The Exhibition “Black Is..” was located in Dedo Maranville in the Fine Arts building in Valdosta State University from February 14th – March 4th 2022 which was curated by Julie Bowland. Featuring two African American artist named Samuel Dunson and Traci Mims representing different styles and approaches racism and sexism using Expressionism and Realism. They had an Artist Talk when the Exhibition opened up, explaining there reasonings and getting a better understanding of the artist. The Exhibition was formatted by the styles of the artwork. In the Exhibition Samuel Dunson had artwork that was representing a Euphoria world of his, as If he may be escaping a virtual dream or trapped in a paralysis for instance. The artist focused on expressionism and realism in the artwork to visually explain how he may be feeling.
The artworks focus on the Black identity and bringing awareness to recent trauma the African American’s experienced. While viewing the exhibition there was no order of how the artwork was shown.
Kind of blue/ Acrylic painting, 30 x 40 | 2022
The “Kind of Blue” painting was made by Traci Mims using acrylic paint on canvas for the artist medium, representing what is a self portrait of herself in different shades and variations of blue with a large earring that says “I Love Africa”, with clothing that correlates with the aesthetic of her head wrap, white blouse and shirt.
The exhibition, “Black Is..”, was on display at Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery located in Valdosta State’s fine art center. This show featured the two artists, Samuel Dunson and Traci Mims; these artists were chosen to portray what black is in society and how African American artists portray their identity through their favored media. The timing of this exhibition was intentionally chosen to coincide with black history month (February).
The exhibition had a mostly open format that allowed viewers to walk around freely and fully experience all the pieces. Instead of keeping the work of both artists separate, their pieces complement each other throughout the exhibition. This organizational method helps maintain visual and contextual balance. While walking through the exhibition, there was a subtle gradation of color. Some of Mims’ pieces were done in charcoal or block printed (with black ink) and as the pieces progressed through the gallery, more and more color was in each piece. Due to some pieces just before these monochromatic block prints being extremely colorful, this gradient of monochrome to color seems like a coincidental organization. Other than this unintentional aesthetic organization, the only intentional organization was thematic. The exhibition was meant to exhibit the viewpoint of black artists in their everyday lives. This aspect of the exhibition was well rendered, and the intentions were easily understood and visually supported.
Because of the heavy social commentary, this show is nothing short of postmodern pluralistic in nature. Although Mims is more of a realist and Dunson tends to favor the abstract, both artists showcase important issues that are faced everyday by African Americans in a so-called free country. Dunson’s piece, Alienated, demonstrates the feelings of black Americans trying to live their lives. While the abstraction of this piece appears to devalue the message, the invisibility of the body and the word, alien, in the lip signifies the feelings of alienation and isolation that black Americans face.
Mims’ Beautiful wonderfully demonstrates the culture, community, and daily lives of black people. While this drawing seems like a piece that could be considered derivative, many are not done without racist undertones. Many times, when portraits of black men are presented, they are shown intentionally stone-faced while restraining the stereotypically aggressive Pitbull. This piece gives in insight into actual life rather than the perceived life of black people. By adding a smile and a dog not typically synonymous with people of color, Mims humanizes him to viewers. Although they may not be used to seeing positive depictions of black people, they should be represented as a group of actual people rather than an enemy.
Overall, this exhibition was one that favorably displayed the heritage and culture of black history for black history month. Instead of turning a race into a genre to propagate an illusion of acceptance, black artists were actually featured to share their voices and their art. Mims and Dunson also were able to depict issues precisely and easily without confusing viewers. Luckily, this exhibition is not reminiscent of the sad attempt the Whitney had at black representation. Instead of having white artists show what they thought was happening, this exhibition featured black artists to show what actually happens to their community. This tiny detail elevates this exhibition from appropriation, to one that deserves the highest reverence. The curator also successfully picked pieces by the artist that meshed well together and supported the overall message.
Samuel Dunson, Alienated, Dedo Maranvile Fine Arts Gallery, Mixed pigment and collage on canvasTraci Mims, Beautiful, Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery, Charcoal drawing
Secure, Samuel Dunson, mixed media on canvas, 2022
Dedo Maranville Gallery in Valdosta, GA is a quaint gallery found in the Fine Arts building on the campus of Valdosta State University. In a single room with a small alcove towards the back, they hosted an exhibition from February 14th-March 4th of 2022 titled, “Black Is…”featuring the works of two artists- Traci Mims and Samuel Dunson. Both artists contributed numerous two-dimensional works including paintings with collage, prints, and drawings. Their works speak on related topics such as family, sexism, Black culture, and most importantly, racism.
“Black is…” is a rather loud exhibition. When walking into the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery at Valdosta State University, one is confronted with works by Traci Mims and Samuel Dunson. Each piece on its own holds a conversation with the viewer, if they will listen, but when all the pieces are looked at as a whole the gallery is forced to harness this conversation and bring to attention the voices of not only two people during the now, but many voices of an entire culture over years and years of hurt.
