. . . My art is both personal and humanistic and clearly encompasses spiritual, social and political approaches to my Black experience. I am intent on dispensing information as a meaningful and underlying part of my artistic expression. My assemblages, collages and dioramas confront my audience, immediately and holistically engaging them in a visual discourse.
My draftsmanship of narrative figurative realism is influenced by master draftsmen Charles White and John Biggers, while my use of assemblage and collage is partly influenced by German photomontage artist John Heartfield, Romare Bearden, and the Los Angeles assemblage movement of the 1960s and 70s of which Black artists were at the center.
I also incorporate digital art in my compositions. In combining these genres, I have created a singular style, which defies categorization, yet is both cutting-edge and traditional. I seek to evolve traditional art forms with a digital collaboration by creating compositions that visually change perceptions and inspire dialogue beyond the diaspora. I focus on aesthetic quality of technique in my use of both traditional and multi-media.
This piece was inspired by the 1997 case against the Agriculture Department, Pigford v. Glickman, which was settled out of court 11 years ago. It was reopened by the 2008 Farm Bill to allow tens of thousands of farmers who missed the original filing deadline to submit claims. The $1.25 billion settlement was recently passed by the Senate and later approved by the House in favor of legislation to provide for the farmers after years of being denied government farm loans/support from federal programs because of the color of their skin. President Obama then signed the Claims Resolution Act of 2010.
This piece is featured in my solo exhibition, Relevance, which opened January 17, 2011 at the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center, at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. The exhibition will run until February 28th.
