Tavarus Blackmonster: Meta-Evil by California State Univeristy Stanislaus School of the Arts

Tav a r u s B lack mo ns te r : M et a - Ev il

Tavarus Blackmonster: Meta-Evil, represents a chance to view his brilliant work. With a history of personal struggles and triumphs, the art of Tavarus Blackmonster is at once a way of healing and understanding. Expressing his own unique experiences, he helps us to understand his life in a way that has inspirational and positive outcomes. The University Art Gallery’s programing helps to support our faculty’s teaching. It is through faculty recommendations that many exhibitions come to our galleries. This exhibition was recommended by my colleague Mirabel Wigon, who wrote the following about Tavarus work: Tavarus Blackmonster is an interdisciplinary/intermedium artist, curator, and educator based in Sacramento whose work discusses issues of domesticity, race, and joy. This exhibition consists of primarily paintings and music, showcasing Blackmon’s use of vibrant colors and bold forms that create a process-based narrative. This exhibition envelops the viewer in a synesthetic experience, hypnotizing and destabilizing the space with the interplay of forms and music. Blackmon aims to expand painting, using beauty as a subversive and powerful tool to work through trauma, building a space for healing. I am very excited to be able to exhibit Tavarus work for others to enjoy. I would like to thank the many colleagues that have been instrumental in presenting this exhibition. Tavarus Blackmonster for the chance of exhibiting his work, Mirabel Wigon for recommending Tavarus’s exhibition, Brad Peatross of the School of the Arts, California State University, Stanislaus for the catalog design and Parks Printing for the printing this catalog. Much gratitude is extended to the Instructionally Related Activates Program of California State University, Stanislaus, as well as anonymous donors for the funding of the exhibition and catalogue. Their support is greatly appreciated.

Dean De Cocker Director, University Art Galleries California State University, Stanislaus

American Milk, synthetic polymer pigment on watercolor paper, 32 x 40 inches, 2019 4

Tav a r us B lack mo ns te r

BIOGRAPHY Tavarus Blackmon, also known by the Anglo-Saxon, Blackmonster, is a devoted, Black, F ather and Partner with three children in the City of Trees, Sacramento, California. He earned his M FA as Provost Fellow at the University of California Davis and his MA in Studio Art at CSU, S acramento. He has been under Fellowship at the Headlands Center for the Arts and is the recent P arent Artist Fellow at the Kala Art Institute. His is the recipient of the 2020–2021 Kala Art Institute Fellowship and the Curatorial Fellowship at Root Division. He is the winter, 2021, AiR a t Caldera Arts in Sisters, OR. His practice is interdisciplinary and intermedium. His work has appeared in The Racket, Susurrus, Calaveras Station, The Suisun Valley R eview, Sacramento City Exchange, Instagram; he has contributed to The Sacramento News and R eview: Arts and Culture, Reverb, Voices against mass incarceration, CURA, Literary Magazine o f Art and Action, Fordham University, IO Literary Journal and Brushfire Journal, Edition 72, v ol. 2, University of Nevada, Reno. He has exhibited in San Francisco; at American Steel Studios, Oakland; Los Angeles at The Center for Digital Arts; Chicago (Arc Gallery); New York ( Limner Gallery); Mexico City and Berlin (Blue Banana Video Art Festival). Tavarus Blackmon h as curated panel discussions, presentations and exhibitions, at Beatnik Gallery, The Golden One C enter’s digital media displays, Axis Gallery, the Master of Art in Studio Art Thesis Exhibition, C ritical Response at CSU, Sacramento and is founder and webmaster of Art Music Lit Space, an o nline gallery presenting virtual exhibitions. He is an artist member and Vice President at Axis Gallery, Sacramento. He also serves on the Marketing and eCommerce committees and is w ebmaster of the eCommerce website, Axis Editions. He has developed and published work for the web including the sites Tavarus Blackmon Art, Awedio Codex and Black Monster Night Light. His site, BlackmonsteReview hosts his t hesis, The Politics of the Cartoon and Contemporary Art. Additional and substantive video and a udio can be found under the profiles Tavarus Blackmon and Black Audio Monster on Vimeo a nd Soundcloud, respectively. His current body of sound art, Lock Down, is released through S pinnup, a Universal Music Group platform .

