“I want people to leave the exhibition feeling they saw images that invoked the words positivity, power, regal, beauty, family, unity and excellence,” Dixon said.
“The artwork is modern and features portraits, still life and assemblages. Each artist brings a different perspective and style,” he said.
The artists range in age and experience from Jaylaha Crutchfield, a Central State University student, to career artists Cedric Michael Cox and Morris Howard.
Markel and Lindsay Haralson are a husband and wife team who have several collaborative pieces on display. Markel Haralson paints from a writing prompt by his poet wife, who also has an original play coming to the PNC Arts Annex called “Stay Black And Die: A Worthy Offering”.
“A Black Father is Testimony: What is Tangible Wealth” is a touching poem on display by Lindsay Haralson. It is told from the point of view of a child whose father’s late work hours impact her getting to school on time.
“Why is he putting his shoes on so slow?/I roll my eyes behind his back/when he goes looking for his keys,/Immaturity sticks out of my book bag/Like I could do it better if given the chance,” reads the poem.
She revisits the memory as an adult with a more compassionate view of her father’s hard work and dedication to his family. The words are accompanied by Markel Haralson’s painting of the father driving his three children. His finger is raised as though conveying a precious life lesson during the brief commute to school. The lesson comes in the form of a new vocabulary word — “tangible” — from a song on the radio.
“We three sit hostage to a makeshift lesson,/Rich in parables and intention,/It is immaterial;/Daddy speaks in tongues.” The priceless love, admiration, and frustration towards the hardworking parent is deeply felt through the words.
Four striking portraits by Jaylaha Crutchfield, the Central State student, are rendered in ebony tones with bright backgrounds. The titles — “The Curious One”, “The Philosopher” — seem to pay respects to the rich cultural offerings of African heritage.
Crutchfield’s “The Queen with the Pearl Earring” may be a reference to Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring”. Both are 3/4 portraits. Vermeer’s famous work is known as a “tronie”, the Dutch 17th-century description of a “face” that was not meant to be a real person’s portrait. It depicted a European girl wearing a turban, an exoticism of non-white culture.
The bulk of the show is painted work that lean towards the figurative, with the exception of two mixed media sculptures by Karen D. Brame.
Brame, who works in Special Collections with an Africana emphasis for the Dayton Metro Library, created tributes to two African American olympians. Track and Field bronze medalist Dr. John Carlos, who made history by standing unshod with raised fist during the National Anthem at the 1968 Olympics, is represented by a pair of cleats adorned in materials symbolic of the “wealth of Black gifts, labor, and talents” that were “stomped on” by the United States. Rich in symbolism, Brame’s works honors the heritage and identity of the African Diaspora.
Credit: Hannah Kasper
Credit: Hannah Kasper
This weekend the gallery will serve as the venue for INNOVAtheatre‘s production of “for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf”, by playwright Ntozake Shange. It is described as a “choreopoem” that explores the “struggles, resilience, and joy of Black women through a series of monologues and movement”.
Dixon says he will transform the gallery into an intimate pop-up stage with rows of seating. Tickets are available at innovatheatre.simpletix.com.
MORE INFO
Where: Edward A. Dixon Gallery, 222 N St Clair St. Dayton
Hours: Noon-5 p.m. Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; 3 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday
Artists: Morris Howard, Zuri Ali, Jaylaha Crutchfield, Karen D. Brame, Nathan Connor, Cedric Cox, Gregory DeGroat and Markel and Lindsay Haralson
Other: Edward A. Dixon Gallery is a commercial art gallery specializing in the exhibition, education, appreciation and sale of “international Fine Art”. The gallery’s website, shop.eadgallery.com, features art for purchase. The gallery will host a closing reception with light refreshments 2-4 p.m. March 15. Free and open to the public. On-street parking available.
About the Author
