The Hues Of Humanity was announced early this June being the 5th with their art gallery dedicated to "championing and amplifying the voices of black creatives here in the Rio Grande Valley!" with the additional purpose of "we want to help you show your talent and amplify your voice" due to the underrepresentation of black creatives of the RGV as stated. With those creatives being @weird_mercury, @elom.sandrine, @kenan.phillip, @jawanandonly, @whoisessenam, and @ayounreal. The creatives behind Hues Of Humanity was curated by @hiviscosity, @whoisessenam, and @n.o.o.d.l. The virtual gallery is opened from the 13th to the 20th. So check out the link on @hues_ofhumanity or check out the Instagram handles on the creatives involved!
How did the Hues Of Humanity come to be? Well, there are three curators behind this virtual exhibition is Madison Bickerton @n.o.o.d.l, Carina Martinez-Isaza @hiviscosity, and Divine Agbeko @whoisessenam. Madison says "So Divine and I's original idea was to have an art gallery mainly on Instagram, purely to show the world the talent that we have in the black community here in the RGV." Of course, with Covid-19 being a problem with mass gatherings they have come up with the idea of a virtual exhibition as she continues to say "Instagram was the main stage for us in the beginning because it's such an essay way for people to share and support and follow these artists and ask for a commission from them or purchase their art." Being able to share these artists and supporting them by following, sharing their posts is also what we can do. Each of these artists having their own distinct style and seeing their work in the gallery shows exactly what Madison explains by saying "to show the world the talent we have in the black community in the RGV." Being two individuals working on the Hues Of Humanity which started early this June she says "As this was all going on I had posted the flyer for Hues Of Humanity and Carina had dm'ed me, asking if she could help curate the show and I was more than %200 happy to have her on the team, and just like that I had two brilliant people to work with!"
Carina goes on to say the roles each of them played towards the virtual gallery she helped using her curating skills along with the designing of the space within the virtual exhibition. Which involves the art locations, editing skills. She says, Divine worked on the website, software scouting, data input, archive work, along with recruiting artists in the community. Madison worked on the graphics for the flyers along with the social media page. Overall Carina says "we were very collaborative and active with each other when we spoke about our ideas" As Madison stated "just like that I had two brilliant people to work with!" and it all came out perfectly.
Carina shares her thoughts being "we've created something special in the valley even with Covid-19 being present we were able to work with artists. Working with black creatives in the RGV and giving them a platform and most importantly a voice due to our dominant Mexican communities overshadowing other communities giving us the chance to shift the ideas of the communities in the RGV."
My experience with the art gallery,
Waiting until the virtual art gallery launched there were posts of the creatives that were going to be presented in the gallery. Time has passed and the gallery was opened. My friends and I were excited and it was better than what we imagined it to be. Looking and reading all the artists involved. I was stuck in the same room, but then it hit me that there was more space to explore! Listening to all the songs and the videos as well. I took my time and took it all in. What I enjoyed most besides the art was learning about the artist themselves along with the questions asked is "what change would you want to see in the Rio Grande Valley?" along with "What does Black Lives Matters mean to you?" with the creatives sharing their thoughts such as "The change I wish to see in the RGV is for black people to be valued as much as people value black culture" by Sandrine along with the ideas of the creating nurturing communities in the valley along with supporting the RGVs growth stated by Nathan and Divine. Going through each section and witness each craft brought onto the table was amazing to witness. From art, videography, music, and a writer; it was all worth the wait to witness. Looking through the art and their statements lets dive into the creatives shown in the virtual gallery!
Jaden D. Blango, Figurative Artist.
Jaden shares how he first got interested in creating art as he says "I first got interested in art let's see, my sister actually introduced me to anime when I was young and I loved the look of it so I wanted to learn how to draw myself." I'd say that's how I got interested in drawing, but I would trace my Dragonball Z videogame cover arts and sometimes I still doodle. I recently created my own design which I've only shown one person. We all have our starting points as he continues to say "from there it developed into an interest in life, and exploring philosophy through art so I started to take out books from the library and read about how historically you would learn how to draw and I followed along." This statement reminds of Danny Villarreal's @meemorp_ when he spoke about reading about the history of art in our interview. That you may be able to create art, but learning about it and having an understanding about where it comes from it something completely different and should be something to consider if wanting to create artwork. Jaden mentions Life and as you witnessed the art in the gallery or images he shared with his permission his art style takes a form of realism as he says " I do like to work from life and use live models in my work. I also take photographs of people/ scenes that interest me to use in what I do. This came about because of my interest in life drawing and rendering realism."
