Studio Noize: Black Art Podcast

On the season 7 finale of Studio Noize, we got muralist and artist extraordinaire Thomas Evans aka Detour on the podcast! From airbrushing t-shirts in high school to big, colorful murals Detour has been making it happen for a few years. We talk about his Art Tip Tuesdays video series on youtube and IG, how he started making murals, and how he developed his signature style. Detour lets us know how getting away from your daily grind to explore ideas can lead to big discoveries. We discuss his book, Be The Artist: An Interactive Guide to a Lasting Art Career, and his wonderful artwork. All that and more on the Noize! Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 149 topics include:

developing style

Art Tip Tuesday

making t-shirts

big time commissions

integrity and creative freedom

the treadmill canvas

experimenting

accountability for artists

Thomas Evans, a.k.a. Detour, is an all-around creative specializing in large scale public art, interactive visuals, portraiture, immersive spaces, and creative directing. His focus is to create work where art and innovation meet. A born collaborator and “military brat,” Detour pulls from every conceivable experience that shapes his landscapes and perspectives. Explaining Detour’s work is no easy task, as ongoing experimentations in visual art, music, and interactive technologies have his practice continually expanding. With his ever-evolving approach to art, Detour’s focus is on expanding customary views of creativity and challenging fine-art paradigms by mixing traditional mediums with new approaches—all the while opening up the creative process from that of a singular artist, to one that thrives on multi-layered collaboration and viewer participation.

See More: www.iamdetour.com + Thomas "Detour" Evans IG @detour303

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Fine art photographer, Tokie Taylor, comes back to the Noize to talk about her new projects. Tokie has been working on a book with her Reclamation series that features her fine art photography featuring children and heirlooms. We discuss the book and how it relates to family history and artifacts. She lets us know how she manages the children in the shoots, the role of experimenting in her practice, and how she sees herself growing her vision with every piece. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 148 topics include:

Reclamation series

creating an art book

experimenting with other mediums

cyanotype vs photography

artists during the pandemic

family heirlooms

institutional spaces

the value of Black art

doing commissions

Atlanta, Ga. based artist, Tokie Rome-Taylor, explores themes of time, spirituality, visibility and identity through the medium of photography. Portraiture, set design, and objects all are a part of Tokie’s photographic practice. She uses digital photography as her foundational medium, while also exploring cyanotype, and embroidery as a means to explore the layered complex relationship African Americans in the diaspora have with the western world. 

Rome-Taylor’s series, “Reclamation”, was selected for PhotoLucida Critical Mass top 50. Her work has been featured in What Will You Remember and Feature Shoot Magazine. Additionally, Tokie is a Funds for Teachers Fellowship recipient, studying photography in Santa Fe, New Mexico and in San Francisco, California. Rome-Taylor’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Her work has been a part of exhibitions at The Griffin Museum of Photography, Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, Stella Jones Gallery, SP-Foto SP-Arte Fair, São Paulo, Brazil, Gallery 1202, the Masur Museum, Zuckerman Museum of Art Lyndon House Art Center and the Dalton Gallery, Agnes Scott College, among others. She is a recipient of the Virginia Twinam Smith Purchase Award, adding her work to the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia as well as the Legacy Award, bestowed by the Griffin Museum of Photography. Her work is held in multiple public and private collections and was recently acquired by the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art. 

Rome-Taylor is a 20+ year veteran educator and working artist. She is open to opportunities that relate to artist talks, visiting institutions, residencies and workshops.

