Beyond The Fields

Abstract: "an America that looks away is ignoring not just the sins of the past but the sins of the present and the certain sins of the future." Ta-Nehisi Coates my work deals with the ideas of blackness and southern culture. Born in Memphis, Tennessee on the heels of the civil rights movement, I cannot help but to be shaped by the aftermath of integration and the ideals of equality. The south is more than a geographical location; it is a cultural distinction. My life has been shaped by these cultural experiences. Inspired by family stories, my art references a lingering past and also reflects my life experiences as a black man living in the south. In Mississippi I had the opportunity to see the fields of cotton reminiscent of the stories my family often told when I was young. My granddad told of how they loaded wagons to chop cotton in the spring and pick cotton in the fall. The values of a person were based on faith, family, and work. Those ideals were constantly challenged by Jim Crow and made it difficult for blacks to realize the American dream. I feel compelled to create art that challenges socially accepted "truths" versus fallacy. I confront contemporary social issues influenced by its legacy of white supremacy. We still inhabit a world intolerant of the unique cultural differences we all share.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.F.A. in Art

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Art and Art History

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Lynn, Terry Rodnell

Contributors dc:contributor

• Philip Jackson
• Josh Brinlee
• Sheri Rieth

• African-American
• Blackness
• Lynn
• Post-Black
• Racism
• Terry
• Painting

Repository record dc:identifier

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/998

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:egrove.olemiss.edu:etd-1997