0:00:01.413,0:00:04.253 I believe there is beauty 0:00:04.253,0:00:08.251 in hearing the voices of people[br]who haven't been heard. 0:00:08.251,0:00:10.561 [Drawing the Blinds, 2014] 0:00:10.561,0:00:13.266 [The Jerome Project[br](Asphalt and Chalk III 2014)] 0:00:13.388,0:00:16.104 [Beneath an Unforgiving Sun[br](from a Tropical Space), 2020] 0:00:16.104,0:00:17.209 That's a complex idea 0:00:17.209,0:00:19.949 because the things that must be said 0:00:19.949,0:00:23.709 are not always lovely, 0:00:23.709,0:00:26.168 but somehow, 0:00:26.168,0:00:28.899 if they're reflective of truth, 0:00:28.899,0:00:33.963 I think fundamentally[br]that makes them beautiful. 0:00:35.126,0:00:39.344 (Music) 0:00:41.765,0:00:45.934 There's the aesthetic beauty of the work 0:00:45.934,0:00:50.322 that in some cases functions[br]as more of a Trojan horse. 0:00:50.652,0:00:56.996 It allows one to open their hearts[br]to difficult conversations. 0:00:57.786,0:01:03.370 Maybe you feel attracted to the beauty, 0:01:03.370,0:01:07.653 and while compelled by the technique, 0:01:07.653,0:01:08.837 the color, 0:01:08.837,0:01:11.139 the form or composition, 0:01:11.139,0:01:13.353 maybe the difficult[br]conversation sneaks up. 0:01:13.353,0:01:16.438 [Billy Lee & Ona Judge[br]Portraits in Tar, 2016] 0:01:16.570,0:01:19.579 I really taught myself how to paint 0:01:19.579,0:01:22.959 by spending time at museums 0:01:22.959,0:01:26.443 and looking at the people that -- 0:01:26.443,0:01:30.425 the artists, rather, that I was[br]told were the masters. 0:01:31.219,0:01:33.573 Looking at the Rembrandts, 0:01:33.573,0:01:35.124 Renoir, 0:01:35.124,0:01:36.431 Manet, 0:01:36.431,0:01:38.014 it becomes quite obvious 0:01:38.014,0:01:41.757 that if I'm going to learn[br]how to paint a self-portrait 0:01:41.757,0:01:44.070 by studing those people, 0:01:44.070,0:01:45.995 I'm going to be challenged 0:01:45.995,0:01:49.440 when it comes to mixing my skin 0:01:49.440,0:01:52.465 or mixing the skin[br]of those people in my family. 0:01:53.026,0:01:57.113 There's literally formulas[br]written down historically 0:01:57.113,0:02:00.011 to tell me how to paint white skin -- 0:02:00.011,0:02:02.743 what colors I should use[br]for the underpainting, 0:02:02.743,0:02:06.060 what colors I should use[br]for the impasto highlights. 0:02:06.227,0:02:09.255 That doesn't really exist for dark skin. 0:02:09.678,0:02:10.912 It's not a thing. 0:02:11.115,0:02:13.642 It's not a thing because 0:02:13.642,0:02:17.967 the reality is our skin wasn't[br]considered beautiful. 0:02:19.234,0:02:20.230 The picture, 0:02:20.230,0:02:24.880 the world that is represented[br]in the history of paintings 0:02:24.880,0:02:26.897 doesn't reflect me. 0:02:27.047,0:02:32.272 It doesn't reflect the things[br]that I value in that way, 0:02:32.272,0:02:36.205 and that's the conflict that I struggle[br]with so frequently -- 0:02:36.205,0:02:40.890 is I love the technique[br]of these paintings, 0:02:40.890,0:02:43.604 I have learned from the technique[br]of these paintings, 0:02:43.604,0:02:49.126 and yet I know that they have[br]no concern for me. 0:02:49.954,0:02:53.515 And so there are so many of us 0:02:53.515,0:02:55.865 who are amending this history 0:02:55.865,0:02:58.631 in order to simply say we were there. 0:02:59.490,0:03:02.489 Because you couldn't see[br]doesn't mean we weren't there. 0:03:02.876,0:03:04.210 We have been there. 