these
by Halima Taha, derogatory images are relied upon over generations, where white
author of Collecting African American Art: people think it is okay and Black people continue to see themselves
Works on Paper and Canvas through the lens of racist propaganda designed for a befuddled
white America to enjoy the illusion of white privilege and superi-
Currently ‘Blackface’ has been used to describe a white adult ority. Examples of contemporary comfort with derogatory images
performing a nauseatingly racist caricature of a black person; to a of black people include racially charged items politely marketed
pair of pre-teen girls who never heard the word ‘minstrelsy’ when as Black Memorabilia: ‘Jolly Nigger’ banks to Mammy kitchenware
experimenting with costume makeup at a sleep over– yet ‘Black- continue to be manufactured and sold, and not sold exclusive-
faced’ faces continue to be unsettling.   Since the 19th century a ly to white people, but also to an increasing population of black
montage of caricaturized images of black and brown faces, from people who collect this ‘imposed upon cultural history’.  For some, the
movies, books, cartoons and posters have been ever present in need to preserve even the most contemptible examples of American
the memories of all American children. culture is to take control of relics from the Middle Passage, colonial-
Images of the coon, mammy, buck, sambo, pick-a-ninny and ism, the Civil War, reconstruction, Jim Crow, two world wars, the de-
Blackface characters, portrayed in subservient roles and mocking pression and the civil rights movement. For others, they collect to
caricatures include images from Aunt Jemima at breakfast, to the be reminded of how white America perceives them – no matter how
1930’s Little Rascals, Shirley Temple in  The Littlest Rebel,  Bugs high you climb the corporate ladder, there are many Americans who
Bunny and Elmer Fudd in blackface on Saturday morning TV; to still see you as  ‘that nigga’, ‘that jiggaboo’ and ‘that coon’.
Uncle Ben staring from the cupboard– all reinforced the demeaning Recently Megyn Kelly, former NBC news anchor, advocated that “it is
representations of African Americans created to promote American okay to paint your face black, so long as it is for Halloween,” and when
white supremacy.   The promotion of this ideal perpetuates the Governor Ralph Northam’s Virginia medical school yearbook resur-
systemic suppression and suffocation of the Black being. For faced depicting two costumed men, one wearing blackface and the
many African Americans these images of themselves evoke an arc other wearing a Ku Klux Klan outfit, he admitted that he ‘knows how
of emotions including: anger, sadness confusion, hurt–invisibility difficult it is to remove shoe polish off his face.”   This sadly shows
and shame. how entrenched these disparaging images are and they continue to
In 1830 Thomas Dartmouth Rice known as the “Father of be woven into the fabric of American social life to the point they are
Minstrelsy” developed a character named Jim Crow after watching perceived as acceptable.
enslaved Africans and their descendants reenacting African story- Perhaps the most insidious reflection of how ‘cool’ Blackface
telling traditions that included folktales about tricksters, usually can make some white people feel, is Jimmy Fallon imperson-
in the form of animals.   A Yoruba tale about a crow named Jim ating Chris Rock in blackface; Jimmy Kimmel impersonating
was a favorite story that helped people to cope with enslavement. Karl Malone and Oprah Winfrey in blackface; and SNL’s Fred
Thomas Darmouth Rice burnt cork to blacken his face and Armisen impersonating President Obama in Blackface.   The fact
renamed the story’s character ‘Jim Crow’. He embellished quick that Blackface emerged as an early form of vaudevillian comedy
dance moves, exaggerated African American vernacular and buf- does not give popular comedians a pass for not distinguishing the
foonish behavior. He ‘racialized’ song and dance simultaneous difference between ‘Blackface’ and impersonation under the guise of
to propelling his theatrical career.  Since then, these images and comedy. And let’s not talk about white actors stealing work from
characters have become central to American entertainment. black actors, like Micheal Gambon did in 1990 playing Shakespeare’s
Confounded, despite America’s historic civil rights advances, Othello in  ‘Blackface’ conveniently in an obscure seaside theatre in
inclusive of the nation electing Barack Obama as the first African England – good old Dumbledore. Do middle aged white actors really
American two term President, American society continues to be need to steal work from Black actors when there is a history of bril-
plagued by racist symbols such as ‘blackface’ and other ethnic liance in Ira Aldridge, Paul Robeson, Paul Harris, Eamon Walker and
stereotyping.  The specific characteristics that define minstrelsy Wayne T. Carr playing Othello, with the eloquence of Shakespeare’s
are skewed behaviors which include exotica, primitivism absur- language? Clearly, as America’s longest running form of popular
dity irreverence and recklessness. Music scholar Jon W. Finson entertainment, minstrelsy captures the story of American racism that
further distills minstrelsy as being ‘carnivalesque‘ and longing reduces individuals to ethnically defined stereotypes.   How cool is
for an ideal rural paradise’.  This paradise inverts societal norms that?
and has given writers and performers license to deviate from The mental pendulum swings from contemporary contexts, to the
the wholesome messages of rich cultural traditions, and act as ghost of Blackface past.  Most people of African descent throughout
propaganda to pervert Black culture. the world want to rid themselves and their families from the mask of
a degrading history.  