As we begin our interest we create our first piece of work which Jaden says "the first piece I made that I felt like I wanted to sign was an image of a woman with a mandala and natural hair, since then I feel like I've gotten more technical in my expression but I try to stay expressive and loose." Our first piece with knowledge acquired for us grow leads us to our most recent work which he shares being "my most recent self-portrait was both emotional and a treat to work with, but also my silverpoint drawing of my grandparents was very engaging." Which was an artwork showcased in the virtual gallery, but with his permission we are able to show to you here as well. The realism in these art pieces has been captivating since my first experience with them at the Aficionado event which is where I learned about Jaden from a friend who goes by @tazz_boo who told me about Jaden's realism work and how he works with actual models. With Aficiaonado also being a platform for local creatives what can be said about the local scene in the valley as Jaden shares his opinion "oh I think it has been extremely welcoming and supportive, I've experienced real support from people" along with his thoughts on the Hue Of Humanity being "amazing initiative, and a very innovative use of technology to get people out there. I am grateful to be a part of it." This has been Jaden D. Blango, Figurative Artist. Be sure to check out his work @weird_mercury/@betyourself
Sandrine Agbeko, Illustrator.
Sandrine's art style follows vibrant colors along with what I would see be part of an anime, a colorized manga especially with the details added to each piece shown, but how did she get started well as she mentions "It’s kind of hard to say but I feel like I have always had an interest in creating art. Ever since I was a kid, some of my earliest memories were me just doodling and drawing because to me it was something that I felt like I was good at and something I felt comfortable carrying out into...well the rest of my life." All that matters is the comfort and feel that it brings to you. A lot of what we do can be said due to many reasons, but at least we a reason to do so. In the topic of our experience in our interest in art, but what can be said about the first piece created well she says "I'm not sure what earliest piece I remember making as a kid specifically, but I remember a lot of my earliest drawings were people. Although I was able to draw animals and buildings and whatnot, I always preferred to draw people and that’s what I continued to do." With the interest of drawing people and the work that comes with it she continues by adding in "I progressed in my art of drawing people by studying body anonymity, facial expressions, body language, and so much more. And a lot of these things are mostly demonstrated in the anime’s I have watched and am currently watching just as I mentioned in the exhibit." Learning about anatomy that comes with it is perfect when it comes to defining your style or just your artwork. As mentioned it is demonstrated in animes and an example I would like to use is a manga called Grappler Baki with its muscle definitions in its detail. Speaking about anime and manga she shares with us her influences "A lot of the artworks I make nowadays are heavily influenced by anime actually. Although I also take inspirations from other artists on my social media, I can see that their style of art is also influenced by anime as well."
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Sandrine shares her thoughts on the local art scene in the valley "It’s amazing seeing that there are black artists here in the valley that are demonstrating their talents and skills for the community to see." Along with her thoughts on the Hue Of Humanity "The Hues of Humanity is amazing! With everything that has been going on with the death of many black individuals, I think that hosting this exhibit was a great way to amplify black voices while the BLM movement is in effect as well" and amplifying black voices are what they aimed for and they have done an amazing job. This has been Sandrine Agbeko, Illustrator. Be sure to check out her work @elom.sandrine
Kenan Nate Phillip, Writer
Going through the gallery and reading through the description mentions wanting to write "different perspectives" and "unspoken stories." Just like painting the pen too can be just as mighty. There is an excerpt in the gallery by Kenan that goes by "Zeitgeist" which he shares the influences that come with it "my main inspiration in this piece was writers and artists like Tupac, George Orwell, and Langston Hughes, people who used their art to say something about the world." The joy of writing comes with the freedom it brings and the expression you can put on paper. Just as any art it can be used to portray a story, a feeling, or even created for self-enjoyment to which he also adds in "Specifically, I was inspired by the Great Gatsby and how it captured the emotions and feelings of a whole generation in one work, so I’ve been trying to do something like that for a while now." I do have a faint memory of reading the book, but I'm convinced to give it another read. As Kenan mentions "It captured the emotions and feelings...so I've been trying to do the same for a while now" from reading your excerpt in the gallery along with the description on the word "Zeitgeist" being "the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time." Reading this excerpt I felt like there were eye-openers when I began reading some of these lines and especially how you transitioned from the present to the past still relevant to the "mood" of the particular times presented.
Kenan shares his thoughts on the local art scene in the valley being "I think the Valley actually has a really active and vibrant art scene — a lot of my friends have been in physical and online galleries like this one, and at UTRGV I’m always seeing opportunities for artists to get their work out there, which is always great to see." With his thoughts on the Hues Of Humanity as well "this virtual gallery is something really cool I’d like to see more of — there’s a lot of skilled artists on social media who deserve a chance to show off their work to a huge audience."
He also states he has a website in the works for his work as well.
