Premier Issue of Pigment Magazine

pigment

Premier Issue!

Winter 2018/2019

a rt • i n n ovat ion • curati on pigment intl

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contents

Meet The Artists of Pigment International!

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volume 1 - number 1

Photo by: Joe Jones

O N TH E COV ER : I sys by Ja me s Nelson

the Collectors 34 Russell Goings

How one collector values history through Art

by Patricia Andrews-Keenan

36 Diane Carr

An eye for the value of Black art

By Devorah Crable

14 6 Pigment news and events

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the artists

Frank Frazier An Elder Statesman of the Arts

by Patricia Andrews-Keenan 16 Fabiola jean-louis A Creator rewrites Herstory

by Patricia Andrews-Keenan 20 Pigment artists add color to our World

by Patricia Andrews-Keenan

32 Gerald Griffen

Artist creates works of monumental size and meaning

By Alexy Irving

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the Gallerists 39 Soraya Sheppard

The new color of Africa By devorah crable

44 September Grey

Letting passion fuel your collecting By september grey

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47 Art Investment interests with Eric mckissack By devorah crable

49 TED Ellis

Artist to shape celebration of 400 years of African American History

by Patricia Andrews-Keenan 51 Alain Leroy Lock The Philosopher Who Believed That Art Was Key to Black Liberation

by Patricia Andrews-Keenan Winter 201 8/2019

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pigment

from the editor

about Pigment The Magazine up front pigment

Pigment The Magazine presents the arts, culture and innovation through a multi-cultural lens. With compelling interviews, stunning photography and the best of what’s happening now, we bring you the who, the what and the why from multi-cultural creators of all stripes. Published twice a year, Pigment The Magazine, is where the conversations start. Join us to engage! Get a glimpse by visiting www.pigment-intl.net.

Interested in being one of our content creators? E-mail us at info@pigment-intl.com

art • innovation • curation Winter 2018/2019 • volume 1 - number 1

Executive Editor

Patricia Andrews-Keenan

Deputy Editor

Devorah Crable

Creative Director

Raymond A. Thomas Photo by Rodney Wright

Associate Creative Director Minnie Watkins

Contributing Writers

Patricia Andrews-Keenan Devorah Crable September Gray Moleska Smith Alexy Irving

Photographers/Videographers

Joe Jones Tony Smith Madison Wilds Burger

Director of Partnership Marketing Karen L.E. Weddington

Chief Brand Officer Devorah Crable

Chief Financial Officer Phyliss North

Digital Marketing Director Lesley Etherly

On-Line Platform Director Trey Brady

Jan Carpenter

Chief Curator Martha Wade

Promotions Manager Roe Melloe

Digital Edition available at www.pigmentintl.com Follow @Pigment Multicultural Art on

Subscription Price –$25 Annual Order at www.pigmentintl.com 4

ART • I N N OVAT I O N • C U RAT I O N

or years I’ve subscribed to the axiom, I don’t know anything about art but I know what I like. And for me what I liked were pieces that told a story of who I was. Not who I was as an individual, but who the “collective I” was in the context of being a person of color. The “art” on my walls growing up consisted of a picture of Jesus, MLK and John F. Kennedy. I lacked any arts education or awareness. When I got to Grambling State University, I saw my first sculpture honoring an African American, Grambling’s founder Charles P. Adams. When I got my first apartment I remember a commercial offering a set of posters from the U.S. government that featured art by African American, women and Latino artists, including Works Progress Act (WPA) era works. I ordered them for just $10, and when they arrived there were prints of Jacob Lawrence, Annie Lee, and Varnetta Honeywood. They opened up a whole new world for me in terms of art and artists. Who were these people and where had they been all my life?

Later I discovered antique markets where, if you put in some time and effort, you could find sheet music, postcards and other memorabilia that spoke to the African American experience. These items I quickly scooped up and framed. My most important find was a picture entitled, “Me Warm Now,” an abolitionist piece produced in England and shared in America. I purchased the piece on layaway and it still holds pride of place in my home today.

When I began to travel to other locales I sought out art that featured people of color, like the female nude I found in a Paris flea market and the pieces I found in Bahia and Martinique.

I began to explore auction houses and remember the day I came across a poster from the 1940 Negro World’s Fair and Exhibition in Chicago. What an eye-opener. Around this time, I was introduced to the South Side Community Art Center (SSCAC), the longest surviving African American Arts Center in the country, founded during the WPA. The pieces started to fall together. The Center’s Gallery walls were pocked by the nail holes of every exhibit that ever hung there. Works by Elizabeth Catlett, Charles White, Gordon Parks, Eldzier Cortor and countless other African American artistic giants. I’d found my artistic home.

WINTER 2018

PIGMENT INTL

DECEMBER 2018

“WAK” Artist Talk Pigment, Int’l, the multi-cultural arts collective hosted artist Kevin Williams for an Artist’s Talk at Connect Gallery in Hyde Park, that covered his life and career from his start at age 15 on Chicago’s Historic East 87th Street Black Business District, drawing and painting images for clothing boutiques and hair salons. At 19, he became a cosmetology illustrator for Soft Sheen hair products which eventually led to a commission from Alberto Culver USA, to create “Standing Appointment” which depicts four women under hair dryers, for their Motions hair care line. It is regarded as the most popular art image in the history of the hair care industry.

Williams was commissioned by comedian Bernie Mac to create over 20 original pieces, one of which was a gift to Oprah Winfrey and now hangs in the lobby of Winfrey’s Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

But even more I began to meet artists and began to understand their motivation and how their love of African American culture inspired them to create their work. I began to understand the significance of the medias they use and the techniques they employed. It was from this knowledge that Pigment International was born. At Pigment what we know for sure is that our art tells our stories. From the messages sewn into quilts to help guide runaways; to primitive folk art created by slaves; to works that tout our cultural significance and celebrate our sheroes and heroes. We at Pigment know that while African American art may be trending, it has and never will be trendy.

We are thrilled to present this first issue of Pigment the Magazine. Because we believe in the symbiotic relationships between the artist, the curator and the collector, the magazine is organized to highlight each of them. Their stories, like Pigment, are a ‘collective’ designed to showcase the African American contribution to the art world.