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 43

Lil’ Will
Acrylic and Charcoal on Paper, 36” x 28.5” Framed, 2017l

The Awakening: Covered Alfred Conteh’s  work captures the allure, strength, and authenticity
Photography, Photo- Manipulation, Montage, Embellished with 24k gold leaf within Georgia’s urban landscape where Black people are often over-
looked, misjudged and forgotten.   His work seizes the psycho-emotional
38” x 49” Framed, 2017 tension of being disenfranchised by a socio-political infrastructure
where opportunities are lacking, or hard working people are still
Tawny Chatmon’s work celebrates the beauty of Black childhood, struggling to make ends meet. Conteh reimagines portraiture with
maternal relationships and familial bonds.   Her repositioning of Black images that reflect the human spirit through dignity that is captured
faces is directly inspired by Western influences she saw in museums by the natural gestures of his subjects. He integrates the immediacy of
while she was raised on three continents.  She has a particular interest photography as sketches and a range of painting processes to create
in 15th -19th century portraiture with an aesthetic focus on Vienna imagery that speaks of citizenship within a country that often discounts
Secession and Pre -Raphaelite periods.    working class communities.

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Quiero Amo Hole in the Bucket
Oil on canvas, 60” x 48” Unframed, 2019
Arvie Smith’s  work addresses the thinking behind the history of
Jerrell Gibbs’  stylistic approach to his subjects embraces gestural oppression and visual stereotypes of black people by depicting
paint strokes reminiscent of Alice Neal, Henry Taylor and John colorful and lyrical imagery that includes minstrel symbolism.  His
Sonsini.   Thematically he captures the innocence of Black youth and intention is to transform social consciousness within the historical
the comfort of intimacy among family and friends. He wants candid contexts in which black caricatures were considered kitsch, taboo
views from the perspective of the participant as witness. From this and politically incorrect. Mindful that today they hang on the walls
vantage point the viewer discerns the warmth, joy and affirmation of major museums and first-rate galleries, he paints to incite difficult
of Black culture. There is a conscious effort to avoid predictable discourse about power injustices and marginalized members of
clichés about the black family and leisure or portray Black people society.   Work courtesy of Galerie Myrtis * Fine Art & Advisory.
as actors.   Image courtesy the artist and Agora Culture - Gibbs is
represented by Mariane Ibrahim Gallery.

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 45

Fugue No. 2 in Ultramarine & Black Black and Blue
Oil on linen, 28” x 41” Sold unframed, 2017 Hairbrushes, 2016
Jas Knight’s  work focuses on the transcendent experience that a Felandus Thames’ pop aesthetic examines the definition of blackness
painting can evoke based on the integration of music and art in his within the western construct of race in America.  Thames work trans-
painting practice. For Knight there is no difference between the com- forms prosaic racism through a Duchampian handling of its everyday-
position in painting or music.  He likens the process to a fugue, which ness. He uses readymade objects, combined with text to create frag-
is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices built mented and repetitive forms to address postcolonial blackness as a
on a subject that is introduced at the beginning and recurs frequently ‘mined’ cultural signifier.  Influenced by early surrealist Hans Belmer’s
in the course of the composition. For Knight, fugue translates literally twisted, disjointed manikins of “Dolls” about the traumas of World War
into ‘what it is’. For him the painting is a work of art with no social or I, Thames thinks about how Black identity, slavery and generational
political implication within the painting. Work appears courtesy of the post traumatic slave syndrome #PTSS, distorts the psyche of black
artist. people. Work courtesy of Galerie Myrtis * Fine Art & Advisory.

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Blackface: A Reclamation of Beauty, Power and Narrative attempts These disparate perspectives reinforce that black people are not
to assert the beauty of the black body while affirming its power a monolithic group with the same worldview and certainly not 
against societal norms, mores and contextual histories. Curators, artists with the same aesthetic or message. Collectively they are
Myrtis Bedolla and Jessica Stafford Davis offer a ‘counter narra- committed to making strong visual statements that challenge,
tive to the racist archetypes that evolved from the 18th  century and engage diverse audiences to pause, reflect and consider
minstrelsy, and its negative stereotyping of African Americans that black identity and beauty through the prism of their narratives.
prevail today’ through the work of Tawny Chatmon, Alfred Conteh,  There is a Ghanaian proverb from the Ew-mina people that ‘until the
Jerrell Gibbs, Jas Knight, Arnie Smith, Felandus Thames, and film- lion has his or her own storyteller, the hunter will always have the
maker Karina Smith.  Together they examine portraiture and identi- best part of the story’. Black Faces: A Reclamation of Beauty, Power,
ty, conscious of the history of ‘blackface’, choosing to reference it or and Narrative subverts and lessons the power of the iconographic
deliberately disregard it. mockery of ‘blackface’ that has misrepresented generations of
Collectively, these artists are self –taught, academically trained, patriotism, hard work and value of Americans of African descent.
male, female, emerging, and mid-career. One is a photographer, Essay from Galerie Myrtis Exhibition:
five are painters, one is a filmmaker and another a multimedia art- Blackface: A Reclamation of Beauty, Power, and Narrative
ist. The geographical perspectives are national, international, west April 20 – June 15, 2019
coast, east coast, southern, northern, Midwestern, single, married
and parental.

