The works of 23 local African-American artists will be on display at the Central Library in coming weeks as part of the 28th annual Meet the Artists exhibit.
The exhibit, sponsored by The Indianapolis Public Library’s African-American History Committee, will feature works in a variety of mediums, from water color, acrylic and color pencil, to wood, metal and glass.
In addition to the daily availability of the exhibit, two special events have been planned to commemorate Meet the Artists (see above for details).
The Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper spoke with two of this year’s featured artists about their work, their creative processes and what it means to be included in the exhibit.
Derrick Carter — Sand art
Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper: How would you describe your work?
Carter: I’m all about difference. I’m all about setting myself apart from others, because there are a lot of people who use pencil, a lot of painters. That’s how I came up with sand. It was kind of an experiment at first. The sand also symbolizes life — life isn’t easy. It’s rough. And we have to find ways to smooth it out.
How does your creative process go?
I just kind of go with it. Everything I do is an experiment. I just have a little bubble in my head with an idea, and I put it down. I don’t draw it first; I go straight to the canvas, and however it comes out is how it comes out. I might make duplicates of that piece, because I’ve seen what I can do better. The first one’s always an experiment.
What do you hope to convey to your audience?
It’s all about emotional feeling. I’m trying to bring out emotion in you. I know what this piece means to me, but what I want to know is what it means to you. And I use my colors to bring out the emotional side of people, to get the gist of how they really feel. I called (this piece on display at the library) “The American Dream,” because we as people come up wanting to be a star; everybody wants to be a basketball player, a singer, some type of star. But when we get there, we see we don’t necessarily want the fame. We just want to have fun and love doing what we do. It’s really not a “dream;” it’s a way of confining you to one thing.
Why do you do this? What value do you get from being an artist?
This is just like, I’m the teacher and the rest of the world are my students. And I want to tell them about what I believe, seeing what goes on in the world. I look at this like education. I’m trying to educate someone else’s mind on what I believe, because what I believe is dear and true to my heart, and I want to see if they feel the same about it.
What does it mean to you to be included in Meet the Artists?
It means a lot, because they came and hand-selected me. There’s nothing I filled out to see if I would get selected; they already knew about my art, and they came and found me. That’s just a blessing.
SheRae Parker — Mixed media
Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper: How would you describe your work?
Parker: My work is very versatile. I try to have every piece I do represent me in some way. As an individual, I’m very nerdy, but I’m militant as well, but also conscious. I try to have a little piece of me in every piece of art I do. If it’s women, I try to have them have gauges, because my ears are gauged, or have tattoos or just a powerful image.
How does your creative process go?
I have to have music playing while I’m creating. That can range from reggae, dub, hip-hop or even drum and bass. I just put on some music and go from there. Whatever I may be listening to, that’s pretty much how it comes out. My piece “Prayed for Peace,” it says, “I prayed for peace, but death took my brother instead.” And that’s my view on police brutality. In the process of creating that, I was listening to Kendrick Lamar’s song “Alright.” Last summer I ended up losing my older brother back home in (New) Jersey. He was in police custody and he passed in the jail cell. They knew he was diabetic and they didn’t give him his medicine. He lay dead in his cell for like an hour. My family is still fighting to get justice on that case. That piece means a lot. But that just shows how music influences how I work in my creative process.
What do you hope to convey to your audience?
I want my work to make people think. When they look at my artwork, I don’t want them looking and going, “Oh that’s nice.” I actually want them to think, “Wow, what made the artist create this piece?” I also want them to reflect on their own point of view of current events or whatever they may be going through in their lives.
Why do you do this? What value do you get from being an artist?
It’s my way of putting my world out there, how I feel about things, because I don’t want to stand in a crowd of cookie cutters. I want to be able to stand out on my own. I’ve been creative since I was 2; my father was an artist. I’ve always been creating, I’ve always been drawing, I’ve always been painting. I know there’s somebody out there who may feel the same way I feel but doesn’t have a way to convey how they feel or get their words out. When I draw images of women, I always try to draw my women very empowered. I try to just be different, because I know I’m different. For Meet the Artists, I’m doing a queer people of color piece. That’s rare to see something like that at Meet the Artists. I took pride in that piece, because that’s who I am.
What does it mean to you to be included in Meet the Artists?
It means a lot to me. It really didn’t hit me until I left (the library) after dropping off my pieces how many people are in and out of the library seeing my artwork. It’s big, because Meet the Artists has been around for years. I feel like I’m being a part of the Black art history of Indianapolis. I also like that it’s showing Indianapolis has opportunities here. I’m not originally from here; I’m from north New Jersey. (Indy is) not a big city, it’s not fast-paced, but this shows people Indianapolis does have something to offer; it does have something for our Black community to look up to. A lot of Black youth come in and out of the library, and they can see our artwork and that could inspire them to be future artists. That’s huge for me to be a part of something like that, like a movement in a sense.
