Artist Eugene Grigsby,1918 – 2013, taught at Arizona State for 20 years and spent two decades teaching in Phoenix public schools.
What are the ideas or points of view that you’ve wanted to communicate in your paintings?I don’t know what I am communicating really until the painting is done. While I am working I am concentrating on design and how to cover a white canvas or paper. Using themes or patterns that I’ve found in African Sculpture or fabrics I wait until I’m done to see what’s there in terms of a social nature.
Is there any one of your paintings that you feel epitomizes your thinking about art? The “Family” it represents design as well as a family which is an integrated family and is pulled together with design of faces and figures influenced by the art of the Kuba people of the Congo. This is a multiracial family, White mother, Black father and bi-racial children, a situation that was seen as illegal not long ago in this country. It is not lost on me that this portrays the family of some one who may become the President of the US.
Is there anyone, who’s work you appreciate and that you feel is communicating along the same line?Rip Woods and Samella Lewis, who has written several books on Black/African American Artist and was the founder of International Review of African American Art, which has been taken over by Hampton University.
You’ve spent a long time teaching and training young artists. Do you feel that your ideas/methods, what and how you taught, are being carried forward by new instructors? I feel that my major contribution is that of teaching more so then in my art. Many of my students have gone on to teaching art and have been, I believe, influenced by my teaching and method of teaching.
Tell me about your teaching method? I’ve worked with my students on all aspects of their creativity. Each of my students was a class, meaning if I had ten students in one room I approached this as if I was teaching ten classes, because each student could be doing something different and with a different ability level. Some students would be working with jewelry, fashion design or painting etc. They would create a work book, which was a plan on what they wanted to get accomplished in my class, the materials they would use and the steps they would take to have their goal completed. Students were responsible for grading themselves and evaluating their progress based on what they said they wanted vs. what they actually did. Home work for my classes was to have students observe something in their lives, memorize what they had seen and as part next days class to compose a painting of what they observed the day before. They had a goal of completing a painting each day, and seeing the progress in their work. I also encourage students to make contact with an artist they admired. One of the students was interested in fashion design and wrote to “Coco Chanel”. Not only did she receive a response but continued for a while to receive information, advice and feedback that supported her in her studies. Something else I did was to have students study artists and their method of working. Later on they would do a self portrait in the style of the artist they studied. This way of learning I believe provided the students with a deeper understanding of the artist. Over the years many of my students were able to accomplish wonderful results, some in the arts and others in different fields. Many of them have stayed in touch and recount how what they had learned had assisted them with their careers as historian, nurses, writers and teachers. My goal was always to recognize individual ability and to see if I could help maximize their results.
Activism, do you think that art can change the world? Some of my heroes, great artist like Picasso and Goya created work that spoke about a time in the world’s history that needed to change. They and others painted and wrote about an unvarnished truth that I feel may have helped to motivate people and governments to do something different. Art can free people up to think.
Over the years, you have known many great artists, would they be surprised about the diversity in art today? I don’t think they would be surprised at all, they were all so different. Many of our African American painters and writers were forerunners to some of what we see now coming from our communities. No I don’t think they would be surprised, but they would be pleased. *** ~ ***
This week I participated in another sketch class and struck up a conversation with a couple of the artists about how different artists have a philosophy about or an approach to life drawing, painting, music etc and that it is important, regardless of what artistic discipline you are involved with, that you find and be comfortable with your own “voice”. In many aspects of our daily lives, we compromise ourselves so that we can fit in at work, school and maybe even family, however being creative is about not fitting in. The term self expression is not meant to mean “our expression”.
Tony Ryder
Egon Schiele
So I’ve always cautioned artists (myself included) in avoiding mimicking or embeding
themselves totally in the philosophy of other artists. Here are some drawings from artists who’s work I admire – yet they are very different from each other and from my own drawings.
I’m asked “Why did you give a certain name to a painting” and I don’t know. Sometimes it just shows up in my head. Nothing deep or heavy, it just sounds right.
This painting was done this morning, mostly with a pallet knife and some glazes. The edges reminded me of glass. That is about as close as I can get to “why” this name.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to chat with Joan Waters about her exhibit, “Undivided Attention: New Work in Welded Steel and Paint”, at the Chandler Center for the Arts. We spoke about being an artist and the people who played a role in her career. Here is a portion of what we talked about.
Roberta was one of the first artists I met in Arizona and what impressed me about her was her affirmative and knowing way of speaking. “Do you know so and so, have you met them, well then we have to get you to meet them, this is what we are going to do”. Spoken in a rapid fire manner that is reminiscent of Katz’s Deli , “you’ll have the Brisket, it will be good for you, you’ll enjoy”. Another great thing about Roberta is that whenever possible, her kids are always with her and welcomed.
As an Artist Activist, Artist and Mom, do you feel that your kids have gotten a balanced school curriculum, one that has them participate in creative arts programs as well as academics?