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 47

Today, the tangible is more
impactful than ever.

Leverage the power of connection,
with real people in real life, on our
canvases in cities and neighborhoods
across America.

GROWING STRONGER PEOPLE, PLACES, AND BUSINESS
wegetyou.com

The Inaugural Black Fine Art Month Celebration

OCTOBER 2019 DUSABLE MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY

Black Fine Art Month (BFAM), held each October, is a global celebration of the Black Fine Art aesthetic,
an annual recognition of artists, innovators, collectors, curators and those vested in the Black Art
tradition, and an opportunity to commemorate and elevate these contributions through art programming.
The celebration lies at the intersection of the past, present, and future of Black Art, and affords us a moment
to toast the bold gallerists and esteemed art purveyors who revere the aesthetic, drive the value; and invest
in artists who define our culture. BFAM is an initiative of Pigment International TM

Black Fine Art Month Launch

The inaugural Black Fine Art Month Celebration was launched in
partnership with the DuSable Museum of African American History, a
Smithsonian affiliate. The celebration acknowledged the global
commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the landing of the first
African slaves in America, and the artistic impact of African Diaspora art
movements.
Launching Black Fine Art Month in the museum co-founded by
Dr. Margaret Burroughs - artist, culturalist, philanthropist, historian,
and legacy preservationist - was intentional. The iconic, trailblazing
art activist embodies all that Pigment International aims to achieve
in advancing the Black aesthetic through the engagement of artists,
collectors, and curators/gallerists. Proclamations from the city, state,
and federal governments were offered in support of the premier event.

Dwight White, artist, Haki Madhubuti, Third World Press/authpr/poet, Art work by Kevin Williams
Juarez Hawkins,educator/artist, Arlene Crawford-artist/curator, Paul
The 1619 Project
Branton-Pigment artist/curator, Abdul Alkalmat-professor/author
An art exhibition featuring Pigment International artists and guest
Chicago’s Black Art Movements artists depicted the African American experience from 1619 until
today. Weekly Salon Talks explored Chicago’s unique contribution to
The founders of and contributors to arts movements that emerged the on-going historical narrative documented through art created by
from Chicago and solidified Chicago as a Black art capital shared African-Ameican artists. Each Salon featured art world luminaries and
unique insights from the Black Art Movement (BAM), the trans- practitioners including artists, curators, academicians, historians,
formative relationship between art and politics and how current gallerists, authors, and art activists.
Afro-Futurism and Black Contemporary Art continue to inform public
thought. Chicago specific history covered during The 1619 Salon were
“Negro Day” at the 1893 Columbian World Exhibition and The Negro
World’s Fair of 1940 held at the Museum of Science and Industry. The
conversation also examined how the African Diaspora continues to
shape and inform global art movements.

PIGMENT MAGAZINE FALL | WINTER 2020 49

Art In Public Spaces

Contemporary public space artists paid homage to “Wall of Respect”
artists whose work spawned similar large-scale outdoor projects
around the world. The merit of utilizing public space as an art can-
vass was explored along with determining how public art can create
and define community.

Artist “Edo” White with young collector

The Inaugural Black Fine Art Month
celebration closed with a

conversation about the future
of the Black art aesthetic

that projected “what’s next”
in the world of art and
collecting but also
‘who’s got next”.

The Future of the Black Art Aesthetic
featuring Faheem Majeed

Inaugural Black Fine Art Month Exhibiting Artists:

Pigment International Collective Artists: Paul Branton-Curator, Dana Todd Pope- Associate curator, Tyler Clark, Lesley Etherly,
Jason E. Jones, Barrett Keithley, Blake Lenoir, Angelica London, James Nelson,
Martha Wade, Eddie Santana “Edo” White, and Dwight White

Guest Artists: Ted Ellis, Gerald Griffin, Michael Gunn, Candace Hunter, Arthur Wright, Minnie Watkins,
Kevin Williams, Debra Hand, Samuel Lind (Puerto Rico – AIH)

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