A week came and went just like that! It's challenging to find the words to express the whirlwind of emotions I've experienced in the past three weeks. Being selected by DCDG for their first residency was an incredible experience. Now that the disbelief of being selected out over 200 applicants has subsided (somewhat), I wanted to reflect on this unique milestone.
It's been quite a journey to not only paint my comics, but also make abstractions from them, and hone in on iconography that was uniquely my own. A voice is what I wanted. One that spoke to people of all walks of life, irregardless of race, creed, gender, and ideology. What better way to do that than the medium of cartooning? It's a lane nobody is really doing, particularly nobody black. Furthermore, my characters aren't black and I don't play into any stereotypes that many (white) institutions can appear to eager to advocate (I'll also blog more about that later too).
The absence of a black fine art cartoonist intrigued me and so I began to embark on a journey to see if I could do that. Being selected for this residency and meeting so many creatives that had crazy connections in LA allowed me to realize it was possible. Due to the NDA I signed I won't go into great detail about all of my experiences but it felt good that people appreciated what I was doing to the point that I may have a manager, opportunities to exhibit internationally, and sell to collectors.
The attention I gave my imagination and any creative inclination I've had is starting to pay off. I'm only beginning to scrape the surface of my creative potential.
Questions I've always sought to answer were/are:
Can a black creative prosper without being limited/reduced to back subject matter?
Can a cartoonist transition from publications to the gallery?
Is humor permitted in the gallery space?
Can I really create the creative life for me that'll permit me to navigate from galleries, animation, comics, and culinary arts?
The past week has shown me the answer is yes. Previously I felt it COULD happen but now I find myself back in Denver knowing it WILL, God willing.
Peace