What an interesting and ironic question! Yes, but primarily because we have personally ensured that for our children. Do I believe their classmates share that experience? No. Unfortunately, Arizona offers substandard education and cultural programming in the primary grades. I only wish we could somehow rapidly inspire our legislative leadership to understand the need to adequately fund education, thereby insuring a quality future for all of us. I deeply respect the educators I have come to know because most are unbelievably dedicated and creative in imparting their skills and knowledge despite underwhelming political and financial support.
I have personally never worried about the level of artistic interaction my children have experienced. The most challenging thing for us has been maintaining the breadth of those experiences and not being tunnel-visioned on [my own area of interest] the visual arts. Both of my children are incredibly creative, however, I think they have been exposed to so much(artistically and civically) that they do not yet know how different they are!
Why do you think it is that with the use of case studies and research data that indicate arts education is a important and critical contributor to a young persons growth, that both the Feds and local governments seem to ignore this.
There are a variety of very weak excuses for this, but I believe the primary reason comes down to the homogenization of our educational and subsequent cultural experiences. It is difficult to be enthused about that which you are not familiar or experienced with. We have witnessed a quiet cultural decline (in our country, but not limited to), dating back at least three generations, from when the Arts were intrinsically woven through the educational experience of the intellectual community and were equally used as a means of cultural preservation through folk experience in the general populous.
In America, our efforts to give everyone the same level of elementary education have actually created a unique homogeneous climate. Cultural differences, traditions and practices (the roots of artistic expression) have been slowly eliminated to encompass only the most common of community experiences. Interestingly, following the Arts in their slow disappearance from our schools’ curriculum’s, Sports and Physical Education are likewise being relegated to after-school care providers to institute.
It is not missed, even on the youngest child, that these after-school activities, albeit entertaining, are not considered as important as what occupies the greatest amount of their time during the day. Joy is being left outside the door of our educational system and I am gravely concerned by the consequences of this short-sightedness.
The last couple of years has seen a lot of enthusiasm about the growing Phoenix art district. With the economy hitting a wall, are you still hearing the same enthusiasm as in 2006.
I am certain that no one, in any business, is enthusiastic about our current economic climate. I believe we can safely predict that we will see a pause in the Arts District enthusiasm, however, it will ultimately recover as the economy does.
In addition to funding, what else does this art’s community need.
Maturity and responsibility. Part of the underlying dysfunction of our own arts community is our response to the community, as a larger whole, which still does not perceive the Arts as an integral part of its health and vitality. Changing that perception requires patience, commitment and taking responsibility for how we behave, both as artists and community members.
We have an Election coming up and neither one of the candidates seem to be talking education. Do you find this odd and what do you think we need to do in order to have this be a focal point during their campaigning.
No, I don’t find it odd – disappointing perhaps – but with issues like our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; continued Middle Eastern tensions; our failing health care system and our current economic decline, I believe most Americans are overwhelmed with issues deemed larger than educational concerns.
Whether we can engage the presidential candidates in a national discussion on education or not, we should definitely take this opportunity to send a clear message to our local representatives that we insist on higher standards of education for our children. Governor Napolitano campaigned with education as one of her highest priorities. I have been both impressed by the dogged follow-through of her promises, and dismayed by the lack of support from the State Legislature. If we want to see change nationally – we need to start locally.
Do you have any exhibits planned, if so is their a theme.
I’m afraid I don’t have any upcoming exhibits planned yet! I took some time off from my career(s) to support my youngest child through a very difficult educational time. Now that he has successfully regained his confidence and independence, I am looking forward to returning to my studio and catching up on all the beautiful sights, smells and tactile sensations from producing art. I hope to be back in circulation in a year or so. Look for my art again sometime toward 2010!
The annual event will be different this year. After 22 years of welcoming children and adults to their wide selections of events in person, the 2020 HBF will be “virtual”.
~ “HBF2020 will be live-streamed on Facebook Live, with simultaneous links to YouTube, Instagram Live, QBR.com, Harlembookfair.com, CAOTtv.com”
~ “Multi-platform broadcasting: The Harlem Book Fair will be available where online readers go for their information. New readers; new audiences”
~ “Your favorite books, authors, and most compelling issues presented directly to your device.”
“The vision of the Harlem Book Fair is to partner with local and national leadership organizations under the banner of literacy awareness, affirming HBF as the nation’s largest African American literary event celebrating family literacy, community empowerment, and community cooperation.“
Artist Eugene Grigsby,1918 – 2013, taught at Arizona State for 20 years and spent two decades teaching in Phoenix public schools.
of the Kuba people of the Congo. This is a multiracial family, White mother, Black father and bi-racial children, a situation that was seen as illegal not long ago in this country. It is not lost on me that this portrays the family of some one who may become the President of the US. 
Rip Woods and Samella Lewis, who has written several books on Black/African American Artist and was the founder of International Review of African American Art, which has been taken over by Hampton University.
They and others painted and wrote about an unvarnished truth that I feel may have helped to motivate people and governments to do something different. Art can free people up to think.