Tavarus Blackmon https://tavarusblackmonart.com @tavarusblackmon https://art-music-lit.space https://opensea.io/collection/play/collection

Classic Milk, archival inkjet print, 40 x 50 inches, 2020 6

Tav a r us B lack mo ns te r

ARTIST STATMENT My practice is involved with trauma and healing. As an artist I use interdisciplinary terms. I d iscuss the difficult nature of being a disabled, Black, artist through a cultural lens. More s pecifically, how my internal struggle is portrayed in my work and how for me, that creates h ealing. I am a survivor of physical trauma, having underwent open-heart-surgery as a child. The post trauma has caused challenges in my life but art and making have provided a way to h eal, a way to address my Black identity and a way to place my personal history within the h istory of art. I use motif to discuss issues of domesticity, race and joy. For example, my role as a Father w ho, was sexualized as a young adult. I use gestures to engage the contradiction of being both o bjectified and a caretaker with a visual language, a written verse and plastic pixels of virtual s pace. I employ abstraction and surreal images. I twist lyric into feeling and churn catharsis from the wrought emotion. The combination of distasteful visual expression and embodiment of the work is paradoxically beautiful because my use of color, original forms and my passion for the studio practice. I am informed by my experience as a Black man and inspired by my life a s a successful and professional, schizophrenic. The major contradiction in my life is that my personal struggles inform my work but do not o verlap with my professional relationships. Further, that due to my disability making art p resents the only labor not concerned with my psychology. I receive retirement benefits b ecause of my childhood trauma. But I have never worked harder than as an artist. In this way, m y experience has evolved parallel with duality. Where through my art, I express my personal history - a unique history of a Black experience - yet I also share difficult truths about myself through the removal of a visual language, a written language, an embodiment of the lived e xperience that is both solitary in its trauma but universal in its quest for healing. My work is involved with trauma and healing. My work is involved. My work. Work.

Tavarus Blackmon, MA, MFA h ttps://tavarusblackmonart.com https://art-music-lit.space Vice President, Axis Gallery h ttps://axisgallery.org Webmaster, Axis Editions h ttps://axiseditions.com 2020–2021 Artist Fellow, Kala Art Institute Curatorial Fellow, Root Division Lecturer, CSU, Sacramento/Folsom Lake College Lead Broker to the Art Consultants of UC Davis Health

Game of Consequences, synthetic polymer pigment, urethane, glitter on canvas, 140 x 84 inches, 2020 9

Game of Errors, synthetic polymer pigment, urethane, glitter on canvas, 108 x 72 inches, 2020 11

Game of Life and Dead, synthetic polymer pigment, urethane, glitter on canvas, 141 x 90 inches, 2021 13

Game of Peril and Folly, synthetic polymer pigment, urethane, glitter on canvas, 144 x 84 inches, 2021 15

Game Over, synthetic polymer pigment, cel vinyl on canvas, 60 x 60 inches, 2019 16

Gaming, synthetic polymer pigment, cel vinyl, ink ion canvas, 60 x 60 inches, 2019 17

Milk 2, synthetic polymer pigment, urethane, aluminum flakes on watercolor paper, 32 x 40 inches, 2019 18

Milk 3, synthetic polymer pigment, urethane, aluminum flakes on watercolor paper, 22 x 28 inches, 2019 19

Milk, synthetic polymer pigment, urethane, glitter on watercolor paper, 22 x 28 inches, 2019 20

Milky Brood, synthetic polymer pigment on watercolor paper, 32 x 40 inches, 2019 21

Mom’s Dead, synthetic polymer pigment, urethane, glitter on canvas, 36 x 42 x 2 inches, 2019 22

The Family Cowl, synthetic polymer pigment, cel vinyl, urethane, glitter on canvas, 36 x 72 x 2 inches, 2019 23

The Milk and the Matron, synthetic polymer pigment, cel vinyl, urethane, glitter on canvas, 36 x 42 x 2 inches, 2019 24

Creep, synthetic polymer pigment, urethane, glitter, cel vinyl on checkered fabric mounted to faux leather upholstery vinyl, thread, hand-stitching, 60 x 72 inches, 2021 25