– Patricia Andrews-Keenan Winter 201 8/2019

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Evanston SummerFest The 38th Annual Evanston Chamber Artisan SummerFest Festival, is the North Shore’s largest and oldest fine art fair. Pigment International curated a show featuring our 11 artists, who were all in attendance and able to interact with collectors. In the end we sold to a cross section of art collectors and delivered some larger pieces to them after the event.

PIGMENT INTERNATIONAL TEAM (L to R) – Phyliss North, Devorah Crable, Patricia Andrews-Keenan, Lesley Etherly, Karen Weddington, Trey Brady. (Below) some on the pigment artist squad, (L to R) James Nelson, Jason E. Jones, P Blake Lenoir, Raymond A. Thomas, Roe Melloe, and Paul Branton.

Photos by: Joe Jones

Social Media Manager

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PREMIER ISSUE!

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news and events

#AWOMANSWORK Exhibition Hyatt Corporate Headquarters PIGMENT Int’l showcased #AWOMANSWORK at the Hyatt Corporation headquarters during Women’s History Month.

The exhibit featured 10 women artists from various backgrounds, ages and working in various mediums including paint, acrylic, collage and photography.

The exhibit was on display for the month of March in a high traffic area of the corporation, and works were available for sale. The culmination of the exhibit was an Artist’s Talk featuring the #AWOMANSWORK artists. The moderated discussion was live-streamed to Facebook and filmed for airing on Pigment Television.

Additionally, the event was taped for WGN’s podcast ChiPedia.

Pigment International’s inaugural year took the team and our premier artists across Chicagoland, across the country and even across the ocean to the 20th Anniversary of Art Paris. Pigment hosted art salons, participated in exhibitions and held our first annual event “Art on the Avenue.”

Pigment-Intl Art on the Avenue fundraiser had something for everyone PIGMENT intl. the artists’ collective, celebrated its Chicago debut with a “curated art experience” “Art on the Avenue” on August 16 at “The Club“.

The venue offered the attendees spectacular Chicago skyline vistas, from the ninth floor of the Chicago Symphony Center. During the event the organization revealed plans for the Pigment International Fine Art’s Tour (PIFAT) beginning with Art Miami/Art Basel 2018. The curated celebration included an art exhibition featuring PIGMENT Intl’s founding member artists Paul Branton, Gerald Griffin, Jason E. Jones, Blake Lenoir, James Nelson, Dana Todd Pope, Pearlie Taylor, Raymond A. Thomas, Martha Wade, Minnie Watkins and Reisha Williams. Other highlights included a live and silent auction. Collectors, both seasoned and new, vied for works by the Pigment artists with prices soaring to over $2K. Pigment featured two works by one of its newest artists and both were snapped up by the same collector. This speaks to Pigment’s mission to champion African American art and artists at every level of their career. Cuisine was catered

by Blue Plate Catering, appropriately paired with exquisite wine and spirit selections from Duke of Earl Wines and Monaco. Music was provided by nationally syndicated AfroBeats DJ Sheila O. A moveable feast of the arts Art Paris Art Fair 2018 In April the Pigment, Int’l team attended the Art Paris Art Fair, held at the Grand Palais. Art Paris is the leading modern and contemporary spring art event. The 2018 showed played host to 142 galleries presenting more than 990 artists from 73 countries providing an overview of European art from the post-war years to the current day, while leaving room for the new horizons of international creation from Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Diversity and discovery were the key words of this leading springtime event, combining region-by-region exploration of European art from the post-war years to the present day, and a cosmopolitan perspective on emerging scenes from around the world. The Pigment team was invited by the founders of Art Premium Magazine, an international arts publication based in Paris. Corinne Timsit is the co-founder/chief editor and her husband Eric Bonici serves as creative director.

Smart Museum at the University of Chicago PIGMENT intl., the artists’ collective, in conjunction with the SMART MUSEUM’S Exhibit “Expanding Narratives: The Figure and the Ground,” hosted another in its series of “Salon Talks” that examine the depth, breadth and global impact of the Black aesthetic, in particular; and, the creative expressions of all people of color.

Entitled Artistic Cognitive Dissonance: The ART OF REPRESENTATION the panel members were Monique Meloche, owner Monique Meloche Gallery, and international recognized Ghanaian artist Solomon Adufah. The panel was moderated by WGN Radio host Dometi Pongo.

Artist Solomon Adufah Gallerist Monique Melouche

Pigment artists create protest posters to fight social injustice

Jason E. Jones

Minnie Watkins

Raymond A. Thomas

Paul Branton

Eric Bonici, Publisher and Corinne Timsit, Chief Editor of Paris-based Art Premium Magazine 6

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Photo by: Saddi Khali Photography © Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau — The Official Destination Sales & Marketing Organization for Greater Miami and the Beaches.// CS-02755

Frank Frazier

FIND YOUR INNER ART CRITIC AD

the artists

How an elder statesman of African American art stays in touch with his inner cultural activist

By Patricia Andrews-Keenan

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rtist Frank Felix Frazier remembers his “woke” moment very clearly. It happened when he was serving as a paratrooper in Vietnam in 1967. Sgt. Frazier was recovering from injuries sustained in a prior battle when his entire troop was wiped out during the intense and controversial Battle of Hamburger Hill. “I was in the hospital for two months, otherwise I would have been there,” he remembers. “I had to identify a lot of them.”

Although he had volunteered for the military, he did it under pressure to escape an equally oppressive system back in the states. For a time, Frank was in the Warwick State Training School for Boys (boy’s reformatory), and military service was considered an honorable exit strategy. But when he saw that his service required him to kill other ‘people of color’ he became a resistor, albeit one whose only escape from the Vietnam quagmire were the wounds he suffered. “I became a black man in Vietnam, I woke up,” the Purple Heart recipient offers.

Celebrate art, culture and diversity year-round at Art of Black events throughout Miami’s neighborhoods and communities.

His work portrays a chronology of our struggles from lunch counter sit-ins to the presentday upheavals of a country struggling with identity politics.

He laughs a lot, as if the trajectory of his life from troublemaker to revered artist amuses even him. He is brutally honest and his language is often peppered with profanity. His work has that same honest quality, offering a look at the harshest realities of the lives of African Americans.

His work portrays a chronology of our struggles from lunch counter sitins to the present-day upheavals of a country struggling with identity politics. Yet it also depicts the vibrancy and nobility of the culture.