0:03:04.210,0:03:05.670 We have been here. 0:03:06.264,0:03:11.932 We've continued to be seen[br]as not beautiful, 0:03:11.932,0:03:13.867 but we are, 0:03:13.867,0:03:15.351 and we are here. 0:03:15.821,0:03:19.431 So many of the things that I make 0:03:19.431,0:03:24.515 end up as maybe futile attempts[br]to reinforce that idea. 0:03:24.515,0:03:27.196 [Drawing the Blinds, 2014] 0:03:27.351,0:03:30.224 [Seeing Through Time, 2018] 0:03:30.224,0:03:36.163 Even though I've had the Western training, 0:03:36.163,0:03:39.978 my eye is still drawn[br]to the folks who look like me. 0:03:40.493,0:03:42.672 And so sometimes in my work, 0:03:42.672,0:03:48.507 I have used strategies like whiting out[br]the rest of the composition 0:03:48.507,0:03:53.522 in order to focus on the character[br]who may go unseen otherwise. 0:03:54.274,0:03:59.754 I have cut out other figures[br]from the painting. 0:03:59.754,0:04:02.488 One, to either emphasize their absence, 0:04:02.488,0:04:07.718 or two, to get you to focus[br]on the other folks in the composition. 0:04:07.718,0:04:10.222 [Intravenous (From[br]a Tropical Space), 2020] 0:04:10.344,0:04:15.414 So The Jerome Project aesthetically[br]draws on hundreds of years 0:04:15.414,0:04:19.301 of religious icon painting. 0:04:19.610,0:04:21.209 A kind of aesthetic structure 0:04:21.209,0:04:27.984 that was reserved for the church, 0:04:27.984,0:04:29.941 reserved for saints. 0:04:33.220,0:04:38.024 It's a project that is an exploration[br]of the criminal justice system. 0:04:39.511,0:04:43.695 Not asking the question[br]are these people innocent or guilty, 0:04:43.695,0:04:48.636 but more, is this the way[br]that we should deal with our citizens. 0:04:49.400,0:04:51.409 I started a body of work 0:04:51.409,0:04:54.615 because after being[br]separated from my father 0:04:54.615,0:04:57.481 for almost 15 years, 0:04:57.481,0:04:59.886 I reconnected with my father 0:04:59.886,0:05:05.975 and I really didn't know[br]how to make a place for him 0:05:05.975,0:05:07.236 in my life. 0:05:07.456,0:05:10.783 As with most things I don't understand, 0:05:10.783,0:05:12.926 I work them out in the studio. 0:05:13.556,0:05:17.314 And so I just started making[br]these portraits of mugshots, 0:05:17.314,0:05:21.331 starting because I did[br]a Google search for my father 0:05:21.331,0:05:24.227 just wondering what had happened[br]over this 15-year period. 0:05:24.227,0:05:25.412 Where had he gone? 0:05:25.770,0:05:27.093 And I found his mugshot, 0:05:27.093,0:05:29.169 which of course was of no surprise, 0:05:29.169,0:05:31.718 but I found in that first search, 0:05:31.718,0:05:36.403 97 other Black men with exactly[br]the same first and last name, 0:05:36.403,0:05:37.814 and I found their mugshots, 0:05:37.814,0:05:38.899 and that -- 0:05:38.899,0:05:40.001 that was a surprise. 0:05:40.001,0:05:42.446 And not knowing what to do, 0:05:42.446,0:05:44.437 I just started painting them. 0:05:45.003,0:05:49.444 Initially, the tar was a formula[br]that allowed me to figure out 0:05:49.444,0:05:53.605 how much of these men's life[br]had been lost to incarceration, 0:05:53.605,0:05:55.907 but I gave up that, 0:05:55.907,0:06:00.379 and the tar became far more[br]symbolic as I continued, 0:06:00.379,0:06:01.504 because what I realized 0:06:01.504,0:06:05.371 is the amount of time that you spend[br]incarcerated is just the beginning 0:06:05.371,0:06:08.045 of how long it's going to impact[br]that rest of your life. 0:06:08.271,0:06:13.043 So in terms of beauty within that context, 0:06:13.043,0:06:16.636 I know from my friend's family, 0:06:16.636,0:06:18.763 who have been incarcerated, 0:06:18.763,0:06:21.159 who are currently incarcerated, 0:06:21.159,0:06:22.740 folks want to be remembered. 