Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Florida Legacy of the “Highwaymen” artists
blog by Victoria Mares-Hershey
While in Florida at an arts and crafts show, I became aware of the Indian River school of painting. African-American artists, living smack in the middle of a time of racial violence against black people in the south, cut their road with art to become founders of Florida’s contemporary art tradition. On either side of 1950, 25 African American men and one woman, on the west coast of Florida started painting color-saturated, dramatic, often surreal natural landscapes of the Indian River Valley around them. Much later, they were described as “the Highwaymen,” a name that falls far short of their identity as artists. Originators of the “ Indian River school of painting” comes closer to the roots of their work.
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| Art of Mary Ann Carroll |
Every great work of art has two faces, one toward its own time and one toward the future, toward eternity.
Daniel Barenboim
blog by Victoria Mares-Hershey
While in Florida at an arts and crafts show, I became aware of the Indian River school of painting. African-American artists, living smack in the middle of a time of racial violence against black people in the south, cut their road with art to become founders of Florida’s contemporary art tradition. On either side of 1950, 25 African American men and one woman, on the west coast of Florida started painting color-saturated, dramatic, often surreal natural landscapes of the Indian River Valley around them. Much later, they were described as “the Highwaymen,” a name that falls far short of their identity as artists. Originators of the “ Indian River school of painting” comes closer to the roots of their work.
They lived in and around the Gifford, Florida and the Ft. Pierce area, where they turned their backyards, homes and garage spaces into studios. Most of the artists were in their 20’s when they started painting to sell, some had painted in their teens and one, at the age of 10, had sold a painting to his teacher for $25.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
An Affinity through Peace and Justice
Affinity will partner with ARC, the Alliance for Responsible Communities to host an invitational day of artists, writers, musicians, performers, working around the theme "Know Justice, Know Peace," On June 28 from 12 noon to 4pm. Our space is very limited, but if you are interested just respond to this blog.
Know Justice, Know Peace is being designed as both a joyful and serious day of artists thinking about the creation, maintainance, substance, feeling, sound of Peace and Justice. We will work together or individually, and come together with what we have created, if only a thought, at the end of the day. We are asking that artists donate or pledge a piece of their work for an exhibit and open house at Affinity in August. A percentage of those sales in August will go to ARC, a 2 year old 501(c)3 non-profit comitted with the mission to develop and mentor multicultural, change agent leaders and grassroots social change groups. ARC's website and information is at www.responsiblecommunities.org.
WHY Know Justice, Know Peace at Affinity Arts?
I began to think about an invitational day of artists thinking and creating around this subject after a young man in Portland was shot by police in May, 2009. So much violence occured in the world in the same month. This young man was an artist, and a refugee from Sudan who carried so much on his shoulders from a young age. His family is large, and most of the older siblings have earned the college degrees their parents wished for them. I saw his mom receive her GED several years ago in a huge ceremony in Portland a week before another son received his degree in economics from Wheaton College. Yet, when we hear words about "immigrants" they are too often vicious, accusing, condescending without ever knowing one person in that group. I think of so many young people trying to find peace and justice and having to struggle even harder against the socio-political fury against "other." Yet, they are America's next wave of strength, workforce, talent, problem solvers, mothers, fathers, public servants.
We think of the holocaust in Darfur, the millions dying of war in Congo, and more, but can we take action to find "Peace" from where we sit, in order to help secure peace anywhere? Peace in the classroom, in the home, in city hall in the public streets. How do we know justice so that it is the principle of our democracy, our Constitution, that triggers an outcry, a corrective action whenever there is even a whisper of it being threatened, taken from anyone. What does it look like, sound like, feel like walking down the street when one truly knows there is peace and justice as present as the air we breath? How do we begin at "Know Justice, Know Peace," before we consider making peace with a weapon or a war; to consider justice that does not come with assumption of guilt by profile; or the fear that one will not get justice because of profiling?
On our Artists Day of "Know Justice, Know Peace" we will work on it...and tell you, show you what it looks like through artists' skills.
Affinity Arts, a dream to make a difference
I am a writer/journalist, playwright and artist, writing from Affinity Arts, an arts studio in the last wood mill in Bridgton, Maine. From here I will be writing, as a journalist, as an artist and social change advocate, about whatever happens in the world as I watch and work at Affinity.
We are at the foothills of the state's Western Mountains. Affinity Arts is still in the creation process. To give you a view on the vision that is creating Affinity Arts, let me introduce you to its owner and creator, Stephen D. Oliver, MFA for this reason:
“MY LIFE AND WORK FOCUSES ON HOW ART AND DESIGN CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD. I AM ESTABLISHING AFFINITY ARTS AS A CREATIVE RETREAT AND INCUBATOR.”