What else will you find? Start your discovery at ArtofBlackMiami.com

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Frazier’s son, Frank Jr. vividly remembers traveling with his father to the Greenwich Village Art shows on weekends in the early 70s. “Our family would spend the weekend in our van driving to the Greenwich and sometimes to shows as far away as Boston. Frazier, Jr. also remembers the artists that frequented their home when he was a child, among them Romare Bearden. It is around this time that collectors took interest in the senior Frazier’s work, among them pro athletes Wilt Chamberlin and Walt Frazier, former Essence editor Susan Taylor and African politician Kwame Nkrumah. pigment intl

Frazier’s work portrays a chronology of the struggles of African Americans from lunch counter sit-ins to the present-day upheavals linked to identity politics.

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It was after divorcing and moving to Dallas, Texas in 1978, that Frazier finally moved to creating art full time. In the process, he built an international community that has supported him for nearly 40 years.

In the 80s Frazier began traveling to Africa, where he collects artifacts, fabrics, masks and even the soil of the motherland to incorporate into his work. He uses swatches of vibrantly colored Kente cloth and figurines from countries including Senegal, Ghana, the Upper Volta, and artifacts from the Ashanti tribe in his collages that are highly sought after by collectors. During his travels to the continent, he has also mentored African artists and paved the way for them to exhibit in the U.S. Frazier’s current work is a series of paintings on the civil rights movement. He immersed himself in the movement by taking road trips

His belief in his responsibility to mentor and support other artists is deep and abiding. to Southern cities that were pivotal to the struggle for equal rights; Jackson, Mississippi to Birmingham, Alabama, to Selma, to Tuskegee.

About 10 years prior to creating the series he was in an antique shop and picked up a bottle of Griffin brand shoe polish and thought he could, in his words, “Do some s--- with this.” He mixed the show polish with India ink and the series was born. “The shoeshine guys were the ones who got the news and spread it across the city,” he offers. The works depict sit-ins at lunch counters, marches, protests and even dogs and hoses being used on demonstrators.

It’s clear that during the arc of his lifelong career as an artist Frazier has picked up not just collectors but friends who all speak of his generosity Frazier has been working with collage on and off for years, incorporating pieces he picks up during his trips to Africa. He uses swatches of vibrantly colored Kenté cloth and figurines from countries such as Ghana and Upper Volta, and from the Ashanti tribe. Pictured this page ‘Aisha’ and opposite page ‘Omari.’

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the artists

Frazier’s company is called “Visions in Black Gallery”, and is run by his wife, Judy. Exhibitions of his art include shows at the African American Museum, Hempstead, New York; Armour J. Blackburn Gallery, Howard University, Washington, D.C.; Martin Luther King Jr. Library, Dallas; and the Brooklyn Museum.

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of spirit and caring. His belief in his responsibility to mentor and support other artists is deep and abiding. He sponsors artists to attend shows where they otherwise would not be able to afford to exhibit; he opens his home to them and consistently offers advice and encouragement. Artist Paul Harris says it is because of Frank’s tutelage that his work is in the African American Museum, Dallas. “If it were not for Frank I would have ended up working in the medical field and being unhappy,” he reflects.

Thomas Joyner, Jr., president and CEO of the Tom Joyner Foundation says that for all his renown as an artist Frazier remains a humble person who wants students to stay in school. “He embraces the philosophy of the Foundation and consistently donates his work or does commissions.” Frazier was also instrumental in the creation of the South West

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Black Fine Arts at the African American Museum, Dallas. There he exhibits alongside other artistic giants like Woodrow Nash, Verna Hart and African artist Sam Osumba, who says Frazier guided him in the art business, teaching him how to connect and sell his work. “I was looking for guidance and he made himself available to me,” he offers. “Because of him, I’m a better artist and a better person.”

Those who know Frazier consider him a senior statesman of black art, who was always motivated by the love of black history and culture. Frazier serves up life’s wisdom as well as beautiful art; he offers this, “When life gets you down and you feel no one is helping you achieve your goals, remember this, even when somebody has their foot up your behind, you are still in front, you can still make it!”

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the artists Jean-Louis’ paper gown sculpture series speaks to the shocking treatment of Blacks throughout history, and the trauma inflicted on their bodies as juxtaposed with the abstract idea of black freedom.

By Patricia Andrews-Keenan

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abiola Jean-Louis is experiencing what insurance companies refer to as a life event. The Haitian born, mixed media artist and photographer is in the midst of moving both her life and her studio from Brooklyn to the Bronx. She is a new mom, and soon to be married. Yet she is creating, readying projects for 2019 near her new home.

Fabiola Jean-Louis

Memory and shared destiny woven into Haitian creator’s rewriting of history

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Jean-Louis has been on an extraordinary journey with what she terms her ‘time travel” series “Rewriting History: Paper Gowns and Photography” that explores the dark truths in history through photography and mixed-media art. The artist subverts chattel slavery and black cruelty by dressing black and brown women in period clothing modeled after that worn by female European nobility between the 15th – 19th centuries.

Look closely at her intricately woven creations, and you come to two realizations. First, the stories within the dresses themselves and second that the mixed media pieces are made of paper. In the detail on one dress you can see the iconic photograph of the whip-scarred back of the runaway slave Gordon. In another piece you see a beautiful young woman clad in a gown but in the background is a blood red moon and two white aristocrats sexually abusing a Black woman. Look closely at the exquisite detail on a third and it depicts a hanging with roses covering the branches of a tree. Captivating yet horrifying!

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the artists

“The series speaks to the shocking treatment of Blacks throughout history and the trauma inflicted on their bodies as juxtaposed with the abstract idea of black freedom,” Jean-Louis shares. “Simultaneously, it engages with a vision of the future – one of hope, resilience, and justice.” Rewriting History is a lifelong project for the artist, with each piece taking at least a month to do. Yet she continuously entertains new ideas and has other projects she wants to create.

The artist’s creativity has many iterations, and she has served as both her own muse and model beginning with a turn at the High School of the Fashion Industries where she studied costuming, design and photography. Later she went into pre-med. “First and foremost, I am a storyteller,” Jean-Louis offers. “What that means is my work is never going to be one thing.”

