0:00:01.325,0:00:04.229 I believe there is beauty 0:00:04.253,0:00:08.494 in hearing the voices of people[br]who haven't been heard. 0:00:08.518,0:00:10.417 ["Drawing the Blinds," 2014] 0:00:11.017,0:00:13.542 ["The Jerome Project[br](Asphalt and Chalk) III," 2014)] 0:00:13.566,0:00:16.477 ["Beneath an Unforgiving Sun[br](from A Tropical Space)," 2020] 0:00:16.501,0:00:17.721 That's a complex idea, 0:00:17.745,0:00:23.406 because the things that must be said[br]are not always lovely. 0:00:23.430,0:00:24.963 But somehow, 0:00:25.947,0:00:28.692 if they're reflective of truth, 0:00:28.716,0:00:33.963 I think, fundamentally,[br]that makes them beautiful. 0:00:35.126,0:00:39.344 (Music) 0:00:41.574,0:00:45.725 There's the aesthetic beauty of the work 0:00:45.749,0:00:50.011 that in some cases functions[br]as more of a Trojan horse. 0:00:50.487,0:00:57.133 It allows one to open their hearts[br]to difficult conversations. 0:00:57.704,0:01:03.293 Maybe you feel attracted to the beauty, 0:01:03.317,0:01:07.629 and while compelled by the technique, 0:01:07.653,0:01:08.813 the color, 0:01:08.837,0:01:10.987 the form or composition, 0:01:11.011,0:01:13.503 maybe the difficult[br]conversation sneaks up. 0:01:13.907,0:01:16.485 ["Billy Lee and Ona Judge[br]Portraits in Tar," 2016] 0:01:16.509,0:01:19.504 I really taught myself how to paint 0:01:19.528,0:01:22.874 by spending time at museums 0:01:22.898,0:01:26.220 and looking at the people that -- 0:01:26.244,0:01:30.425 the artists, rather --[br]that I was told were the masters. 0:01:31.096,0:01:33.458 Looking at the Rembrandts[br]["The Night Watch"], 0:01:33.482,0:01:35.443 Renoir ["Luncheon of the Boating Party"], 0:01:35.467,0:01:37.025 Manet ["Luncheon on the Grass"], 0:01:37.049,0:01:38.368 it becomes quite obvious 0:01:38.392,0:01:41.637 that if I'm going to learn[br]how to paint a self-portrait 0:01:41.661,0:01:43.809 by studying those people, 0:01:43.833,0:01:45.798 I'm going to be challenged 0:01:45.822,0:01:49.198 when it comes to mixing my skin 0:01:49.222,0:01:52.465 or mixing the skin[br]of those people in my family. 0:01:52.812,0:01:56.866 There's literally formulas[br]written down historically 0:01:56.890,0:01:59.761 to tell me how to paint white skin -- 0:01:59.785,0:02:02.455 what colors I should use[br]for the underpainting, 0:02:02.479,0:02:06.034 what colors I should use[br]for the impasto highlights -- 0:02:06.058,0:02:09.255 that doesn't really exist for dark skin. 0:02:09.609,0:02:10.871 It's not a thing. 0:02:10.895,0:02:12.288 It's not a thing 0:02:12.312,0:02:17.967 because the reality is,[br]our skin wasn't considered beautiful. 0:02:19.079,0:02:24.723 The picture, the world that is represented[br]in the history of paintings 0:02:24.747,0:02:27.023 doesn't reflect me. 0:02:27.047,0:02:32.096 It doesn't reflect the things[br]that I value in that way, 0:02:32.120,0:02:36.037 and that's the conflict[br]that I struggle with so frequently, 0:02:36.061,0:02:40.718 is, I love the technique[br]of these paintings, 0:02:40.742,0:02:43.475 I have learned from the technique[br]of these paintings, 0:02:43.499,0:02:49.126 and yet I know that they have[br]no concern for me. 0:02:49.825,0:02:55.841 And so there are so many of us[br]who are amending this history 0:02:55.865,0:02:58.480 in order to simply say we were there. 0:02:59.425,0:03:02.798 Because you couldn't see[br]doesn't mean we weren't there. 0:03:02.822,0:03:04.023 We have been there. 