Friday, September 16, 2016

ArtSlope***Opening Party TONIGHT*** Friday, Sept. 16,7pm-Midnight

I'm excited to share a preview of this new piece that I collaborated on with friend and fellow artist Jonathan Blum!



Come check it out TONIGHT at the opening party for Brooklyn's Big Tent and the launch of ARTSLOPE a nine day art festival in Park Slope, Brooklyn. This piece will be on display with works from 30 other Park Slope artists. 

At Shapeshifter Lab-18 Whitwell Pl (near 1st St), Brooklyn, NY 11215, Gowanus. Friday, Sept. 16,7pm-Midnight

I'll be spinning records throughout the night along with a few friends and fellow vinylheads.

Hope you can make it, if not, enjoy the preview!

Monday, August 8, 2016

WEEKLY PAINTING #10-Why I love Uncle Tom and Why You Should Too!

There was a time, when next to the "n" word

Uncle Tom was the worst insult that could be hurled at a person of color. Case in point, on a 1988 airing of the Geraldo Show
politician and activist Roy Innis (who has found himself on the unfortunate side of several debates including the issue of gun control) was called an "Uncle Tom" by John Metzger of the Aryan Resistance. Insulted and affronted, Innis leaves his chair and grabs Metzger by the throat, just before the whole show descends into bedlam, becoming one of the early, eventful moments in shock television.
At the time, I was old enough to know what the term meant and even though I don't remember ever being called an "Uncle Tom," (as so many similar slurs were freely used to hurt people in my childhood) I was often called "oreo" - meaning black on the outside and white on the inside. 
I began to wonder about the origin of the term "Uncle Tom" and decided that Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel UNCLE TOM'S CABIN was the best place to unearth some answers. To my surprise, the character of Uncle Tom was not the despicable traitor to his race, cavorting and conspiring with "old massa," that I had imagined. 
Later, greater insight came to me, from all places, an episode of the Jeffersons. In the show, George calls Louise's uncle, who's visiting from out of a town, an "Uncle Tom." Louise's uncle then gives George a brief history lesson about a man named Josiah Henson whose autobiography "inspired" Harriett Beecher Stowe's UNCLE TOM'S CABIN and was the basis for the character. It turns out that not only did Josiah Henson escape slavery and write his autobiography, he was a minister, abolitionist (helping many to escape slavery) and founder of a settlement and school in Canada for those escaping slavery. In addition, it seems that Stowe may have been more than just inspired by his autobiography- - http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/henson49hp.html
I was disturbed and irked that this man, Josiah Henson, who made such a compelling contribution to American history, literature and the abolition of slavery has had his legacy so altered and corrupted. A mentor of mine once referred to a quote that he attributed to the novelist  Flaubert,  - "eat like the bourgeois, talk like the bourgeois and save your anger for your art." At the time I heard it, I'm not sure if it was an affirmation of what I was already doing or a call to action, but it's stuck with me and has become an animating force for my work. Sambo, Uncle Tom, and all the wrongs of history, especially those that personally troubled me have become fodder for my art.
Still mystified as to how this man's name and character became an epithet and an object of derision, I continued my quest, all the while thinking about bringing his story to my work. This is the first painting....
Followed by this....
And sketchbook work...
I began to consider the divisive power of such a term, the negative consequences of such labeling and the parameters that determine if one is indeed an "Uncle Tom" or "sellout." Who or what jury determines such a thing? In a conversation with Cornell West and Tavis Smiley, musician Bill Withers questions the true meaning of the term "sellout." He makes the point that if an item in a store is 'sold out' it's a good thing but it becomes a negative when applied to a person. Questioning what it means when some successful rappers refer to themselves as"thugs" and inspired by Tupac's "Thug Life" tattoo I created this week's piece....
My intention is to suggest that there's an amount of "tommin" or "selling out" involved with anyone who has achieved a certain degree of success especially at the level of a wealthy  rapper, producer or musician (especially any who refer to themselves as a "thug" and/or  has crossed over to film and television. I remember reading that Snoop Dogg are good friends. I don't know, perhaps there's a thug and Tom in all of us.
And, I also recently finished this larger piece....
paying homage to Josiah Henson and attempting to recontextualize the term "Uncle Tom".
There are 10x10 prints available for $30 of these three.....
And 10x13 prints also for $30 of these...
These are 16x16 for $50
And finally, I have large 28x36 prints of this one  for $150
All images are printed on high quality, heavy watercolor paper with archival inks, hand signed with 2" boarders on all sides.
Just respond here to buy any of these prints, or if you have questions about the originals or would like to arrange a studio visit. 

Also,
WHERE TO FIND ME (this fall)

The Picture Book Re-Imagined (group show):
Pratt & Bank Street College of Education Exhibit
Closing Reception Thursday, Sept. 15th, 2016,
Pratt Manhattan, 144 West 14th St. 6-8:30pm

Under The Big Top (group show):
Opening Reception Friday, Sept. 16, 2016 (More info to come)

Brooklyn Book Festival:-Panel discussion-Censorship of difficult subject matter in children's literature-Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016
(See Brooklyn Book Festival websites for exact time & location)

Vegas Valley Book Festival: Signing & reading,
Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. 4th St.Las Vegas, NV
Saturday, Oct. 15th, 2016 10am-4pm,
(to be confirmed)

Gowanus Open Studios:
MadArts 255 18th St, Studio #30 Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, Oct. 16th 12-6pm

Brooklyn Botanic Gardens Ghouls & Gourds:
Brooklyn Botanic Gardens 
Saturday, Oct. 29th, 12-4pm (to be confirmed)

Brooklyn Museum's 10th Annual Book Fair:
Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway
Saturday Nov. 12th, 12pm-4pm


Brooklyn Public Library Grand Army Plaza
10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY
Solo Exhibit, Youth Wing
November 16, 2016 through the end of January 2017

Thx!