“Rewriting History” marries all Jean-Louis’ artistic outputs and she says was a natural transition. “Before photography, I was working with costuming and using materials like duct tape, both because of budget constraints, but also it allowed me to experiment.” She also felt paper was appropriate especially as she thought about the power it wields in our lives. “For instance, the U.S. Constitution is written on paper, and while we don’t think about the material itself, that one piece of paper is held in the highest regard in our society.” She says that by the time she conceived of “Rewriting History” the more she felt that paper was the way to go.

All her work is informed by her Haitian culture which is steeped in magic, mysticism, and Voodoo. “Memory is important, it’s important to remember what happened,” which is Jean-Louis’ riff on the saying ‘if you don’t know where you come from you can’t know where you’re going.’ “It’s all a part of a shared destiny,” she offers. It’s hard to know where it begins and ends, but it is all there.”

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Congratulations to the

This striking gown is featured in Jean-Louis’ photographic work entitled ‘They’ll Say We Enjoyed it.’

South Side Community Art Center for its inclusion on

The National Register of Historic Places The United States Department of the Interior and its designation as a

Fabiola

National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Thank you for keeping African American art history alive 18

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Meet The Artists of Pigment International

By Patricia Andrews-Keenan

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[pig-muhnt - V. to acquire color]

IGMENT is one of those unique words that can be a noun meaning ‘dye’, or ‘paint,’ or it can be a verb meaning to ‘adorn’, or ‘to color’. In the case of Pigment International® the multi-cultural art collective, we see pigment as a verb meaning to ‘acquire color.’

What we’ve seen in the art space, especially over the past decade, is that collector’s all over the world are acquiring color in the form of works by artists of the Diaspora. The headlines tell the story.

“Black artists shatter multiple records in $392.3 Million Sotheby’s Sale, Artsy, May 2018 “African American artists shatter art world expectations at auction,” Caroline Christie, May 2018

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But, like neighborhoods in some of the preeminent cities across the county, where has this ‘artistic gentrification’ left artists, curators, and collectors of color. The works snapped up for auction at these stratospheric prices are less than a fraction of what the artists receive. In Chicago, institutions have cashed in on this boom by selling works previously purchased for public spaces. It was only through the intervention of Kerry James Marshall that his mural in a library on the Chicago’s economically challenged west side was saved from the “auction block” and left as an inspiration for young black youth. The curatorial teams, at even primarily African American focused institutions, are not always representative of the work they are curating. What we know for sure is that the narrative of multi-cultural art cannot be expressed, nor its history written, without our voices represented. pigment intl

PIGMENT, International® is a multi-media art collective promoting multicultural art, culture, and innovation. Our mission is to create unique spaces for connection and conversation among artists, gallerists, curators and collectors. Pigment is about bringing those constituents together in a celebration of multi-cultural art and providing avenues for multi-cultural creators to define for themselves high art and culture.

PIGMENT has been created to encourage art, not just as an aesthetic medium, but also as a source of cultural preservation - one that perpetuates beauty and creates value. Our goal is to create inclusiveness while embracing the uniqueness of the multi-cultural art experience. Our seasoned artists are mentors who embrace the next generation of artists and help pave the way for their pigment intl

success and longevity in the arts. Our emerging artists are pushing the boundary of what art is and how it’s created. Together they make PIGMENT a unique place for artistic expression and creation.

PIGMENT International’s founding member artists Paul Branton, Gerald Griffin, Jason E. Jones, Blake Lenoir, James Nelson, Dana Todd Pope, Pearlie Taylor, Raymond A. Thomas, Martha Wade, Minnie Watkins, and Reisha Williams. We thank them for coming along on this amazing ride to change the conversation about multi-cultural art. Please enjoy their amazing work featured in this inaugural issue of Pigment, the Magazine. If you don’t know them, you will, and if you are familiar with their work just hang on because the change has come.

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The Artists of Pigment - (L to R) - Pearline Taylor, B. Len, Jason E. Jones, Martha Wade, James Nelson, Paul Branton, Reisha Williams, Minnie Watkins, Dana Todd Pope and Raymond A. Thomas 21

the artists

Ferrari Sheppard “Formation Fleur Del Sel”

“As artists it is difficult to wear all of those hats and create the art. Pigment is a piece of the puzzle that has always been missing.”

–Danna Todd Pope

Martha Wade – “Brave Lily” 22

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Dana Todd Pope – “Pretty (For A Dark Girl) ” pigment intl

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the artists

Paul Branton - “Improv Jazz”

“Pigment - Color, artists of color, movement, these brilliant individuals who sharpen each other.”

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–Paul Branton

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the artists

Reisha Williams – “Dear John”

Raymond A. Thomas – “godzilla VS the dragon”

“This brand (Pigment) is so important, because we as artists have been trying to do this for a while - expand our practices to a collector base, to an exhibition base, this is a big thing,” –Raymond A. Thomas

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“Pigment generates quality opportunities for artists to showcase their talents.

We have a comradery that allows us to draw from each other, while letting our individual styles come through. It feels like family.”

–Minnie Watkins

B. Len – “Radiant K.O.”

Minnie Watkin’s – “King”

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Jason E. Jones – “Be Like Misty”

“I hope that with the celebration of artists that represent the African aesthetic, whether from the continent or diaspora, that we’re taken out of this category, this box, and that we’re allowed to also to live in the mainstream,” –Wanjiru Kamuyu, Paris based choreographer and collaborator to artist Evans Mbugua

James Nelson – “AsA” 30

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the artists

Artist Gerald Griffin

By Alexy Irving

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rtist Gerald Griffin stands 6’4” tall, and weighs 238 pounds, certainly a commanding figure. But even more imposing are the outsize canvases Griffin, the winner of Pigment International’s “Arts Innovator” Award, creates, some of which were recently on display at Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church. The pieces appeared to have been specifically created for the imposing Gothic Revival building. But the themes of his work differ markedly from other ecclesiastical works portraying a European artistic sensibility. Through the efforts of Robert A. Crouch, director of volunteer ministry and a collector of Griffin’s work that will change with the addition of a commissioned work by Griffin to the church’s collection. The yet to be created work will be housed in the church’s Loggia Sanctuary.

works are monumental in size, and meaning

Griffin shared how his studies and travels have informed his work, citing inspirations as varied as Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo’s ‘Pieta’ housed in the Vatican. Griffin’s namesake piece depicts Travon Martin as the crucified Christ, being cradled in the arms of his mother Sybrina Fulton. A hawk flies overhead, representing the spirit animal that will capture the young man’s soul, taking it to another plane.