See More: www.tokietaylorstudio.com + Tokie Taylor IG @tokietstudio

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Today we focus on the Afro-Atlantic Histories exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. This phenomenal show originally debuted at Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Brazil, and is now being exhibited at the NGA. We talk with Kanitra Fletcher, associate curator of African American and Afro-diasporic art at the NGA, about this brilliant massive show. Kanitra talks about the basis for the show and her part in curating the exhibition, Black portraiture, and the lesson that can be learned from the exhibit. Since your boy JBarber could only study the beautiful catalog we thought it would be great to hear a first-hand experience of the show from another curator, Studio Noize fam, Lauren Jackson Harris. Two brilliant Black women in one episode of the Noize. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 147 topics include:

Afro-Atlantic Histories at the National Gallery of Art

connecting hidden histories

the journey of enslaved people

Black portraiture

curating at the NGA

experiencing an exhibition

relating to work from the past

capturing history

Kanitra Fletcher is an American curator and art historian currently working as associate curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Named to her role in January 2021 after serving as an associate curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Fletcher is the National Gallery's first curator dedicated to acquiring, stewarding, and exhibiting work by African American artists. Fletcher's academic specializations include the art of Brazil and Latin America and the Black avant-garde

See More: https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2022/afro-atlantic-histories + Kanitra Fletcher IG @kanshefle

Lauren Jackson Harris is an arts professional and independent curator who was exposed to art at an early age and it undoubtedly became her passion. With a BFA in Graphic Design and Art History from Howard University and a MA in Creative Business Leadership from SCAD, I value both education and experience in the arts. I enjoyed networking and cultivating relationships with those within the arts and cultural industry. I have used my innovative strategies and progressive ideas to help ignite the arts community and create new avenues for artists and arts workers. Through managing partnerships and engaging audiences, I hope to add value to the art scene of my hometown of Atlanta, engage and grow with other BWVA’s, and transform the art world one step at a time.

Lauren Jackson Harris IG @ljacksonharris

Black Women in Visual Arts IG @blackwomeninvisualart

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The wonderful Deborah Grayson joins the Studio Noize fam! Deborah is a printmaker artist in Baltimore, MD, and has been making work about the intersection of science and race. We dive into the deep in with some printmakers talk about ink and process but we explore her work that includes extensive research, drawing, and multiple print processes. Deborah talks about how she expresses herself in her work, moving her body when you are working, and creating worlds for Black people. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 145 topics include:

working inside out

printmaking processes

ink tips

recovering from trauma

Black women experiences

hidden history

creating worlds for Black people

project management skills

Salt Eaters

Using vernacular, ethnographic and medical photographs from the early 20th century as source material, Deborah Grayson examines historical archives to trace Black women’s life-stories. Moving between figuration and abstraction, the historical and the intergalactic, the spiritual and the profane, Grayson uses printmaking (e.g. etching, woodcut, screenprinting) and drawing to re/animate the rich but neglected and sometimes quiet stories of Black women's lives. In her work Grayson builds an archive of images and artifacts that reflect Black women’s experiences and expressions of love, desire, ambition, hunger, vulnerability, spirituality, fear and joy. In particular, Grayson is interested in examining both quiet and silence as modes of Black women’s expressiveness and what they both reveal and protect about the inner lives of Black women in order to enable a more nuanced understanding of their lives. Ink, graphite, wood and paper are among the tools Grayson finds useful to do this creative and documentary work. The detailed work of carving, etching and drawing, combined with the variety of ways she presents color, volume, tone and texture, allows Grayson to contribute to the cultural production among artists and thinkers interested in creating an archival imaginary – an imagination of the future that is conceived through what was possible in the past – to envision narratives about Black women’s lives that are neither violently annotated nor redacted. Following Caswell and others, rather than just “documenting a more diverse past based on identities of the present,” Grayson’s work focuses on connecting the untold or misinterpreted stories of Black women’s histories to craft different trajectories for the present and future.

