What is art? When this question is asked, answers like "drawings," "paintings," "sculptures," and "creative works by creative people" are often given. Although all of these answers are acceptable, art is much more than drawings and paintings. Art is symbolic, and crosses over into many different genres. Songs can be created based on paintings; elaborate plots that center around art can be found in films and television shows; and products can be sold using art.

Art has and always will be symbolic: symbolic of pain and suffering, happiness and sadness, good times and bad times. No matter what emotion it evokes, art will always be viewed as a symbol. Among the many artists who have dedicated years of their lives to their art forms, creating deep and harrowing symbols for the world to identify with; these two up-and-coming artists are ready to take on the world headfirst and create valuable, meaningful symbols of their own.

Lachrista Bowman-Bell

Lachrista Bowman-Bell, a Kentucky native, is a recent Kentucky State University graduate who majored in studio art. Bowman-Bell wasn't always an art major. When she started school, she was a music major. She realized in the summer of 1995 that she wanted to major in art and become an artist like her father. Bowman-Bell has been creating pieces of art all her life, and states "I focus on art as it relates to my ethnicity. I also use images as metaphors for subjects closely related to African Americans."

African Tour Guide

Bowman-Bell entered poster contests as a child and went to regional competitions in high school. Upon entering college, she was highlighted in a student show where her oil painting of the "African Tour Guide" was placed on flyers and announcements to the showcase. She also won second place and received a grant from the Frankfort Arts Council in Frankfort, KY.

Untitled

The inspirations in Bowman-Bell's life are people who have made themselves successful against the odds, and the people who said she couldn't be successful as an artist while being a mother and wife at the same time. Among her works are The African Tour Guide and Untitled.

Jamie Ray Guillory

Jamie Ray Guillory graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in May 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in fine arts (cum laude) and a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing (cum laude). He now attends the University of New Orleans in the MBA program. His artwork is an expression of different stories with varied themes. He often selects a central theme and creates a series of paintings, drawings and/or sculptures to express different points of the story.

• Temptation - It's a part of a series dealing with temptation. The woman in the red dress appears in all of the paintings in this special series and represents temptation. In this setting, she is the object of temptation.

Temptation

• September 11th - This painting was inspired by the tragic and horrific events of terrorism on American soil on September 11, 2001. It is a portrait of a solemn figure showing patriotism for his wounded country.

September 11th

• Blood Money - Blood money can have different meanings for many people. Some may see a poor hoodlum who commits crimes for the money in his hands while others can relate to someone down on his luck getting off a long shift from back breaking work. The two situations are types of blood money. Sadly, many people often view these young African-American males as criminals.

Blood Money

Michael Marcelin is a graduate student in screenwriting at UCLA..