When walking in, the walls of the gallery are filled with bright colors and contrasted grey tones. There seems to be no theme with the order in which everything was hung, but there is a nice harmony resonating within the walls. From just looking, one can tell that each piece was chosen to hang next to another piece to emphasize its meaning, composition, and colors. There are no small pieces that are drowned out by larger pieces, and everything is in its place and builds a strong atmosphere.
“Black Is…” is the title of the current exhibition on display at the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery at Valdosta State University. The exhibition features work by Samuel Dunson and Traci Mims, two artists who, through their work, explore a variety of themes related to Black identity. These themes range from racism, to sexism, to culture in general.
February is Black History month; Valdosta State University celebrated the month with the “Black Is…” art exhibition featuring artwork by African American artists Samuel Dunson and Traci Mims. The “Black Is…” artwork is on display in the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery on campus from February 14th through March 4th. Samuel Dunson is a Tennessee State University and Savannah College of Art trained artist. His artwork reflects his experiences as a Black man in America. Traci Mims received her art education from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and Tyler School of Art. Her art reflects Black history and culture. The “Black Is…” art exhibition exhibits artworks that generate conversations about social issues, racism, culture, and sexism. It is exciting to have an art exhibition that reflects the experiences of African Americans on display here at Valdosta State University. It is a powerful testament to VSU’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in art.
Samuel Dunson, “Faithful”, Mixed pigment and collage on canvas
As you enter the gallery you can feel the energy of the art. The themes of “Black is Beautiful” and “Black is Powerful” can be felt in the display of artwork by Samuel Dunson and Traci Mims. The gallery walls are lined with bright colorful images of African American men and women. The artists’ artworks cause you to stop and reflect on the messages and stories in the characters. As you move throughout the well-lit gallery each piece of art tells a story that causes the viewer to pause and reflect.
Traci Mims had several pieces of artwork on display with images of African American females with the messages of beauty and strength. Her artwork, Racial Profiles, Diptych, Mixed media on paper is the image of opposing African American women with strong Black features. The women’s facial features, hairstyle, earrings, and clothing are identical except for skin tone, hair color, and color of the blouse. The background image of the dark-skinned woman on the left is a document that looks like a citation based on her race. The citation appears to be a violation related to racial profiling. The document looks like a traffic citation with the violations noted as “driving while black,” “improper hairstyle,” and “improper race.” The citation is painted on the face of the light-skinned woman on the right with the background of pictures of fourteen Black people that have lost their lives at the hands of police brutality. In many cases, the police went unpunished for the murders. As I study the paintings I reflect on the negative stereotypes that America has towards African Americans. The artist is highlighting systemic racism, specifically racial profiling that exists in America towards Black people.
Black artists, especially female Black artists, struggle with being recognized equally to white artists. The art exhibition “Black is…” recognizes a female and male Black artist, who showed their works on the stuggles of being a person of color. This exhibit took place at the Dedo Maranville Gallery at Valdosta State University, in the Fine Arts building, from February 14th to March 4th, 2022. The two artists who contributed to the show are Samuel Dunson and Traci Mims. The art shown displayed a variety of mediums: oil paint, graphite, some embroidery, and collaged works. Most of the works were created in the paint medium but had elements of collaged stickers and other paper materials. The overall theme of the artworks involved racism, life as an African-American and seeing Black people as more than their color.
The location of the works were effectively organized and creatively brought the viewer’s eyes around the gallery. The curator of the show, Julie Bowland, placed the artworks by evenly distributing and alternating the works of the artists. The artists displayed individual styles, which the curator used to her advantage while organizing the works. Bowland was able to place the different styles side by side, urging the viewer to continue further into the gallery one artwork at a time. The gallery overall held bright works that showed different uses of mediums and textures. The artists’ use of a variety of frames gave a sense of difference on the gallery walls. A few works that didn’t have frames felt stronger and eye-catching because of the organic edges.
Each of the works in the show came with a label, sharing which artist created the work, the medium used, and the title of the work. The title of the work was important since the theme was “Black is…” The artist Dunson stated, during the talk given at the opening, that the titles of his works fit into the title of the show by finishing the sentence of what he thinks Black is. His works include titles such as Whimsical, Secure, Misunderstood, and Confident.
The collection of works was placed in the exhibit at an ideal time, in February, which is Black History Month. The exhibition and artist’s talk was appreciated by the audience, broadening our sense of what Black is to people of color. Mim’s and Dunson’s are similar in that they share present social, political and physical aspects of life. These works consisted of COVID symbols, like masks, and political symbols about the government. Mims’s work focused more on her personal experiences and stories from other people of color. Mims states, “My work focuses on themes related to Black identity and is often expressed in the form of cultural allegory and social realism.” Dunson’s work was more about how he sees what black is. At the artist talk, Dunson stated that as an African American artist he can create anything that black is, from the past, present, and for the future. Dunson sees his artworks as a conversation, using more of a collaged technique whereas Mims sees each person as a portrait. Mims stated “my activism is my paintbrush,” which she executed beautifully.