See More: www.graysonstudios.com + Deborah Grayson IG @graysonstudios

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Fresh from her opening at Seasons LA, we got the amazing Lanise Howard on the Noize! Lanise’s work ranges from portraiture to large allegorical figurative paintings. Her new show And Then They Heard the Wind is another step in her evolving and experimenting with new work depicting her characters in transition. She talks about building the narratives in her new works, how she developed her technical skill to match her sense of color, channeling negative experiences into art, and vibing out in the studio. Lanise opens up about the narrative behind a few of JB’s favorite pieces too. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 145 topics include:

creating references for paintings

a sense of color

nuance in painting

experimenting in the studio

art school experiences

social media and art

Makidada

“And Then They Heard the Wind” at Seasons LA

Lanise Howard’s artist statement:

My name is Lanise Howard. I am interested in the analogous world, hidden histories, and the digital space. My work ranges from portraiture to large allegorical figurative paintings. The work often lies in-between differing states of being. I aim to create new spaces through paint, where the viewer can become transported. I often think about the analogous world; one which is related to our own, but can be a space of new possibility. In my experience as an African American woman, I find myself thinking of an alternative to that experience, one rooted in the necessity to rewrite history. The idea of change then becomes an element of the work, enacted through the dreamed space. My work often presents hypotheses and tries to offer possible answers, through engagement and inquiry. I am primarily interested in the figure and landscapes. Elements of realism and abstraction juxtapose against each other, in order to offer a peek into the in-between, beyond what we can usually see. I am ebbing towards this space of the in-between and the analogous, finding ways to help construct it materially.

See More: www.lanisehoward.com + Lanise Howard IG @lanise_howard_studio

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Abstract artist Reginald Laurent joins the Studio Noize fam! Reginald has been creating his colorful, energetic paintings for over 30 years and developed his signature style along the way. We talk about how he set up his practice while working a corporate gig, his approach to color, and the role of experimenting in his art. Beyond discussing his work and his various series, we get into what Reginald calls his unintentional legacy which is his teaching engagements. He does zoom sessions with schools elementary through high school and leads them in art projects based on his paintings. We talk about some of the wonderful messages and artwork he’s created with the students since leaving his corporate gig behind and finally getting to do what he loves full-time. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 144 topics include:

living harmoniously with color

being productive

value as an artist

unintended legacy of art

wood assemblages

teaching engagements

controlling narratives

the domino effect

being God lead as a creator

Reginald Laurent’s artist statement:

My art imitates life because it is representative of the diversity and inclusion of every culture, the backbone of what makes the world such an interesting place. The artistic irony and true narrative are reflected in the various stages during the execution of my process. My creations go through a regentrification process, and the intended result is a multi-cultural amalgamation of color that can be universally appreciated. My canvas is the only place I know where every color can exist in perfect harmony yet maintain its own individuality. It is the only place I know where I can mix, manipulate and integrate beautiful pigments and hues of colors, and every single color is equally significant. Each color has its own place and space and purpose and complements, respects and adds to the totality of the work. I try to do on canvas what we can’t seem to do on earth.

See More: www.laurentoriginals.com/ + Reginald Laurent IG @laurentoriginals

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Roscoe Hall has spent his time working as a chef and an artist his whole life. On today’s episode of Studio, Noize Roscoe tells us about how much the two worlds blend together and add depth to his mixed media paintings. We talk about his painting materials lists feeling like ingredient lists, how he made it through hustling his artwork, and the need to make paintings after long restaurant days. Roscoe reveals the revelations he had at the Dallas Art Fair this year and where he sees himself going with his work. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 143 topics include:

art materials lists

building texture in painting

personal history influencing artists

the Dallas Art Fair

selling art

being a chef vs being an artist

getting into a zone in the studio

connecting with other Black artists

Roscoe Hall is not only a chef, but also an accomplished artist who works in a variety of media. He was introduced to fine dining at a young age and immediately wanted to get into the kitchen. He started as a dishwasher at a small local restaurant until he landed a job as a line cook at Chez Panisse, where he trained for two years under Alice Waters. He then moved up the culinary ranks learning various cuisines at multiple restaurants in St. Louis and Portland, before heading to New York City to work under Chef David Chang at Momofuku Saam Bar. He later moved to Birmingham, AL and served as Executive Chef for Rodney Scott’s BBQ. With a kick ass wife and two hilarious children, Roscoe recently took on a new role as culinary director for Post Office Pies and is working on an exhibition of his latest art.