Sean
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Instagram.com/Sean_Qualls

Friday, May 13, 2016

WEEKLY PAINTING #9


** Alex Haley's Roots,

as a kid, got me interested in my own family's ancestry. Although, it wasn't until about 10 years ago, around the time my son was born, that I finally started digging on my mother's side of the family tree. If you've ever done any digging yourself you know how exciting and time consuming it can be, but in a short amount of time I made decent progress.

Then a couple of years ago, my aunt gave me these two portraits of my great-grandparents.I'm guessing the photos are about 100 years old. 
Their daughter, my grandmother, Blanche, was born in either 1916 or 1917 so I estimate the photos were taken around then, give or take a few years. These portraits are a part of my family history. And until seeing them and delving into my family's ancestry online, it was a family history that I was not too sure actually existed let alone connected to a larger American history.

Part of what fuels my art (and illustration) is the desire to shine a light on those who have been forgotten by history, underrepresented or misrepresented. My goal is not to merely tell their stories but to reframe them and their lives. By reframing, I mean looking at people and events from a different vantage point and thereby changing the way we perceive them, reminding us that identity is perception and therefore malleable, not static. The first piece of work where I consciously used reframing was A Brief History of Sambo.
For me, the portraits of my great-grandparents suggest that they were people that mattered, even though their names may only be a small piece of a larger historical record. Often times African-American history is linked to the history of oppression, poverty, brutality and blight, as though they are all synonymous. In terms of success, names like CJ Walker, George Washington Carver and Frederick Douglas are important and familiar but by no means the whole story. There are countless people who we learn about during the 28 days of February, many who were part of the Civil-Rights Movement but still that's just a portion of the picture. Industries such as law, medicine, art, invention, publishing, hospitality, real estate and apparel are all areas where numerous African-Americans made a name for themselves. People like Arthur Gaston, Jeremiah G. Hamilton, John Coburn and Chloe Spear are just a few names but their success defies the perceived norm and that success was not confined to just one era but was a truth, for some, throughout the history of Blacks in America. Given the circumstances of how we arrived here, our presence in America today conveys a success that pervades all of American history. Back to this week's piece. In the spirit of those industrious people who's stories remain untold (and the portraits of my great-grandparents), I created this week's piece-"Black Business 1890."
The portrait is of no one in particular and the date arbitrary but the objective of the piece is to emphasize my previous points. The print is 10x10" including 2" borders on all sides. Printed on heavyweight, ph-neutral, cold-press watercolor paper with archival inks. Just respond here or email me SeanQuallsStudio@gmail.com with Weekly Painting #9 in the subject if you would like one.

I apologize to anyone who has been waiting for these updates. It's been awhile, I know. I have more to share so stay tuned!

Oh,one more thing. 
This Sunday, May 15th in Brooklyn, 
I will be at the 5th Ave Street Fair, 5th Ave between 1st and 2nd Street in the artist area. I may have one or two proofs left of the Black Business 1890 and a Brief History of Sambo. Hope to see you!

Sean


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Copyright © Sean Qualls 2016, All rights reserved.


Friday, January 8, 2016

SEAN QUALLS - DAILY/WEEKLY PAINTINGS #8


Part of the joy and challenge of being an artist for me,


is not knowing exactly how a work a will evolve or look when finished. And although I usually have something of a vision of what I want, rarely does a painting turn out exactly how I imagined - sometimes it's close and I'm satisfied and sometimes I'm
happily surprised by the results.
Much of my personal work has been inspired and influenced by vintage advertising graphics, more specifically products featuring African-Americans or those geared to
African-Americans.

A few years back, I created this piece based on the idea of a fictitious line of hair products called New Age Hair Grease.
On the same theme, later I did this piece but with no hand lettering.
Fast forward to 2015, I wanted to do more with the NAHG theme. I didn't have a really strong vision of what I wanted the piece to look like but knew that I wanted it to be a step forward from the previous ones.
Especially with my daily/weekly paintings, I try to keep things simple (and small) so
that I can easily move onto the next one and not get stuck. Simple enough in theory but it seems like there's often a "hiccup" which impedes progress - as it was this piece was leaving me very dissatisfied.

I decided to move onto other paintings but eventually came back to it and decided to strip away most parts, the hand lettering most of all. 
I also wanted to base the face on a woman from a previous piece (above) that I was happier with.
I added more overall contrast. This was definitely a case where I did not have a strong vision for the final art, but I 
knew it still wasn't quite there. I integrated hand lettering but decided not to continue with the original NAHG theme. I added more subtlety of color and values.

Finally finished.
I have a few prints of some of the above images available ranging from $30-$50 plus shipping.

NAHG #1 is 13X16", image size 9x12" with 2" boarders on all sides - $50 
Star Power is 9x9", image size 5x5" with 2" boarders on all sides - $30 (currently sold-out, back in stock soon.)
Afro Psyche #1 is 10 x 13", image size is 6x9" with 2" boarders on all sides - $45 (currently sold out-order now, back in stock soon)
Red Psyche is also 10 x 13", image size is 6x9" with 2" boarders on all sides - $45
Fro is also available 10x10", image size is 6x6" with 2" boarders on all sides - $40

I have a limited number of prints, first come, first serve. Each one is printed on 300lbs.ph-neutral, 
oba-free, watercolor paper with archival inks. Just leave a comment and we can work out the details.
Again, stay tuned. If you know anyone you think may be interested please direct them here to my blog or have them contact me and I’ll add them to my list.
Apologies to those who have been waiting for updates. Now that I'm in my new studio I hope to keep the blog updated with new work more regularly. 

Sean