On Culture: Kahlief Steele

Symbols Are Universal

After having my interest piqued during the presentation of the Nkisi figurines, I was drawn to look at how more African art and craft involved the culture of the tribes there. After some research, I found that in the Ogboni and Oro associations of the Yoruba tribe, they created bronze or brass figures called onile. Onile represented the cofounding ancestors of an Ogboni lodge, and at the formation of a town and lodge, they were cast to ensure the unification of every member. The figures also represented the combined strength of all of the town’s citizens, and their commitment to conserve that power for the future. The figures were always cast in pairs, in order to also represent oneness between the ranks of denizens, both male and female.

The symbolism and meaning that the onile structures have to the culture is very intriguing to me because for the modern world, the precognition with statues made by ‘primitive’ African tribes is that they’re simply idols of false gods. With the onile, the statues represent cohesiveness and power to their culture, similar to what our 9/11 memorials and even the Joplin mural represent to our culture. The thought that these tribes place so much knowledge and craft on insisting their association work together is one that is very interesting and thought-provoking for me.

The Visual Arts of Africa, by Judith Perani and Fred T. Smith

On Culture: Shane Smith

Native American culture is one of my favorite cultures. It's something that I've always found interesting and powerful. Now that I am dating a half-blood Cherokee, I've had a new perspective on it; deeper insight and overall more respect overall. In a sense, culture is art. What gives a culture its essence is its rituals, clothing, language, food, music, and well, its art. I consider that art. In Native American culture, what stands out the most is their natural art. They have distinct patterns in their clothing and pottery, their face paint and even their bead work.

A piece of Native American art that appeals to me is an oil painting by Kirby Sattler named "Walking Storm". This is a portrait of a Native American man, and the title of the piece is his actual name. It portrays him in his head dress, his face painted in vibrant red and white war paint, buffalo skin over his shoulders, a choker around his neck, and clothing made of a hide of an animal. This epitomizes some of my favorite aspects of their culture; naturalness, yet intense badassness. Native men are usually very intense and display their dominance as a representation of their tribe; showing their colors and patterns. It is all very interesting to me, and I respect it immensely.

"Walking Storm" by Kirby Sattler http://kirbysattler.sattlerartprint.com/id22.html

On Culture: Sara Koul

Community Ties

The first thing that comes to mind when you hear Rwanda is about the great devastating genocide that occurred in 1994, depicted in the movies, "Hotel Rwanda", and "Sometimes in April". There was an exploitation and intensified division between Tutsi and Hutu over power over the country. The minority Tutsi, had controlled power for centuries, and the majority Hutu peoples, had come to power in the rebellion of 1959–62 and wanted to overthrow the Tutsi monarchy. The assassination of President, Habyarimana in April 1994 sparked a violent reaction, where Hutu's mass murdered Tutu’s of an estimated 1 million people over the course of 100 days. This was an awful, gruesome, devastating time for the people of Rwanda and I can't imagine going through that. As humans we need to go through a healing process when we witness devastation and destruction. In contrast we here in Joplin have gone through the devastating tornado that came through Joplin killing 162 people.  We too, ourselves are going through a healing process. We both in contrast have created a mural to desensitize the devastation that occurred and focus on the re-building and healing of the city and create hope again in the people.

The Rwanda Healing Project: Lily Yeh, founder of Barefoot Artists, working with genocide survivors in the Rugerero District near Gisenyi in 2004 completed murals that were designed and painted on the mud brick homes of the village. Concept: healing and transformation of individuals, families and community. Healing through remembering, Healing through art, Healing through creating hope for the future.

Joplin Mural : The Butterfly Effect: “Our project has always been centered around the opportunity for community driven art to inspire, remember, and envision. As Joplin begins its long process of recovery, our project and how it can engage the community, may be more relevant and useful, pertinent and powerful than we could have imagined.”
 –Dave Loewenstein

On Beauty: Ana Warner

To me, beauty shows the human condition, what’s going on in the world today, the changes people are happy about, and the injustices with which they are not. The image I chose was taken on April 22, 1970. There was an earth-day protest on which, the question was asked by the Mayor if New York City, John V. Lindsay, “Do we want to live or die?” during this time, it was a fight to end pollution, a fight that still goes on today.