O G Golly, printed felt, felt, wire, thread, hand-stitching, buttons, plastic straws, Zip-Lock bag, dimensions variable, 2022 26

Meta-Evil installation documentation 1 (1-7), site-specific installation, CSU, Stanislaus, dimensions variable, 2022 27

Tav a r u s B lack mo ns te r C V

E D U C AT I O N 2018 MFA, Studio Art, Provost Fellow, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 2015 MA, Studio Art, Sacramento State University, Sacramento, CA 2013 BA, Digital Film and Video Production, Sacramento State University, Sacramento, CA 2008 AA, Social Sciences; AA, General Education, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA SO LO E X HI B ITION 2222 Meta-Evil, CSU, Stanislaus, Turlock, CA 2021 Dad Life, Axis Gallery, Sacramento, CA 2019 Exquisite Diversion, Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento, CA 2018 Formal Delinquent, Brickhouse Gallery, Sacramento, CA 2016 In Stereo, My Studio Gallery, Sacramento, CA Eating Pie and Rainbows, My Studio Gallery, Sacramento, CA 2014 Dinner Theatre, Advancement to Candidacy, Sacramento State University, Robert Else Gallery, Sacramento, CA GRO U P E X H IB ITION 2021 Kala Art Institute Fellowship exhibition Sea of Fertility, Looking at the Invisible, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA 2020–2021 Kala Art Institute Artist Annual Exhibit, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA 2020 Flor Mort, Axis Gallery, East Room, Sacramento, CA, 2019–2020 Artist Annual Exhibition, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA Unibrow Collective Presents, QiPo 02, Mexico City, MX 2019 Empathy, Cosumnes River College Art Gallery, Sacramento, CA Sound Art Exhibition, Brickhouse Gallery, Sacramento, CA The Ordinary Instant, Graduate Fellow exhibition, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA SoundPedro, Earmaginations, Sound Art Festival, Angel’s Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA Make-Shift, Art Mix, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA Magic City Art Connection, Birmingham, AL Spring Invitational (Pattern), Jay Jay Gallery, Sacramento, CA Group Invitational, Jay Jay Gallery, Sacramento, CA Engineers and Artist’s, Hacker Lab, Verizon, Sacramento, CA Axis Exchange, GearBox Gallery, Oakland, CA 2018 Master Class, Jay Jay Gallery, Sacramento, CA Present Tense, MFA Thesis Exhibition, University of California Davis, Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Davis, CA, (catalogue) Soft Bytes: A Feminist Animation Exhibit, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Los Angeles, CA Me Too: Times Up, Jay Jay Gallery, Sacramento, CA Functional Diversity Exhibition, Basement Gallery, Davis, CA 2017 Newsletter, Untitled Projects, https://unitedprojectsnewsletter.com, August, Issue XXVI Reptile: A Cold-Blooded Art Exhibit, Neologian Gallery, Redwood City, CA Autonomous Love, Group Exhibition Sacramento, CA Big Brother Comics, Group Exhibition Sacramento, CA Oddtropolis, The Midway, San Fransisco, CA Field Notes, UC Davis 1st Year MFA Exhibition, Beatnik Gallery, Sacramento, CA MFA Now (catalogue only), Root Division, San Fransisco, CA Who is U.S.? Basement Gallery, Davis, CA