See More: www.scottmillerprojects.com/exhibitions/roscoe-hall/ + Roscoe Hall IG @artisticmisfits

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Author and multi-disciplinary artist Glenn Lutz joins the Studio Noize fam and has a deep discussion about his new book, There’s Light: Artworks and Conversations Examining Black Masculinity, Identity, and Mental Well-Being. Glenn interviewed a wide range of Black men and examines themes related to Black male identities, sexuality, masculinity, and mental health. There’s Light is a collection of over sixty artworks from contemporary art legends and emerging talents, alongside more than thirty interviews from artists, activists, psychologists, community organizers, authors, musicians, filmmakers, athletes, and lawyers. Including contributions from the late Virgil Abloh, Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Mark Bradford, Wyatt Cenac, Barkley Hendricks, Rashid Johnson, Glenn Ligon, Steve McQueen, Tyler Mitchell, Darnell L. Moore, Pope.L, and many more. Glenn and JB discuss the themes that thread through the interviews, how Black men deal with trauma, and using art as a tool for healing. This is an amazing project and Studio Noize is excited to giveaway one copy of the book There’s Light. Tune in to the show for details. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 142 topics include:

machoism

vulnerability of Black men

love vs fear

running from death

accepting who you are

using art as a vehicle for healing

praise and worship

creating a book project

Glenn Lutz is a contemporary artist with a multi-disciplinary practice. He released his first book with Simon & Schuster titled, Go F*ck, I Mean, Find Yourself in 2018. In addition to creating books, he works in performance, photography, sculpture, and hip-hop under the moniker Zenn Lu. Lutz’s work examines topics such as identity, spirituality, mental health, and the cause and effect of the injustices faced by the black community. He approaches his craft with questions rather than answers using storytelling as a tool to examine his research interests

See More: www.glennlutz.com + Glenn Lutz IG @glenn_lutz

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Welcome painter and collage artist Clarence Heyward to the Studio Noize fam! Clarence has an amazing story about how he became a full-time artist. In the short time, he’s been working he’s gotten museum shows, placed into collections around the country, and has built an art practice that gets him excited to work every day. We talk about doing studio visits, how to paint Black people, and using his family as inspiration for his work. Of course, we talk about the paintings, some of them have some very surprising inspirations. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 141 topics include:

teaching art

art residencies

getting studio visits

painting Black people

vulnerability and authenticity

figuring out what works

jumping into art full-time

never burning out

the importance of family

Clarence Heyward (American, b.1983) was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He is a painter and collagist whose work explores notions of the Black American experience.

His work investigates cultural truths, challenges stereotypes, and questions identity. Clarence believes it's important to "paint his truth" and uses persons of color as subjects in his work as homage to his culture.

Beginning his journey as a full-time artist in 2019, he is best known for his dynamic and fresh take on figurative art. Heyward relocated to North Carolina to study Art Education at North Carolina Central University.

He has shown his work nationally and has been featured in venues including the 21c Museum of Durham, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for Cultural Arts, the Block Gallery Raleigh, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, and (CAM) the Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh.

Heyward was the recipient of The Brightwork Fellowship residency at Anchorlight, Raleigh in 2020, the Emerging Artist in Residence at Artspace, Raleigh in 2021 and was the 2022 Artist in Residence at NC State University. His work is in the collections of several notable private and public institutions. He currently lives and works in Raleigh, NC.

See More: www.clarenceheyward.com + Clarence Heyward IG @clarenceheywardart

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It’s been a while since we've had a good ol’ JBarber rant on the Noize! Today it’s just your boy talking about his visit to Fort Dorchester High School and the inspiring experience working with the high school kids. JB talks about the presentation and the feeling he tried to give to the students. He gives his thoughts on his show at Public Works Art Center in Summerville, SC, trying to decipher high schoolers and some thoughts and prayers for the people out in Buffalo, NY Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 140 topics include:

teaching art in high school

connecting with students

staying focused on your art

giving permission to enjoy the journey

being focused

the tragedy in Buffalo, NY

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