The photographer who took the image still remains unknown as the credit line only reads “Associated Press”. Though the name of the freelance photographer is a mystery, there is no mystery behind the image which reflects the aggravation and frustration of the people fighting for reform. This image is beautiful. It seems to grab you by the shoulders and force you to ask yourself, “Is this really what our future could be like? Reduced to gas masks just to go outdoors?”

This photo captures one just one emotion, but many. The image itself isn’t full of hatred, but still manages to capture the passion of that day. It combines the present with what might become of the future. Similar art work, surprisingly enough, lies within some television shows, as well as political cartoons. A one panel comic I found showed 3 children waiting to see the principal. The first 2 were there because they had cursed in class, and the last was there because he had said “Christmas”. It’s a sign of the times where there is a push on everyone to be politically correct.

Another set of images which reflects the human condition are the ones that take the iconic “Evolution of Man” and add more to show what some people think life is going towards. One of these images, shows man evolving into a pig, another may show him evolving into an overweight man with a beer can in hand, and finally another may show man sitting at a computer desk with a caption that reads “Somewhere, something went terribly wrong.”

All these images have the same thing in common. They reflect the world either as it is or as it may become. The beauty lies within the ideas of what we as humans are becoming. Everyone may have different ideas, but be they favorable or undesirable, the art form is the world reflecting on itself; man’s inference on what their lives may become, what heights we can reach, what lows we may sink to. That is beauty.

On Beauty: Kahlief Steele

I believe that all pieces of art can be digested and mulled over to the point of beauty being found in it. As a result of that, I personally find a lot of different kinds of art both intriguing and beautiful. However, the group of art that sticks out to me the most in terms of aesthetics is art from the Impressionist era. The difference between the short, choppy and the lengthy, dreamy brushstrokes along with the mostly diluted color scheme make for a surreal experience when observing any sort of piece.

One piece in particular is The Road to Chailly painted by Claude Monet. The subject matter is a quiet forest scene, with the season of autumn in full force. Jagged brushstrokes of yellow ochre and a pale forest green highlight fallen leaves on the ground, and the beige, billowy sky gives the impression of a cool fall evening. The beauty of the piece definitely comes out in the colors, where contrast is used sparingly and where it is used, details spring out to the viewer with a melancholic sense of strength. I have a soft spot for landscapes, and that’s definitely one of the qualities that sticks out to me as an individual. The piece itself hearkens back to my own memories of walking through forests like these, simply soaking in all of the information through all five of my senses. The idea of recreating such a discreet scene with the tinted color scheme definitely whispers “this is beautiful” to me.

On Beauty: Chloe Spears

Some say, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” I disagree. I think that it lies somewhere much deeper than that. Works of art that were made to look exactly like what they are based upon are not beautiful. If an artist sits for hours examining one flower with the intention to recreate exactly what has already been created, how is that beautiful?  Beauty is only beautiful once.


When I step outside and see a crystal clear blue-sky, green grass that seems to glow from the ground, and flowers with such vibrant colors, that is beautiful. When I drive down the road and see a wall all decked out in graffiti that seems to jump off at you not only because of the color and composition but also the way it makes you wonder what went through the mind of the artist, that is beautiful.  Seeing a portrait of a person, no matter how well it is done, does not capture my attention and bring forth beauty. An artist could work on a project for years, duplicate exactly what is before him, put in all of the colors in the world and it would not scream beauty to me.


Chris Johanson’s “East meets West” installation, at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, suggests beauty to me. He did not replicate the scene exactly how it is. He saw it through his imagination. When an artist takes the time to let the subject set in, fully grasps and concentrates on the meaning, creates fact, and does not let their imagination run free, that will not produce beauty.


Beauty should not be so pain staking. It should not be stressed over or set on a time line. Beauty comes from the heart and the imagination. To create something beautiful, look beyond what you see.

source: Beautiful Losers –Contemporary Art and Street Culture

On Beauty: Amanda Holcombe

When you come across a painting of a landscape, you tend to be immediately bored. Let’s face facts, there are tons of paintings of landscapes out there; plenty of sweeping views of mountains with waterfalls or lakes with pine trees and fishermen in a boat in the middle of the lake. They become predictable. However, when I was looking through Gardner’s “Art Through the Ages”, the piece of art that struck me most within its pages was indeed, a landscape.