His latest series, “Paradigm Shift - Ambiguous Reflections on Race and Identity - A Question of Color,” represents the evolution of the work of the painter, sculptor and poet. “My practice has evolved to include the verbal, the visual and the tactile as a means of expression to stimulate social interactions,” Griffin says. “This work is my attempt to spark a creative conversation and answers to questions about the deeper meaning of life.”

Gerald Griffin’s work is hauntingly realistic with hidden layers of meaning.

Featured (left to right) “White Horse,” “Pieta,” “Skin Deep” (Boy in Water) and “To The Sky.”

Griffin’s work depicts the African American experience from the Middle Passage to the board room. He works in a variety of mediums and styles, depicting emotionally intense figures in urban environments, dynamic geometrical shapes and hidden layers of underlying images within a unique cubist composition, to historically provocative scenes from the Black experience in America that both uplift and haunt the viewer.

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the collectors

Russell Goings One collector’s journey to understanding the value of African American history

By Patricia Andrews-Keenan

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or those who are monied, you cannot tell me you have a collection that means something, and it does not include African American art.” So, says entrepreneur, author, art historian, dealer and collector Russell Goings. “Further, you can’t be a major institution and say you are exclusive.”

Goings stands as one of the largest private collectors of works by Romare Bearden of anyone in the world, followed closely by his collection of works by Charles White. Bearden became extremely influential in Goings’ life and the two spent nearly every day together for 12 years roaming bookstores, museums and discussing a wide range of literature and art, until Bearden’s death in 1988. Goings recorded much of their time together in notebooks and hours of audio recordings. From the first collage Bearden created, to the last, Goings’ collection includes numerous rarely seen drawings and sketches.

When asked about being a collector Going shares, “Being a collector is constantly being defined and redefined. Some people are accumulators, some collectors are active, some are passive; some just put pieces on their walls and over a period of time they have a body of work, and that body of work is called a collection. They do well, but don’t do much to generate interest in any specific artists. It seems to me that one of the paths to creating wealth is to collect art, but you must understand what goes into being a collector.”

Goings talks a lot about ‘moving the decimal point to the right,’ his euphemism for increasing the value of your collection. “You need to be

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able to have certain entities involved in what you’re doing, be they gallerists or dealers to help put your collection together.”

It was his early support of the Studio Museum in Harlem and his tenure as one of its first chairmen that led to his association with some of the greatest artists of our time – White, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence and of course Bearden.

“I kind of fell into it (art collecting). I was the first chairman of the Studio Museum Harlem and while I had an appreciation, art to me was a mystery. He got the answer he says by taking classes. “After coming to the Studio Museum, I got to understand the mechanism that drive the appreciation of art. If I can frame a piece of art and then get someone to write about it, it has value. And if I can put it in a museum it has more value. We tend to forget the commercial notion of art, and that if I can take a piece from one or two dollars and eventually have that work worth millions I have now created value.”

The former New York City stockbroker knows from whence he speaks.

He led the Harlem branch of investment firm Shearson, Hammill & Co. to become the most profitable in the company. He eventually took ownership of that branch turning it into First Harlem Securities, one of the first African American firms to earn a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. Goings also raised the capital to launch Essence Magazine and served as its first chairman.

Russell Goings has lived many lives, as a professional athlete, Wall Street pioneer, author and first African American Chair of the Studio Museum in Harlem. Here he is pictured next to Charles White’s “On My Way to Canaan.”

(Opposite Page) - Russell Goings on the cover of Black Enterprise Magazine October, 1970

Now 86, Goings understands what it takes to continually move the decimal point to the right. “We need not just create the narrative, we need to own it. And if we own it we need to embellish it, if we can embellish the narrative you can begin to create the opportunity to move the decimal point to the right. History is worth something,” he concludes. “We tend to give it away. But when you embrace the business aspects you create mechanisms to create wealth.” pigment intl

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international profile of both established and emerging Black American artists is a strong indicator of how the American Black aesthetic is valued globally.

the collectors

Diane Carr

Carr is excited that Black art in all of its forms is increasingly internationally accepted by “high-art” institutions from the social practice installation work by Theaster Gates, to comic-book styled images from emerging artist Hebru Brantley and the stylized interpretations of Black life by MacArthur fellow and Black arts activist Kerry James Marshall.

Appaising The Value of Black Art

The inclusion, to-date, remains an anomaly according to Carr who concurs with and supports the Kerry James Marshall movement to have the art world embrace and institutionalize Black art as “indispensable” and “undeniable”.

by Devorah Crable

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iane Dinkins-Carr, a second generation and lifelong community arts advocate/activist, is now in high demand as a member of America’s elite group of powerful art appraisers. She is among a dozen African-Americans who determine the value and high culture ranking of art. It’s a role she “fell into” when she couldn’t find a Black appraiser to evaluate the personal collection she built with her husband, BET executive, Louis Carr. Their insurance company accepted an appraisal done by independent gallery owner and artist Samuel Akainyah.

Intrigued by the extensive research process required for an accurate appraisal and recognizing the scarcity of Blacks in the industry, she decided to fill the void. “Business is bombing,” says Carr who commands upwards of $250 an hour to appraise personal or museum donated collections for insurance or replacement value.

“The majority of those who determine “in” are White and it is a subjective decision.” says Carr.

“Economics keeps Blacks out of the game because it it too costly be an agent, Blacks are not on the boards of large art institutions nor can we afford to network and socialize at the required level which means we lack access to the influencers and decision makers.”

In addition, the economy has forced the closure of several Black owned galleries creating another space for non-Blacks to determine what Black art is showcased. Carr is also curi-

ous about how an under-current of race identity politics in the art world will impact the inclusion debate.

“Many Black artists are opting to drop their black identity and be considered an “artist” without the race qualifier,” said Carr. “They prefer to be identified based on the quality of their chosen genre, not their race.”

