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The Evolution of My Art Through Personal Perceptions and Experiences
of Racial Disparities
By Shirley Harris
An exhibition still runs that all must have the opportunity to
connect with, "The Evolution of My Art Through Personal Perceptions and
Experiences of Racial Disparities", undoubtedly, something that a
majority of most and even some non-minorities have all experienced,
happenings going on in The Armour J. Blackburn Center at Howard
University in Washington, DC. The artist and 2007 MFA graduate, Shirley
Harris, hails from the streets of California, Orange County to be exact,
where in 1998 her art style miraculously changed while interning at a
predominantly Hispanic elementary school in Santa Ana, California, from
realistic portraiture to geometrically inspired abstract art; it was
considered by some as very "ethnic looking".
Although raised in upstate New York, Shirley relocated to California
and at the time resided in an area where most were of Caucasian
ethnicity and only 1% of African descent. An area amassed by the reality
of a white-collar corporate environment. She silently rebuffed the
remarks made by one of her former instructors who referred to her
geometrically shaped papier images as African masks, but continued the
compulsion to create a variety of abstract portraits that she
immediately referred to as The Stoic Series. Since its inception Shirley
has produced over 100 papier sculpted, canvass painted, paper and
collaged images and believes her work is a healing and teaching tool
that represents the plight of ancestral spirits.
In undergraduate work, Shirley was an Illustration major, who minored
in Afro-Ethnic studies. In 2003 she held her first solo exhibition at
her former alma mater, California State University Fullerton, the first
exhibition ever held in the Social Sciences and Humanities building, An
Ancestral Journey Through Time. Later discarding the paper sculpted
images to create canvass painted pieces, and after meeting with
representatives from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, she revisited
the papier sculpted images which were later exhibited in 2005 Faces of
Resilience at the opening of the first African American Resource Center
at Cal State Fullerton. Realizing the remarks made from her former
instructor was a signal, a vital message soon forced her to acknowledge
her African roots, that ultimately led Shirley to the sprawling
sidewalks of the Washington, DC metro area to attend one of the most,
prestigious, historically black educational institutions in the nation,
Howard University.
While in the DC area, Shirley held a four month exhibition at Irvine
Valley College in Irvine, California, another alma mater, in 2006 and
has continued to exhibit widely in the Washington, D C area at Martin L.
King Library, the Children' Studio School, the Studio Gallery and
several student exhibitions.
But unlike her earlier pieces, few of the images currently on
display, at Howard University shows resemblance to her much earlier
works. Both the papier sculpted images and the painted canvasses were
amazingly transformed as Shirley vigoursly sought to connect with her
African ancestry. At Howard, she delved into the world of Sankofa which
signifies that it is okay for one to revisit or remember the past when
throughout most of her life it was generally acceptable to forget about
the past; the past history of slavery. But the daily newspaper accounts
and constant reminders of slavery are ever more present by the recent
acknowledgment and public apologies issued by both the State of Maryland
and Virginia. And at Howard evidence in the changes of the papier
images that took place can be seen by the crowns that became more
taller, broader and more fanciful than shown in previous images. The
canvass painted works infused many images on a plane rather than a sole
image, indicating a collective entity as the palette became bolder, more
vibrant and more vivid, just more in your face, a sign, shouting to the
world that Shirley had made that connection and she was humbly proud and
her people were humbly proud to be descendants of the continent of
Africa. Any questions, or interest for speaking engagements,
exhibitions, workshops or purchases she may be contacted at:
Shirley Harris
P.O. Box 13844
Silver Spring, MD 20911
Phone: 949-677-4215
E-mail: sashartist@yahoo.com
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