0:03:04.047,0:03:05.507 We have been here. 0:03:06.173,0:03:10.695 We've continued to be seen[br]as not beautiful, 0:03:11.885,0:03:13.679 but we are, 0:03:13.703,0:03:15.111 and we are here. 0:03:15.500,0:03:19.129 So many of the things that I make 0:03:19.153,0:03:24.979 end up as maybe futile attempts[br]to reinforce that idea. 0:03:25.003,0:03:27.052 ["Drawing the Blinds," 2014] 0:03:27.588,0:03:29.657 ["Seeing Through Time," 2018] 0:03:30.009,0:03:36.048 Even though I've had the Western training, 0:03:36.072,0:03:40.294 my eye is still drawn[br]to the folks who look like me. 0:03:40.318,0:03:42.474 And so sometimes in my work, 0:03:42.498,0:03:48.310 I have used strategies like whiting out[br]the rest of the composition 0:03:48.334,0:03:53.590 in order to focus on the character[br]who may go unseen otherwise. 0:03:54.169,0:03:59.667 I have cut out other figures[br]from the painting, 0:03:59.691,0:04:02.331 one, to either emphasize their absence, 0:04:02.355,0:04:08.077 or two, to get you to focus[br]on the other folks in the composition. 0:04:08.101,0:04:10.222 ["Intravenous (From[br]a Tropical Space)," 2020] 0:04:10.246,0:04:15.245 So "The Jerome Project," aesthetically,[br]draws on hundreds of years 0:04:15.269,0:04:18.909 of religious icon painting, 0:04:18.933,0:04:20.848 ["The Jerome Project[br](My Loss)," 2014] 0:04:20.872,0:04:27.872 a kind of aesthetic structure[br]that was reserved for the church, 0:04:27.896,0:04:29.691 reserved for saints. 0:04:29.715,0:04:30.718 ["Madonna and Child"] 0:04:30.742,0:04:32.935 ["Leaf from a Greek Psalter[br]and New Testament"] 0:04:32.959,0:04:34.042 ["Christ Pantocrator"] 0:04:34.066,0:04:38.058 It's a project that is an exploration[br]of the criminal justice system, 0:04:39.319,0:04:43.571 not asking the question[br]"Are these people innocent or guilty?", 0:04:43.595,0:04:48.636 but more, "Is this the way[br]that we should deal with our citizens?" 0:04:49.282,0:04:51.278 I started a body of work 0:04:51.302,0:04:54.591 because after being[br]separated from my father 0:04:54.615,0:04:57.291 for almost 15 years, 0:04:57.315,0:05:01.220 I reconnected with my father, and ... 0:05:02.790,0:05:07.236 I really didn't know how[br]to make a place for him in my life. 0:05:07.260,0:05:10.629 As with most things I don't understand, 0:05:10.653,0:05:12.796 I work them out in the studio. 0:05:13.406,0:05:17.154 And so I just started making[br]these portraits of mug shots, 0:05:17.178,0:05:21.172 starting because I did[br]a Google search for my father, 0:05:21.196,0:05:24.069 just wondering what had happened[br]over this 15-year period. 0:05:24.093,0:05:25.555 Where had he gone? 0:05:25.579,0:05:29.002 And I found his mug shot,[br]which of course was of no surprise. 0:05:29.026,0:05:34.055 But I found in that first search[br]97 other Black men 0:05:34.079,0:05:36.292 with exactly the same first and last name, 0:05:36.316,0:05:40.057 and I found their mug shots,[br]and that -- that was a surprise. 0:05:40.081,0:05:42.334 And not knowing what to do, 0:05:42.358,0:05:44.111 I just started painting them. 0:05:45.003,0:05:49.280 Initially, the tar was a formula[br]that allowed me to figure out 0:05:49.304,0:05:53.531 how much of these men's life[br]had been lost to incarceration. 0:05:53.555,0:05:55.723 But I gave up that, 0:05:55.747,0:05:58.645 and the tar became far more symbolic 0:05:58.669,0:06:00.278 as I continued, 0:06:00.302,0:06:01.558 because what I realized is 0:06:01.582,0:06:05.121 the amount of time that you spend[br]incarcerated is just the beginning 0:06:05.145,0:06:08.089 of how long it's going to impact[br]the rest of your life. 0:06:08.113,0:06:11.939 So in terms of beauty within that context, 0:06:13.050,0:06:16.612 I know from my friend's family 0:06:16.636,0:06:18.739 who have been incarcerated, 0:06:18.763,0:06:21.059 who are currently incarcerated, 0:06:21.083,0:06:22.664 folks want to be remembered. 