Who buys and collects an artists’ work can immediately impact the value of the art and enhance the artist’s name recognition. Celebrities like music industry power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce are now collecting art and people want to know who is in their collection. Hebru Brantley boasts as collectors, entrepreneur Matthew Prtizker and Jay-Z who purchased a Brantley for $20,000 in 2012. His work now sells for over $100,00.

“Celebrity attachment works!” says Carr. “And the millennial voice matters. That demo is not buying art at a good volume but their opinion can make a difference.”

Diane’s move into the higher echelon of the art world allows her to advance her “God given mission to nurture emerging artists and to promote the value of Black art”. It’s the young artists that she works with at the South Side Community Art Center (S.C.A.C.) that fuel her passion to serve artists and champion Black art causes.

Diane assumes this coveted roll as an appraiser at a time when investment in Black art is reaching unprecedented levels. A benchmark event that ignited interest in Black art was February 6th, 2007 at Swann Galleries when the nation witnessed the first auction devoted entirely to African-American fine art. According to published reports, the sale yielded over $2.3 million and 17 record prices were achieved for works by significant African-American artists.

“I was awestruck appraising a collection of over 500 pieces of African Art that took four months to complete. It was then that I understood the power and importance of my work, and knew that all Black art should be documented like Monet or Van Gogh”.

“I begged for money to keep the doors open just like my predecessor, Margaret Burroughs, whose ‘begging’ on the radio irritated me as a child.”

Growing up, Diane attended the center and learned the art business from her parents, who were active in the Chicago arts community.

Her father, Fitzhugh Dinkins, is recognized in the Smithsonian Museum as a leading Black Graphic Designer and her Mother, Tina, received a degree from the Art Institute of Chicago in fashion design. Being an art community insider since birth had its advantages.

“The community needs to see Black art, and the kids need to come in there and experience the history of not only the early masters, but the struggle that artists have today to get their art shown”.

Diane Carr stands as a source of inspiration for the community and a force to be reckoned with in the art world. Her message is simple and clear: Celebrate, document, revere and BUY Black art.

Today, major art galleries and museums seek Black artists to diversify their collections, according to Carr. The high pigment intl

“Art investment is like investing in the stock market. Buy low with the expectation of a long-term high return.”

An educator at heart, Diane believes “knowledge is power”. She readily shares all that she has learned from school and the life lessons learned from her parents with her students and next generation of art purveyors.

Current Black art investment trends are encouraging, but Carr says issues of exclusion still exist. This fact was experienced first hand in her certification class, over ten years ago, on 19th century art where the instructors failed to include Black artists.

“I asked why the great Black art masters such as Robert Duncanson, Edmonia Lewis, Edward Bannister and Henry Tanner were not included since African-American art is considered American art and these artists made incredible contributions”. By the next class they were included.

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Carr’s Collecting Tips: 1. Buy what you like, 2. Seek affordable mid-career emerging promising artists 3. Consider a collection genre or theme i.e. water color, photography, women

“They taught me all of the tricks of the trade.

I can spot a fake based on the artist’s signature or the smell of the canvas.” Her art pedigree provides her personal access to the industry’s movers and shakers--gallery owners and patrons she needs to network with as an appraiser and local art activist.

In this environment, after receiving Fine and Decorative Art Appraising Certificates from Northwestern University and the American Society of Appraisers, Carr was immediately hired to appraise both modest and robust collections from coast to coast.

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The SSCAC, founded by artist and philanthropist Dr. Margaret Burroughs, opened in 1941 to provide artists with a place to create and showcase their work. The Center, established as a Work Project Administration (WPA) Center under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, has experienced high and low periods over the years, but it thrived under Diane Carr’s engagement and leadership as board president (1998-2011).

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the gallerists

ad Soraya Sheppard at Harlem Fine Arts Show Chicago 2017

Soraya Sheppard The New Color of Africa

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by Devorah Crable

he flint needed to re-ignite the spirit of this beleaguered South African freedom fighter came direct from the anti-apartheid movement’s leader, Nelson Mandela, during a visit to Washing-ton, DC following his 1990 release from prison. Standing among a select group of expatriates, exiles and refugees Soraya Sheppard accepted the challenge from South Africa’s iconic liber-ator to “do something to rebuild our homeland.”

She was awestruck seeing, for the first time in-person, the man who inspired her to fight for a new South Africa where all are treated equally.

It was the same man whose name she could not speak under threat of imprisonment while growing up. The same man who frequented her grandfather’s popular supper club with Winnie Mandela and other law-

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yers, activists, artists, poets and writers over the years. She did not know then that the amalgamation of her life ex-periences and those of her family would evolve into her personal Color Me Africa movement.

Soraya was compelled to leave South Africa with her husband, Nathaniel Sheppard Jr., a pho-tographer with the Chicago Tribune, desiring to raise her family in a free society. She also feared eminent arrest for sharing censored information about the destructive activities of the oppressive apartheid government. As a newspaper advertising sales manager, she understood the power of print media and decided to import the truth as reported by the international press. In intimate salon settings, she shared newspaper articles and images about atrocities occurring in South Africa that she acquired from visiting international journalists

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the gallerists

Maizemeal Mieliemeel Madonna by Lioda Conrad

and during personal trips to Europe.

“My best friend, Pearl Luthuli with City Press, was a popular South African journalist who showed me horrific images of the 1976 Revolt where peaceful student demonstrators were senselessly gunned down. I did not know about the event because of censorship laws. It was in that moment that I decided to take action.”

It was two and a half decades later that Soraya decided to return to South Africa after raising three children in the United States. Visiting a pop-up street art exhibition in Johannesburg, her “mission and vocation” to serve and promote South African artists became clear.

“I saw artists and artisans lining the streets with magnificent works of art and I wanted the world to know about this work,” says Soraya. “It breaks my heart to now know that I never had an opportunity to know about these wonderful, self-taught artists and their contributions and their incredible stories.”

Soraya is a passionate art collector whose son, Nathaniel Sheppard, III, is a well-trained world traveled emerging artist. Soraya says her son reminds her of how “unconscionably daunting” life was for artists under the apartheid system. Nonwhite South Africans were not allowed to study art or develop their skills as artists. As a result, many were secretly self-taught.

“There is no place for [the African] in the European community above the level of certain forms of labour. It is of no avail for him to receive a training which has as its aim, absorption in the European community” H.F. Verwoerd, architect of the Bantu Education Act (1953).