Secure, Oil Paint
A few artworks from the exhibit include Secure by Dunson, and Seeking Justice and Racial Profiles, Diptych by Mims. The work Secure was painted with mixed pigment and collaged with a few different techniques, creating texture. The overall composition of the work is eye-catching with color as well as the layout of the two figures. One figure, an older black woman, is holding an older black man who is lying in a position that looks deceased. The woman looks to have a halo around her head, because of the white floral shapes around her head. The female figure also has shapes in the background that resemble wings, giving her a heavenly feel. This bright and almost calming sense of security in this piece shows the audience that this fading away of the older man is taken care of by an angelic figure. This work has areas of realism, in the figures, with other areas of cartoon-like moments applied on top of the realistic areas. The cartoon-like moments in his works help his compositions to have a child-like feeling.
In contrast to Dunson, the two works done by Mims are both realistic, shedding light on Black identity. The work titled Seeking Justice shows an emotional black girl, painted with acrylic, with a background of black cultural symbols. Mims painted two different social aspects of African Americans: symbols that represent the past of black identity–cotton and African idols–and then in the further background, she showed images of protestors showing their current state. Overall, this work shows the fight of people of color, in the past and the future, and how they still are seeking that justice they deserve.
The second work that I was drawn to is the work Racial Profiles, Diptych. This work shows the same African American woman looking at herself, but in two different ways. The artist talked about her work, saying that this was a personal experience that she uses in her art. She told the viewers about getting unfair treatment from the police, getting a ticket that she was not responsible for, and using the ticket in her work. This work shows the unjust treatment that a lot of people of color receive and how they look at themselves after being treated that way. Racial Profiles, Diptych used a collage technigue with the use of government documents as well as mixed media on paper. All three of these works displayed what the artists believe being a person of color means to them, but I saw that connection with Racial Profiles, Diptych more than the others.
Racial Profiles, Diptych, Collage
Overall the works in the gallery were beautifully created, thought out, and displayed in a unique way. As part of the audience, I was able to learn more about what Black is, and was able to hear how Mims used her trials of injustice to create works and spread awareness at the same time. Dunson focused more on the idea of seeing Black people as more than just political or physical but as a person as a whole. Both of the artists achieved their intentions through their works in an imaginative way, using realism and other forms of expressionism. These works deserve attention, to bring awareness about the struggles of people of color and how to see the works if you’re not a person of color.
Lara Henry is a junior at Valdosta State University studying Art Education.
“The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity”
-Alberto Giacometti.
The exhibition “Black is…” showcases works by two artists, Samuel Dunson and Traci Mims. It is presented by Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery in Valdosta Georgia from February 14th through March 4th, 2022. In these works shown, “Black” reality can be seen in vibrant color, realistic faces and described in different ways.
The Dedo Maranville Gallery is located on campus of Valdosta State University in the Fine arts building. It has many students walking in and out of the building minding their business creating a calm vibe. There is no pressure to immediately go straight to viewing art, so it’s okay to take time. The glass doors to the gallery show a glimpse of what one could find inside. The openness of the set up calls one in because it is simple and reassuring. There are no stands or pillars that could be accidently knocked over, only white walls in which the pieces are hung on and black benches to sit on. It feels safe to stand up or sit down and look at the pieces from a distance. There are two stand alone walls that separate the center from the gallery’s front and back walls, creating a sense of privacy in an open space. Considering the works and their topics, privacy could allow the viewer to process the work in a deeper way.
On Monday, February 14 Valdosta State University’s Department of Art & Design exhibited “Black Is …” in the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery which concludes this Friday, March 4. The exhibition features works by award-winning artists Samuel Dunson and Traci Mims. For the VSU press release gallery director, Julie Bowland stated, “Black Is …” is a “powerful dual exhibition that addresses social and personal concerns including racism, sexism, and family. Through the use of mixed media, painting, collage, drawing, and printmaking, the artists explore diverse themes of Black identity.”
Stepping into the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery at Valdosta State University (VSU), one is immediately swathed in the colorful and thought-provoking narratives in the group exhibit titled, “Black Is…”. The exhibit runs from February 14 to March 4, 2022 and is curated by VSU Professor Julie Bowland. The show invites audiences into the perspectives of artists Samuel Dunson and Traci Mims, two Black artists who convey Black identity through each of their pieces. Both artists use their individual styles to create a delightfully cohesive show that depicts current racial and societal issues.