0:06:23.587,0:06:25.980 Folks want to be seen. 0:06:26.004,0:06:29.367 We put people away for a long time, 0:06:29.391,0:06:30.680 in some cases, 0:06:30.704,0:06:32.896 for that one worst thing[br]that they've done. 0:06:32.920,0:06:34.969 So to a degree, 0:06:34.993,0:06:38.878 it's a way of just saying, 0:06:38.902,0:06:40.275 "I see you. 0:06:40.299,0:06:41.504 We see you." 0:06:42.274,0:06:46.030 And I think that, as a gesture, 0:06:46.761,0:06:47.949 is beautiful. 0:06:49.052,0:06:51.361 In the painting "Behind[br]the Myth of Benevolence," 0:06:51.385,0:06:56.264 there's almost this curtain[br]of Thomas Jefferson 0:06:56.288,0:07:02.604 painted and pulled back[br]to reveal a Black woman who's hidden. 0:07:03.358,0:07:07.501 This Black woman is at once[br]Sally Hemings, 0:07:07.525,0:07:10.816 but she's also every other Black woman 0:07:10.840,0:07:14.310 who was on that plantation Monticello 0:07:14.334,0:07:16.029 and all the rest of them. 0:07:16.053,0:07:18.832 The one thing we do know[br]about Thomas Jefferson 0:07:18.856,0:07:20.584 is that he believed in liberty, 0:07:22.226,0:07:25.954 maybe more strongly than anyone[br]who's ever written about it. 0:07:25.978,0:07:29.059 And if we know that to be true,[br]if we believe that to be true, 0:07:29.083,0:07:33.189 then the only benevolent thing[br]to do in that context 0:07:33.213,0:07:36.279 would be to extend that liberty. 0:07:36.821,0:07:38.626 And so in this body of work, 0:07:38.650,0:07:43.145 I use two separate paintings 0:07:43.169,0:07:48.337 that are forced together[br]on top of one another 0:07:48.361,0:07:55.308 to emphasize this tumultuous[br]relationship between Black and White 0:07:55.332,0:07:56.909 in these compositions. 0:07:56.933,0:07:58.788 And so, that -- 0:07:59.603,0:08:01.410 that contradiction, 0:08:01.434,0:08:05.984 that devastating reality[br]that's always behind the curtain, 0:08:06.008,0:08:11.028 what is happening[br]in race relations in this country -- 0:08:12.212,0:08:15.017 that's what this painting is about. 0:08:18.947,0:08:22.550 The painting is called[br]"Another Fight for Remembrance." 0:08:22.923,0:08:25.098 The title speaks to repetition. 0:08:25.122,0:08:31.869 The title speaks to the kind of violence[br]against Black people 0:08:31.893,0:08:34.236 by the police 0:08:34.260,0:08:36.966 that has happened[br]and continues to happen, 0:08:36.990,0:08:40.017 and we are now seeing it happen again. 0:08:40.566,0:08:47.521 The painting is sort of editorialized[br]as a painting about Ferguson. 0:08:47.545,0:08:50.044 It's not not about Ferguson, 0:08:51.304,0:08:56.428 but it's also not not about Detroit, 0:08:56.452,0:09:00.645 it's also not not about Minneapolis. 0:09:00.669,0:09:03.652 The painting was started because 0:09:04.989,0:09:06.763 on a trip to New York 0:09:08.128,0:09:10.882 to see some of my own art[br]with my brother, 0:09:11.815,0:09:15.078 as we spent hours walking[br]in and out of galleries, 0:09:15.102,0:09:21.560 we ended the day by being stopped[br]by an undercover police car 0:09:21.584,0:09:23.061 in the middle of the street. 0:09:23.085,0:09:26.174 These two police officers[br]with their hands on their gun 0:09:26.198,0:09:27.369 told us to stop. 0:09:27.393,0:09:29.352 They put us up against the wall. 0:09:29.376,0:09:32.004 They accused me of stealing art 0:09:32.028,0:09:36.192 out of a gallery space[br]where I was actually exhibiting art. 0:09:36.868,0:09:39.898 And as they stood there[br]with their hands on their weapons, 0:09:39.922,0:09:44.531 I asked the police officer[br]what was different about my citizenship 0:09:44.555,0:09:47.781 than that of all of the other people 0:09:47.805,0:09:51.691 who were not being disturbed[br]in that moment. 