(Mandela image ) Ndabuko Ntuii

It enraged her to hear how, today, white South African art dealers where exploiting the artists by not paying them fair val-

“Each artist (in the collection) has a strong perspective that points to South Africa’s new “Rainbow Nation” and the possibilities for our homeland’s future.”

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ue for their work and how residual apartheid laws “banning interra-cial mingling” still force Black artists to stand outside gallery openings that showcase their work.

“Those in the ‘liberal minded’ arts community attempt to accommodate Black artists but more is needed to protect the best interests of artists who, oftentimes, are under educated, do not speak English and lack the sophistication to mange the business of art.”

Soraya’s personal experience of being exploited as a young model fuels her passion to help artists today. She was paid a mere $15 to grace the cover of a prominent South African maga-zine 30 years ago.

“I remember being happy to be accepted by whites as a featured model with my look but in hind site it was abusive, exploitative and unacceptable. I can not allow it to happen again.”

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the galleries deeply touched and transformed as a result of apartheid,” says Soraya Sheppard, Color Me Africa founder.

The current collection includes works by 14 multi-cultural artists, primarily women, representing multiple regions of South Africa. Four hail from Soraya’s home township of Alexandra.

The quiet imagery and muted color tones of their apartheid era work contrasts with the vibrant and colorful images of the post-apartheid artists.

“Focus is given to the voice of women artists black, colored and white - because South Africa finally recognizes the historical disenfranchised existence of women and our current power and capacity to transform the nation.”

Soraya points to the work of Bongi Benga a young emerging artist who explores power and beauty among diverse ethnicities of women. Her themes range from abstract interpretations of the female body to detailed figures of the late Winnie Mandela.

“Each artist has a strong perspective that points to South Africa’s new “Rainbow Nation” and the possibilities for our homeland’s future.”

Color Me Africa aims to provide talented African artists with an opportunity to showcase their work at exhibitions across the world, without the constant threat of exploitation by unscrupulous art dealers. For more information and to support, Color Me Africa visit: http://www. colormeafrica.us

Song of Freedom by Jemirro

Untitled by Premila Singh

Equally “unacceptable” says Soraya is a movement to reclaim apartheid era art that was shipped out of the country buy diplomats and the wealthy who could not keep black produced art in their possession under the apartheid regimen. Soraya, appalled by the massive amount of Black South African art being warehoused by white collectors turned her anger into action - again.

Soraya formed the not-for profit organization - Color Me Africa - to respond to the Black artist crisis in South Africa and to promote the value of their work globally. She has exhibited 22 works of art by five artists in the US and negotiated arrangements for four Black South African artists to come to Chicago to celebrate South Africa’s Liberation Day with the South African Consulate and to attend the African Festival of the Arts, one of Chicago’s largest culturally based destination events.

Today Soraya, of mixed heritage, has expanded her vision to include African artists of all races, colors, ethnicities and genders to fully embrace Nelson Mandela’s vision of a free and open homeland for all South Afri42

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can people. The expansion also honors her home township of Alex-andra an impoverished culturally diverse community where separation from whites was the norm. She did not know life was different until she traveled beyond the tyranny of apartheid to areas of southern Africa where integration was allowed and to Europe where she first witnessed white street sweepers and bathroom attendants. A sharp contrast to the reality she lived. Now she lives liberated and desires to encourage others to live free and enjoy open expression through art.

THE COLOR ME AFRICA COLLECTION The Color Me Africa collection reflects the post-apartheid arts movement and advances the country’s commitment to freedom leader Nelson Mandela’s vision of a unified homeland.

“This unique collection articulates the arc of the apartheid experience from inception of the repressive government to freedom and beyond through the eyes of artists who lived through the oppression or were pigment intl

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the gallerists

The Business of Can art still be an object of passion?

Art

by September Grey

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September Gray, owner September Gray Fine Art Gallery

ith the financial markets so volatile and our world in a head spin, people are weary of spending in an unknown future. Politics is wreaking havoc of what’s true and what’s not. There’s even a new term called, “alternative facts”. As a result, people throughout the world are looking for change, answers and a better way to live.

Artists of our times are a big part of this picture, showing us who we are and how we are living –essentially giving us a mirror to reflect. Times of political turbulence create opportunities for collectors to seek solace in art. Given we are constantly bombarded with negative news, one might expect people not to be open to buy luxury goods, but interestingly, it is times like these when people need beauty and truth from the art they acquire. With these acquisitions, we are choosing to decide how we view the world. Through meaningful art, you focus your thoughts on a wonderful work that allows the pleasure of honoring personal truths and meaning so we may speak in our own narrative, ‘ my world still reflects the values and things I hold dear no matter what is happening around me or the world I live in’.

People who collect art desire beauty and cultural intellect in their lives. With the business of the art market in the wellknown auction houses prices have spun out of control.

countries that are overvaluing the work in their eagerness to prove their status in the global society.

We now have works from Jean-Michel Basquiat that sold for $50.00 to $3500.00 during the 80”s. Recently, Sotheby’s set a record for an American artist and his work as it sold for $110. million. This price surge not too long after an article that discussed how the Whitney Museum didn’t think Basquiat’s work was suitable for the storage room! Clearly, we are left to presume that there are many markets and socio-economic factors when it comes to determining what is valuable and what is not. With this backdrop, we are witnessing extremely high prices paid for art and new money from the BRIC 44

Despite this price surge, I continue to find evidence that most collectors are becoming more thoughtful about their purchasing of work. As a gallery owner, it is important to me to have work that has meaning as well as value. The added value comes from being knowledgeable about the work, it’s artist, and continued support of artists ascending on the global stage.

Art is intensely personal. As long as you are living and passionate about life, this approach will allow for collecting with meaning. We need not Winter 201 8/2019

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allow the outside world of politics or mass marketing of latest trends dictate what has meaning in our decisions of art collecting. Collecting art is about your passion, your feelings, and what connects you to the work or the artist.

For me: I collect art, I offer art, and I connect with art. It is the ultimate connection of life and meaning--how I see others and myself. That is perhaps what I love most-- the notion of bringing people together through beautiful works of art. This concept is one that the political world seems to not grasp. If you connect with the world-- you can make better decisions and hopefully bring people together for the common good no matter your politics.