            The painting is entitled, Twilight in the Wilderness and was painted in the 1860s by Frederic Edwin Church. The sweeping red, orange, and pink clouds take up most of its space. The lighting of the twilight creates a dramatic effect upon the rocks and trees to the right side of the painting. The rest of the space is filled with mountains and between the mountains is a still, reflective river. I don’t enjoy this landscape because it is delightful and peaceful, and makes me want to go to where ever it is and have a lovely picnic. I enjoy it yes, for its natural beauty. I enjoy that what is portrayed on the canvas cannot be created or manufactured by man. And that what is depicted by oil paints has, depending on your views, been there for hundreds or thousands or millions of years before an artist decided to render it on canvas and call it art. I find that some landscapes can indeed be thought-evoking if you just give it a moment. Really look at how the light hits the bark of the trees, and creates shadows on the rocks. Appreciate the reflections on the water and the escape a painting of land can provide. The book in which I found this painting says this: “Twilight in the Wilderness dates to the 1860s, when the Civil War was tearing apart the country. Yet this painting does display evidence of turbulence or discord. Indeed, its does not include even a trace of humanity. By constructing such an idealistc and comforting view, Church contributed to the national mythology of righteousness and divine providence-a mythology that had become increasingly difficult to maintain in the face of conflict.”

            I agree with this. Nature has always been an escape for man, and I think it has been thus because it is a little humbling to be human it the midst of so much nature. I find the beauty of this to be timeless. And what is depicted in it is priceless.

On Beauty: Stephanie Easterly

What is beauty? Is beauty just a simply noun? According to Webster beauty is defined as the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit. What qualities does something or someone have to have to be considered beautiful? What is beautiful to one person might not be considered beautiful to another person, especially in art. 

People look at and interpret pieces of art in different ways.  I found a painting in the September 2011 issue of the magazine Art in America. This painting that instantly caught my eye was a painting done by Sam Francis which was part of his Pasadena Box Series. The painting was simply splatter paint in primary colors. This particular painting made me question beauty and what it personally meant to me.

When I think of beauty, I think of knowledge, wisdom, and a kind heart. Growing up I was taught that beauty was something on the inside of a person rather than their personal appearance. When I saw the painting done by Sam Francis, it reminded me of my kindergarten art teacher. My teacher was nowhere near what most people in our society today would consider beautiful in appearance. My teacher was a short stout female in her late fifties. Most days she wore her hair frizzy and untamed with glasses that had tape holding the left lens into the frame. You could look at her and tell she was an artist struggling from paycheck to paycheck. Although appealing genetics were not in her favor, she was one of the nicest teachers I ever had. She was extremely intelligent and passed her knowledge of art unto myself as well as my fellow classmates. The painting I saw in the magazine reminded me of my kindergarten years: the sloppy, messy paint splatters that my mother would still hang up on the refrigerator to show off. My paintings were usually in the primary colors, just like Sam’s, since those were some of the first building blocks of art that we learned in elementary school. 

The definition of beauty may be different to every person but no matter what, when a person thinks of beauty, whatever they think of makes them happy. Sam’s painting made me happy. It was a time machine that took me to my early childhood years when my teacher would share her art knowledge with me. She bestowed in me her knowledge and the building blocks that helped me grow into the artist I am today.  Even if she is not beautiful in appearance, my teacher had beauty of the heart and for that I will ever be grateful.

Pasadena Box Series by Sam Francis: Art in America September 2011 Issue

On Beauty: Rebecca Dunson

Trying to define beauty is like trying to explain colors to a blind person. There is a dictionary definition, but since everyone experiences it differently it really cannot be captured with words. The artwork I’ve chosen to help explain beauty is the Primitive Streak collection of dresses designed by biologist Helen Storey (helenstoreyfoundation.org). These dresses were designed to show what occurs within the first 1,000 hours of human life, beginning with the fertilization of the egg. The design that I liked best, and thought was most beautiful, was the Spinal Column Dress:

I think art is meant to capture inner being and soul of the creator, and still manage to reach out and affect the viewer. This dress shows, literally, what every person is made from, and that everyone is connected because we’re all made of the same stuff, DNA. Even though each person’s is a little different, we all have it and we all went through the process illustrated by Primitive Streak. These dresses are beautiful because they show that everyone is connected and that life is a miracle. Everything demonstrated in this line of dresses shows something that happens before a person has been alive for 41 days. It’s a miracle how two unrelated cells can grow into a living person, who has a heartbeat, limbs, their DNA, and more in less than two months.