0:09:52.238,0:09:55.801 He informed me that they had been[br]following us for two hours 0:09:55.825,0:10:00.384 and that they had been getting[br]complaints about Black men, 0:10:00.408,0:10:03.144 two Black men walking[br]in and out of galleries. 0:10:04.050,0:10:07.515 That painting is about the reality, 0:10:08.889,0:10:10.649 that it's not a question 0:10:11.872,0:10:15.623 of if this is going to happen again, 0:10:16.419,0:10:18.079 it's a question of when. 0:10:20.695,0:10:24.229 This most recent body of work[br]is called "From a Tropical Space." 0:10:24.253,0:10:28.405 This series of paintings[br]is about Black mothers. 0:10:28.429,0:10:34.269 The series of paintings takes place[br]in a supersaturated, 0:10:34.293,0:10:36.286 maybe surrealist world, 0:10:36.310,0:10:39.868 not that far from the one we live in. 0:10:39.892,0:10:41.418 But in this world, 0:10:41.442,0:10:44.539 the children of these Black women 0:10:45.703,0:10:46.917 are disappearing. 0:10:49.335,0:10:52.404 What this work is really about[br]is the trauma, 0:10:53.475,0:10:57.035 the things that Black women[br]and women of color in particular 0:10:57.059,0:10:58.226 in our community 0:10:58.250,0:11:02.866 have to struggle through[br]in order to set their kids out 0:11:02.890,0:11:04.300 on the path of life. 0:11:05.701,0:11:08.008 What's encouraging for me 0:11:08.032,0:11:12.916 is that this practice of mine 0:11:12.940,0:11:15.810 has given me the opportunity 0:11:15.834,0:11:19.612 to work with young people in my community. 0:11:19.636,0:11:22.838 I'm quite certain[br]the answers are not in me, 0:11:22.862,0:11:24.392 but if I'm hopeful at all, 0:11:24.416,0:11:26.630 it's that they may be in them. 0:11:27.209,0:11:31.493 "NXTHVN" is a project that started[br]about five years ago. 0:11:31.517,0:11:34.779 NXTHVN is a 40,000-square-foot[br]arts incubator 0:11:34.803,0:11:36.962 in the heart of the Dixwell neighborhood 0:11:36.986,0:11:38.343 in New Haven, Connecticut. 0:11:38.367,0:11:41.453 This is a predominantly[br]Black and Brown neighborhood. 0:11:41.477,0:11:48.038 It is a neighborhood that has[br]the history of jazz at every corner. 0:11:48.062,0:11:51.979 Our neighborhood, in many ways,[br]has been disinvested in. 0:11:52.373,0:11:58.225 Schools are struggling to really[br]prepare our population 0:11:58.249,0:12:00.526 for the futures ahead of them. 0:12:00.550,0:12:05.846 I know that creativity[br]is an essential asset. 0:12:06.577,0:12:09.696 It takes creativity 0:12:10.942,0:12:14.699 to be able to imagine a future 0:12:14.723,0:12:17.531 that is so different than the one[br]that is before you. 0:12:18.053,0:12:25.034 And so every artist in our program[br]has a high school studio assistant: 0:12:25.058,0:12:28.543 there's a high school student[br]that comes from the city of New Haven 0:12:28.567,0:12:31.946 who works with them[br]and learns their craft, 0:12:31.970,0:12:34.177 learns their practice. 0:12:34.201,0:12:36.243 And so we've seen the ways 0:12:36.267,0:12:41.275 in which pointing folks[br]at the power of creativity 0:12:41.299,0:12:42.744 can change them. 0:12:43.856,0:12:46.750 Beauty is complicated 0:12:47.726,0:12:49.874 because of how we define it. 0:12:51.096,0:12:56.015 I think that beauty and truth 0:12:56.039,0:12:58.956 are intertwined somehow. 0:12:59.410,0:13:00.830 There is something 0:13:02.834,0:13:04.388 beautiful 0:13:04.412,0:13:05.757 in truth-telling. 0:13:07.560,0:13:08.744 That is: 0:13:09.585,0:13:13.611 that as an act, truth-telling 0:13:13.635,0:13:18.053 and the myriad ways it manifests -- 0:13:18.077,0:13:19.753 there's beauty in that.