My Black History Month 2018

Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 nearly fifty years ago. The site of that tragic event at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, is now, the location of the National Civil Rights Museum. We took a road trip from Saint Louis to Memphis that allowed us to spend a good part of Saturday afternoon over President’s Day weekend perusing that remarkable place.

The Saint Louis Art Museum marked Black History Month with a variety of programming, including two film screenings The Black Power Mixtape, 1967-1975 on Saturday, February 24th and “I Am Not Your Negro” on Sunday, February 25th. The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 looks at the people, society, culture, and style that fueled an era of convulsive change with contemporary audio interviews from leading African American artists, activists, musicians and scholars. Utilizing an innovative format that riffs on the popular 1970s mixtape format, the film is a cinematic and musical journey into the black communities of America. I Am Not Your Negro envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, a radical narration about race in America, using the writer’s original words, as read by actor Samuel L. Jackson. Alongside a flood of rich archival material, the film draws upon Baldwin’s notes on the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. to explore and bring a fresh perspective to the racial narrative in America.

Meanwhile, the Missouri History Museum’s exhibition #1 in Civil Rights: The African American Freedom Struggle in St. Louis examines the local civil rights movement and the city’s leading role in advancing the cause of racial justice from ground-level activism to groundbreaking supreme court rulings.

This year, perhaps my sensibility has been heightened with Special School District’s engagement with the Cambio Group. SSD is demonstrating this year an effort, among other things, to improve cultural competence. I am a white man in America and cannot help but feel reflective when history, notably the events of the last fifty years, marks the struggle.  

Toulouse-Lautrec - Graphic Designer

Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) was an aristocrat, dwarf, and party animal who invented a cocktail called the Earthquake (half absinthe, half cognac). He is the artist who designed the Moulin Rouge posters as well as paintings and drawings that capture highs and lows of urban life in nineteenth century Paris (in Belle Epoque). I especially admire Toulouse-Lautrec because he elevated advertising to the status of a fine art. In fact, Jane Avril, one of his closest friends and one of Montmartre's most beloved cabaret dancers, wrote: "It is more than certain that I owe him the fame that I enjoyed dating from his first poster of me." At a time when the only acceptable designation for persons with disabilities was freak, Toulouse-Lautrec used his unique appearance to his advantage. It allowed him to disappear into a crowd or corners of a room, seeing others without being seen. His remarkable observations of society almost certainly stem from his status as an outsider.

Toulouse-Lautrec was born into an aristocratic family in the South of France and raised in an atmosphere of privilege. By age 8, it was clear that he suffered from a congenital illness that weakened his bones. After two serious riding accidents his legs stopped growing. At his full height, Toulouse-Lautrec was 5 feet tall, with the upper body of a man and the legs of a child. He walked with a cane and in considerable pain for the rest of his life but was highly productive artist. Sadly he passed way too young at the age of 36. (On September 9, 1901 he died from complications due to alcoholism and syphilis).

AIGA Portfolio Review 2018

Robert Lopez of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIU-C) took on the responsibility of orchestration of the portfolio review portion of the AIGA’s annual student conference on Saturday February 10, 2018. I’m glad they still had me on a list of willing portfolio reviewers. As reviewer, I am once again, impressed by the quality of design and professional presentations made by these aspiring artist/designers.

The event hosted at Maryville University featured speakers (Roxy Prima and Phoebe Cornog of Pandr Design Co., and Dan Funderburgh.a Brooklyn-based illustrator, artist, and wallpaper designer), workshops in addition to the opportunity to have a few local professionals review and critique their portfolios.There was plenty of opportunity to meet and greet.

College students facing the prospect of becoming job seekers are encouraged to participate in the portfolio review sessions to get some real world feedback. I had the pleasure of sessions with Jonathan Neal (UMSL), Tyler Clemons (Millikin University), Jack Prange (SIU-C),Claire Nipper (Truman State University), Kory Wood (UMSL), Adrianne “Annie” Mathews and Lyubov Sheremeta (Stephens College). More than 100 students were a part of this conference. They came from nearby, far and wide. Reviewers included executive recruiter Bob Bishop, design firm owner/president Dave Cox, event trade show designer Jamie Kidd and Kim Watson of Pinacle Graphics.

My advice, as always, is to seek out advisors in and around the quality of work for which you hope to be associated. Contact them and start with a courtesy interviews. Build your network and your personal brand by listening carefully. Happy Hunting!   

COME AS YOU ARE

Timothy Wagner show at siba 

Timothy Wagner invited me to an opening show of some of his recent work at Stevens Institute of Business & Arts (siba). He says he always draws inspiration from travels and from his family, notably his wife and toddler son of whom I had the pleasure of meeting at this opening (February 2, 2018). He seems influenced by art history as well. Fine artists from Marcel Duchamp to Robert Rauschenberg would likely appreciate Wagner’s use of reclaimed materials like printed book pages, roadmaps and photo transfers in a mixed media style/technique that involves resin that manipulate oil or encaustic painting. Light refreshments at the gallery at 1521 Washington Avenue and a reception on a cold Friday night from 6pm – 8pm proved to be a pleasant environment to view the new work in the creative heart of the vibrant downtown Loft District. The work is showing until March. Stop by and take a look.

“I have been creating art professionally since 2000. My background is in painting though I’ve always incorporated other mediums into my work. My mentor Gary Passanise really opened my eyes to different techniques and artists using mixed media. Other professors like Rennie Bernard and Ahzad Bohosian taught me a lot about painting and drawing, although they, too, always lead in a direction of using more mediums in my work,” says Wagner in a blog post about the opening on siba web site. A long time artist-associate, Ty de La Venta was on hand at the opening to confirm that Tim has been at this for some time. Tim is considering further study at Fontbonne University. He is one to watch. 

Wagner sells his work on his website at http://tewagner.com/  ---  Photo(above) of artist Timothy Wagner and family (Melinda and Finley) at gallery opening 2-2-18. It was good to see Tim Wagner showing his work again at the 31st Annual Laumeier Art Fair on May 11, 12, 13, 2018 as well.