This has been Kenan Nate Phillip, Writer. Be sure to check him out @kenan.phillip
Jawan, Musician/Rapper
Jawan is a musician, but he didn't start off making beats or the music he has now as he says "I started making music through poetry. When I was in middle school I kept it to myself just as a new art form I wanted to explore and try out." I feel this statement due to keeping a journal which I would write daily in middle school which let me express myself due. From poems kept throughout the years and growing, he says "by the time I was 15 my sophomore year of High School, those poems had become songs. I went to visit my Dad who lives in Florida for my birthday when he asked what I wanted I asked if he could take me to the studio so he did, and that's when I dropped my first track on Soundcloud." One of the stepping stones into the platform he has today and it continues to grow with the work he continuous to develop.
From the poems to the first song produced at the age of fifteen that's a lot of time and work building up. Of course, what comes to mind is the multiple directions his work could have had, but he says "My influences range from Michael Jackson to 2pac, Bob Marley, Prince, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Lenny Kravitz, and Jimi Hendrix. I listened to mainly Rock growing up and some Country from my mom, but my Step-Dad introduced me to a lot of Hip-Hop and Reggae as I got older. I have a deep connection with Revolutionary Music, music that challenges the masses' ideas of the norm." That's a mixing pot of genres to put together to mold into your own style. Challenging the masses by amplifying yourself, but most importantly his voice as he states "I aim to be a voice for the voiceless in my music, I want to be able to uplift people through my songs. Say the things that people are too scared to say but still want to stay in a creative form and true to myself." A way we connect is through music. We always have the idea of someday creating music, but we feel as we are not talented enough, but we have those who take what we want to say and express become reality.
Through his poems and creation of his songs, there has to be a favorite as he shares with us " My favorite song is definitely "Life" because not only was I able to conquer a lot of inner demons and bring out a lot of internal pain, it just felt like the truest shit I ever wrote." Being able to express yourself and create "the truest shit" and being confident in your work and even the possibility others may be able to relate to it. As he mentioned earlier he has experience with multiple genres growing up as he says "my music has definitely evolved in terms of the content of what I am talking about, but also my tone, flow, and overall lyricism have grown expeditiously. I am way more confident in what I have to say, and I definitely more or less know my sound, and I'm not afraid to try new things with my music." With the terms "of evolved in terms" along with what makes a song put together as he mentions, but how does it exactly come together well he says "my creative process varies, I do my best to stay consistent with writing, making it a daily task, but sometimes I sit on a song for months, other times I'll finish a song in an hour and it's honestly just as good as the one I sat on. I like to let the words come before the Instrumental, but if a beat speaks to me, I have to write to." It reminds me of Denzel Curry when he was writing ZUU he spoke about having it from mind to mic. Basically freestyling the whole album and it's always interesting how musicians choose what to tackle it first. From the beat to the lyrics or any other way it can happen.
Jawan shares his thoughts on the local scene in the valley along with his thoughts on the Hues Of Humanity,
"I'm very proud of the slow but steady progress I've been seeing in the Valley when it comes to fighting for Social Justice Issues, growing local small businesses, and doing their part in keeping those who are not aware of the issues more urban cities have informed. I love what Hues of Humanity did with their Black Artist exhibition, using their platform to give us a voice was the best thing they could've done for the artists and people who are interested in learning about these issues."
This is Jawan's Soundcloud where you can catch his music releases along with his song "Life" be sure to check him out, @jawanandonly
Divine Agbeko, Digital Collage Artist
Divine Agbeko not only worked on the virtual exhibition for the Hues Of Humanity but is also one of the artists featured in the virtual exhibition. She showed her never before seen work in the exhibition which ends June 20th. She chose to work with collage as mentioned in the description in the gallery due to "as a way to improve her design skills." With designing allowing one to use many different programs and features to experiment with and work with altogether as mentioned "she has grown passionate about the art taking various elements and creating something freshly her own." If you have witnessed the artwork by Divine she says "I'm so eager to keep going! It's one of the easiest things to give my time to." If it's something to enjoy then its time worth spending. Especially if its time worth spent then its time used to grow and develop your own skill as well.
This has been Divine Agbeko, Digital Collage Artist. Be sure to check out her work @whoisessenam
Ayodeji Ogunlana, Video Director
Ayodeji is one of the creatives introduced and shown in the virtual exhibition. His craft differs from the arts but falls in the same category. When you think about it all the creatives do something different but are involved in the same way. Ayodeji is a video director on music video production. As stated in the gallery description "Interested in capturing elusive themes like intimacy, loss, and digital dystopianism on-screen" while adding his inspirations as stated "biblical imagery, as well as his favorite directors like Hiro Muria, Frank Lebon, Dexter Navy, and Noah Dillon." Ayodeji also did the music for White Lights by Joseph Stingley which can be found on youtube. I'll add the link down below.
This has been Ayodeji Ogunlana, Video Director. Be sure to check out his work @ayounreal
This has been the Hues Of Humanity with their exhibition which has done more than just amply the voices of the black community and its creatives, but shows what we overshadow and bring it to a light with this gallery. It was a very beautiful and amazing art gallery with much to learn! Check it out before it closes!
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