The Technician

Here in Flint, Michigan, at the Flint Public Library is a beautiful assortment of artwork by artists from around the world. These pieces are a part of the Mott-Warsh collection of African American art, also based in Flint, and they show a beautiful variety of themes ranging from the historical to the spiritual, even as they are anchored in African American experiences and culture.

            I went to visit this exhibit as a requirement to fulfill a writing assignment. I had no pessimistic views about going, but I was not too thrilled either. However, when I reached the top of the staircase that leads to the second floor, I saw a row of pictures hanging on the wall. I immediately went towards them and began to explore them. I was with a friend who, like me, became sidetracked by the pictures. After a few moments of our viewing, she said we should go find the collection we have to write about. We looked around the library for a few more minutes, and then realized that we had been looking at it.

            The art work is simply fascinating. A lot of the pictures are just done in pencil or in colored pencil. One picture in particular, Cornrows by John Biggers, is a gorgeous drawing of an older woman with cornrows, also known as French braids, and of a younger girl who could possibly be her granddaughter. I considered this to be an art within an art. The art of braiding is considered a skill and not just a hairstyle. The artist did a wonderful job capturing the beauty of black hair, which is often stereotyped as something kinky and bad. The braids were displayed neatly and elegantly, showing a different side of black hair.

            Another more complex and symbolic piece of artwork is 13/13/13 Spring Daughters 2005 by Angelbert Motoyer. This picture is done in a special crayon. I kept finding eyes all over the picture. I recalled that the eye is symbolic for evil. There are two women in this picture who are sisters. Their upper bodies and heads are separate, but their lower bodies start to become one. However, there is a serpent that wraps around them and is coming in between them. I interpreted this as evil trying to split them up. There is a use of the number 10 spread all around this picture. Also, there is a huge 5 and 2 which when multiplied equals to 10. The number 10 is symbolic for many reasons. The ones that best relate to this piece are biblical. A large tree is drawn in the middle of the women as well. This tree I looked at as the tree of life or a family tree that seems to keep them together in spite of all the negative, oppressive, and divisive forces around them.

            Blues Singer 1976 by Paul Keene is a pencil portrait of an older woman singing the blues in a club, and it conveys the depth and the vibrancy of the music. She is dressed in a head scarf and fur coat. There are three circles around her head, which I considered to be sound waves. These sound waves imply how large of a voice this woman has, and how blues being sung by her can reach many people. This picture has also been faded by the artist by erasing some parts. I think this represents how blues music has faded away over time.

            Untitled 1973 by Barbara Chase-Riboud struck me as very odd. I stared at it for a couple of minutes. I did not really see anything but a rock until I turned my head sideways and looked. There I saw the face of a man and his arm and hand resting on something. I am still not quite sure what that something is. Sometimes it looks to me to be a stack of papers. Maybe this man is very tired and has had a long day. Other times I consider this man as an image of God watching over something that could be a ship or a home.

            Mr.White by Frank Williams is a picture of a man who seems to be at church sitting on a pew, and it has a deeply spiritual and universal appeal. The man’s body seems to be see-through. You can see his skeleton in some places of the picture. I think this is about a man who is deep in thought or prayer. I think that we are able to see the bones in his arms because the artist wants to show that the man is human. He is flesh and bones like all other races in the world.

            Autumn Onyx 2000 by A. Joseph Norman was done in marker. This striking close-up of an array of eclectic trees that are all different and have a variety of patterns represents the world and its diversity. We are the trees. We can all co-exist in peace. The artist also includes vines and branches that wrap together the trees, making the picture harmonious and representing unity.

 The exhibit Making One's Mark: Drawings from the Mott-Warsh Collection will be on display at the Flint Public Library through September 10.  The Flint Public Library is located at 1026 East Kearsley Street, next to the Flint Institute of Arts.

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