You can see Stephen's creative work in two sculptures, installed in the 8th Annual Garden Invitational in the Art Gallery of the University of New England, Westbrook campus. The entire show with its exceptional pieces in the garden that surrounds the jewelbox-like glass gallery at the back of the UNE campus property, is worth an afternoon. www.une.edu./artgallery
At the Art Gallery, Stephen's "A Furniture Maker's Dream" is to the left of the interior doorway. This piece expresses the artist/designer/architect's love of his craft as a worker of wood, a trained, fine furniture artisan who would like to spend most of his time designing and making fine furniture. The lower level of the old mill that is Affinity holds his woodcrafting and design shop; and he dreams of working with artisans from all over the world and down Maine roads.
Affinity links across the globe and across cultures:
Last year Stephen worked with a group of people, originally from Sudan, to design a new, energy efficient, self-sustaining secondary school for Southern Sudan. The group spent an entire day at the mill, wandered by the brook and stood on the rocks, enjoying the green environment and thinking about building this school for the future of a Southern Sudan, to help it recover from generations of wars.
Two years ago Stephen worked with Oscar Mokeme at the Museum of African Culture to design and create the new space for the museum in the heart of the Portland, Maine Arts District. It has the angles of a ship and the colors of Africa on its walls.
Every First Friday Art Walk in Portland will find the Museum offering special programs along with wine and cheese; and the last Friday of the month there is a special program on the significance of the mask in African cultures. www.museumafricanculture.org
Just this week, Affinity Arts hosted Oscar Mokeme for lunch in the studio after his presentation at the summer Brown Bag Lunch program in Bridgton, which happens every Wednesday from June through August. I am one of the co-organizers of the weekly event. Joining us at Affinity for some impromptu artists and writers conversation were Joan Hunter, writer and writing coach and owner of writing retreat, Fifth House Lodge in Bridgton and Susan Gassett, a Boston theatre director and playwright who has semi-retired to the Western Mountains. I think our conversation brought her right out of that "retired" reverie. More to follow, I hope.
As the short summer continues racing toward fall, Affinity will continue to be the place I paint and write; Stephen will continue on his dream's journey and many artists will pass through here, to work, be inspired, inspire others and sprout new ideas that cross all roads of life.
VMH
We are at the foothills of the state's Western Mountains. Affinity Arts is still in the creation process. To give you a view on the vision that is creating Affinity Arts, let me introduce you to its owner and creator, Stephen D. Oliver, MFA for this reason:
“MY LIFE AND WORK FOCUSES ON HOW ART AND DESIGN CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD. I AM ESTABLISHING AFFINITY ARTS AS A CREATIVE RETREAT AND INCUBATOR.”
You can see Stephen's creative work in two sculptures, installed in the 8th Annual Garden Invitational in the Art Gallery of the University of New England, Westbrook campus. The entire show with its exceptional pieces in the garden that surrounds the jewelbox-like glass gallery at the back of the UNE campus property, is worth an afternoon. www.une.edu./artgallery
At the Art Gallery, Stephen's "A Furniture Maker's Dream" is to the left of the interior doorway. This piece expresses the artist/designer/architect's love of his craft as a worker of wood, a trained, fine furniture artisan who would like to spend most of his time designing and making fine furniture. The lower level of the old mill that is Affinity holds his woodcrafting and design shop; and he dreams of working with artisans from all over the world and down Maine roads.
Affinity links across the globe and across cultures:
Last year Stephen worked with a group of people, originally from Sudan, to design a new, energy efficient, self-sustaining secondary school for Southern Sudan. The group spent an entire day at the mill, wandered by the brook and stood on the rocks, enjoying the green environment and thinking about building this school for the future of a Southern Sudan, to help it recover from generations of wars.
Two years ago Stephen worked with Oscar Mokeme at the Museum of African Culture to design and create the new space for the museum in the heart of the Portland, Maine Arts District. It has the angles of a ship and the colors of Africa on its walls.
Every First Friday Art Walk in Portland will find the Museum offering special programs along with wine and cheese; and the last Friday of the month there is a special program on the significance of the mask in African cultures. www.museumafricanculture.org
Just this week, Affinity Arts hosted Oscar Mokeme for lunch in the studio after his presentation at the summer Brown Bag Lunch program in Bridgton, which happens every Wednesday from June through August. I am one of the co-organizers of the weekly event. Joining us at Affinity for some impromptu artists and writers conversation were Joan Hunter, writer and writing coach and owner of writing retreat, Fifth House Lodge in Bridgton and Susan Gassett, a Boston theatre director and playwright who has semi-retired to the Western Mountains. I think our conversation brought her right out of that "retired" reverie. More to follow, I hope.
As the short summer continues racing toward fall, Affinity will continue to be the place I paint and write; Stephen will continue on his dream's journey and many artists will pass through here, to work, be inspired, inspire others and sprout new ideas that cross all roads of life.
VMH
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