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Photo credit: Kerry James Marshall’s “Past Times,” 1997. Sotheby’

ad

Investment Interests with Eric McKissack

by Devorah Crable

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ean “P Diddy” Combs, the iconic contemporary rapper, hip hop artist and entrepreneur, rocked the art world with the precedent setting purchase of the Kerry James Marshall painting entitled “Past Times” during the Sotheby’s New York May 2018 auction. The record breaking purchase of $21 million dollars is reportedly the highest ever paid for the work of a living African-American artist. The Marshall acquisition eclipsed the benchmark Phillips London $12 million dollar auction in March 2018 of Mark Bradford’s painting entitled “Helter Skelter”.

To gain insight on the impact of the historic Kerry James Marshall purchase, Pigment International turned to Eric McKissack, chief executive officer, chief investment officer and founding principal of Channing Capital who is a highly regarded art collector and board member of the Art Institute of Chicago.

“People like P-Diddy want to own assets of their culture”

“Artists of color are being recognized and celebrated. What’s happening is the super wealthy buy art and people of mega wealth like P Diddy want to own assets of their culture as part of an expression of their success.” says McKissack.

“Collecting and preserving significant aspects of our culture is a great thing and a normal process of a group of people or ethnic group emerging in society.”

Acknowledging the unique buying prowess of “the super wealthy”, McKissack accepts the Kerry James Marshall purchase as an anomaly that will increase the value 46

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of Marshall’s body of work and will, likely, establish Marshall as one of the most valued American painters of our time- regardless of race. It also supports the current art world auction trend to advance Black art based on its popularity and ability to generate bidding excitement and sales. It does not, however, close the fair representation schism that still favors mainstream artists over artists of color.

“P Diddy now has bragging rights over art collecting contemporaries like Jay Z and Beyonce who boast of a half billion dollar art collection.”

“The reality is while there are people of great wealth that consider and maintain art policies as part of their assets allocation, the average investor dose not think of art as a required part of their portfolio because there are many other investment instruments that offer greater liquidity,” says McKissack noting how unpredictable fads and trends often drive the art market.

McKissack encourages the average art collector to buy what you like and in lieu of purchasing expensive originals consider more affordable artist proofs, prints, lithographs and posters by a preferred artist. Collecting art books, that appreciate in value over time, is another affordable option. Look for and track artists that extend their art technique cannon with a fresh view as have Marshall and Bradford.

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Ted Ellis Pigment International advisor and artist selected for Commission to commemorate 400 Years of African American History

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By Patricia Andrews-Keenan

rtist Ted Ellis, advisor to Pigment International®, the multi-cultural arts collective, has been appointed to serve on 400 Years of African American History Commission, under the auspices of the National Park Service (NPS). Pigment International’s founder, Patricia Andrews-Keenan submitted a letter on behalf of Ellis, outlining his 30 years as an artist and cultural historian, which led to his selection.

The Commission formed by Public Law 115-102 was signed into law on January 8, 2018. It established a Federal commission, to be administered by the NPS, to coordinate the 400-year anniversary, in 2019, of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to the English colonies at Point Comfort, Virginia, on the site of what is now Fort Monroe National Monument.

The nomination noted that Ellis is a unique mix of artist and cultural historian who will fit seamlessly into this committee. He is currently a Master’s Degree candidate at Southern University in New Orleans pursuing a degree in Museum Studies. Most of all Ellis, a native of New Orleans, is passionate about his heritage, passionate about his community and passionate about his art.

“I am humbled and honored to be a part of this Commission,” said Ellis.

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“Throughout my career I have painted subjects that are representative of the many facets of American life as I know it. I was put here to record history and all aspects of American culture and heritage. My sole purpose has always been to educate through my art.”

Ellis is one of the 15 members of the Commission, appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, based on recommendations from governors, Members of Congress, civil rights and Historical Organizations, the Smithsonian Institution and private citizens. The Commission is tasked with planning, developing, and carrying out programs and activities throughout the United States to recognize and highlight the contributions of African Americans since 1619, and to encourage civic, patriotic, historical, educational, artistic, religious, economic, and other organizations to organize and participate in anniversary activities to expand understanding and appreciation of the contributions of African Americans.

Among the other members of the Commission are Mr. Lonnie G. Bunch III, Founding Director, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and Ms. Kenya M. Cox, NAACP Kansas State President; Executive Director of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission, Office of the Governor, Wichita, Kansas.

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Alain Locke

Illustration by: Raymond A. Thomas

Coming in 2019

The Philosopher Who Believed That Art Was Key to Black Liberation

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By Patricia Andrews-Keenan

lain Leroy Locke was a leading black intellectual and an important supporter of the Harlem Renaissance. A gifted and talented student, Locke attended Harvard University where he became the first African American to be awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. He became an assistant professor of philosophy at Howard University, beginning an academic career that would span four decades.

Locke advocated for a return to African aesthetic principles, not as a counternarrative to Western racism but as a means of exalting African forms and techniques. He energetically supported, and was a staunch advocate for the black visual arts. He firmly believed that the black artist should draw from the roots of his African heritage for themes reflected in his works.

Black Fine Art Month O C T O B E R 50

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During the 1920’s and 30’s, a few of the younger artists that worked in this vein included Hale Woodruff, James Lesesne Wells, Aaron Douglas, Richmond Barthé, and Sargent Johnson. In fact, Locke rated James Wells as one of the most promising of these younger black artists, and “Aaron Douglas…deserves to be called the pioneer of the African Style among the American Negro artists.” pigment intl

By the time Locke curated the American Negro Exposition in Chicago in 1940, his status as one of the most prominent figures in black art was beyond question.

According to Mary Ann Calo, “Locke defined the possibilities and parameters of African American art and gave it a past as well as a future.

He connected African American art to history, experience, and modern identity, and he suggested what it might contribute to the nation’s cultural capital.”

Howard University received much of Locke’s estate in 1955, a year after his death. This donation included his papers, correspondence, and the core of his collection of African art, which became an important component of Howard’s burgeoning “encyclopedic collection.” His bequest “formed the basis of a teaching collection devoted to Africa’s culture,” a collection that has only become more important with the continued growth of the field of African American art history and the establishment of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Sources: NYT, The Black Renaissance in Washington, Mapping Cultural Philanthropy

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