2016

Art Reveal Magazine (suggested artist), http://www.artrevealmagazine.com A Show of Heads, Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY Grand Opening, Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Davis, CA Fables, Fairy Tales, Folktales, Legends and Myths, Fe Gallery, Sacramento, CA Off The Wall, Art + Literature Laboratory, Madison, WI A Mixed Box of Art, Fe Gallery, Sacramento, CA Sight, F Street Gallery, Davis, CA 2015 I Can’t Breathe, Arc Gallery and Educational Foundation, Chicago, IL Chrysalis Lens, A Brief Survey of Contemporary Video Art, Marymount California University, Marylyn & Chuck Klaus Center for the Arts, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA Oddville, American Steel Studios, Oakland, CA California State Fair, Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA Extra Ordinary, Master’s of Arts Exhibit, Sacramento State University, Library Annex Gallery, Sacramento, CA, (catalogue) Snap to Grid, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA Chaotic Collections, Sacramento Dance Conservatory, Sacramento, CA 2013 Independent Pixels, Advanced Digital/ New Media Exhibit, Witt Gallery, Sacramento, CA Core 9, Defining Ourselves, Long Beach, CA Blue Banana Video Art Festival, East Landau, Berlin, Germany Print International 4, Shy Rabbit Contemporary Arts, Pagosa Springs, CO Alumni Art Association Exhibition, Else Gallery, Sacramento State University, Sacramento, CA University Purchase Award Exhibition, University Union Gallery, Sacramento State University, Sacramento, CA 2010 Bold Expressions, NCA, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Sacramento, CA T E ACHI NG 2022 Part-Time Faculty, Sacramento State University, (Art 20A, Beginning Drawing, spring 2022) 2021 Part-Time Faculty, Sacramento State University, (Art 20A, Beginning Drawing, fall 2021) Part-Time Faculty, Folsom Lake College, (Art 300 Prison Ed Program, Beginning Drawing, fall 2021) Part-Time Faculty, Folsom Lake College, (Art 300/ Art 300 Prison Ed Program, Beginning Drawing, spring 2021) Part-Time Faculty, Sacramento State University, (Art 20A, Beginning Drawing, spring 2021) 2018 Lecturer, University of California Davis, (Art 7, Beginning Painting, summer 2018) TA, University of California Davis, (Art 7, Beginning Painting, spring 2018) Instructor of Record, University of California, Davis, (Art 2, Beginning Drawing, winter 2018) TA, University of California, Davis, (Design 15, Form and Color, winter 2018) 2017 TA, University of California, Davis, (Art 12, Beginning Video, fall 2017) 2015–17 Painting Instructor, My Studio, 2225 J Street Sacramento, CA, 2016 Painting Instructor, Family Fridays, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA 2015 TA, Sacramento State University, (Art 22, Beginning Painting) 2014–15 GA, Sacramento State University (Art 7, Introduction to Art and Visual Culture) 2014 TA, Sacramento State University, (Art 192a, Senior Seminar) 2011–15 ISA, Sacramento State University, (E-Learning, Academic Technology Creative Services) 2009–10 Poetry Program Director, Washington Neighborhood Center, Sacramento, CA R E SI D E NCI E S 2021 Caldera Arts, AiR, Sisters, OR ($800) 2020–21 Root Division Curatorial Fellowship, San Francisco, CA ($2,500) 2020–21 Kala Art Institute Fellowship, Berkeley, CA ($3,000) 2019 Sustainable Art Foundation, Parent Artist Residency, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA ($1,000) 2018 Headlands Center for the Arts, Graduate Fellow, Sausali

Ackn ow le dge m en ts

California State University, Stanislaus Dr. Ellen Junn, President Dr. Kimberly Greer, Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. James A. Tuedio, Dean, College of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Depar tment of Ar t Martin Azevedo, Associate Professor, Chair Tricia Cooper, Lecturer Dean De Cocker, Professor James Deitz, Lecturer Daniel Edwards, Associate Professor Patrica Eshagh, Lecturer Jessica Gomula-Kruzic, Professor Daniel Heskamp, Lecturer Chad Hunter, Lecturer Dr. Carmen Robbin, Professor Ellen Roehne, Lecturer Dr. Staci Scheiwiller, Associate Professor Susan Stephenson, Associate Professor Jake Weigel, Associate Professor Mirabel Wigon, Assistant Professor Meg Broderick, Administrative Support Assistant II Kyle Rambatt, Equipment Technician II

University Ar t Galleries Dean De Cocker, Director

School of the Ar ts Brad Peatross, Graphic Specialist II

Tavarus Blackmonster - Meta Evil February 10–March 11, 2022 | Stanislaus State Univeristy Art Gallery, California State University, Stanislaus 300 copies printed. Copyright © 2022 California State University, Stanislaus • ISBN 978-1-940753-65-2 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the publisher. This exhibition and catalog have been funded by Associated Students Instructionally Related Activities, California State University, Stanislaus.