0:06:23.706,0:06:25.798 Folks want to be seen. 0:06:26.211,0:06:29.495 We put people away for a long time; 0:06:29.495,0:06:30.862 in some cases, 0:06:30.862,0:06:32.915 for that one worst thing[br]that they've done. 0:06:33.160,0:06:35.232 So to a degree, 0:06:35.232,0:06:39.078 it's a way of just saying ... 0:06:39.078,0:06:40.222 I see you. 0:06:40.418,0:06:41.797 We see you. 0:06:42.430,0:06:44.338 And I think that, 0:06:44.338,0:06:46.873 as a gesture, 0:06:46.873,0:06:48.156 is beautiful. 0:06:49.157,0:06:51.467 In the painting "Behind[br]the Myth of Benevolence," 0:06:51.467,0:06:56.549 there's almost this curtain[br]of Thomas Jefferson 0:06:56.549,0:07:02.436 painted and pulled back[br]to reveal a Black woman who's hidden. 0:07:03.498,0:07:07.854 This Black woman is at once Sally Hemings, 0:07:07.854,0:07:11.087 but she's also every other Black woman 0:07:11.087,0:07:14.334 who was on that plantation Monticello, 0:07:14.334,0:07:16.113 and all the rest of them. 0:07:16.113,0:07:18.975 The one thing we do know[br]about Thomas Jefferson 0:07:18.975,0:07:22.312 is that he believed in liberty ... 0:07:22.312,0:07:26.129 maybe more strongly than anyone[br]who's ever written about it. 0:07:26.129,0:07:27.643 And if we know that to be true, 0:07:27.643,0:07:29.281 if we believe that to be true, 0:07:29.281,0:07:33.410 then the only benevolent thing[br]to do in that context 0:07:33.410,0:07:36.476 would be to extend that liberty. 0:07:36.924,0:07:38.798 And so in this body of work, 0:07:38.798,0:07:43.316 I use two separate paintings 0:07:43.316,0:07:48.419 that are forced together[br]on top of one another 0:07:48.419,0:07:55.332 to emphasize this tumultuous[br]relationship between Black and white 0:07:55.332,0:07:56.933 in these compositions. 0:07:56.933,0:07:59.603 And so that -- 0:07:59.603,0:08:01.598 that contradiction, 0:08:01.598,0:08:06.164 that devastating reality[br]that's always behind the curtain, 0:08:06.164,0:08:12.228 what is happening[br]in race relations in this country -- 0:08:12.228,0:08:15.829 that's what this painting is about. 0:08:19.177,0:08:22.518 The painting is called "Another[br]Fight for Remembrance." 0:08:23.075,0:08:24.991 The title speaks to repitition. 0:08:25.273,0:08:31.957 The title speaks to the kind of violence[br]against Black people 0:08:31.957,0:08:34.323 by the police 0:08:34.323,0:08:35.898 that has happened 0:08:35.898,0:08:37.213 and continues to happen, 0:08:37.213,0:08:40.240 and we are now seeing it happen again. 0:08:40.639,0:08:44.827 The painting is sort of editorialized 0:08:44.827,0:08:47.675 as a painting about Ferguson. 0:08:47.675,0:08:51.304 It's not not about Ferguson, 0:08:51.304,0:08:56.452 but it's also not not about Detroit, 0:08:56.452,0:09:00.590 it's also not not about Minneapolis. 0:09:00.832,0:09:05.093 The painting was started because 0:09:05.093,0:09:08.232 on a trip to New York 0:09:08.232,0:09:10.051 to see some of my own art 0:09:10.051,0:09:11.950 with my brother, 0:09:11.950,0:09:15.200 as we spent hours walking[br]in and out of galleries, 0:09:15.200,0:09:20.074 we ended the day by being stopped 0:09:20.074,0:09:21.656 by an undercover police car 0:09:21.656,0:09:23.233 in the middle of the street. 0:09:23.233,0:09:26.331 These two police officers[br]with their hands on their gun 0:09:26.331,0:09:27.562 told us to stop. 0:09:27.562,0:09:29.544 They put us up against the wall. 0:09:29.544,0:09:32.131 They accused me of stealing art 0:09:32.131,0:09:36.295 out of a gallery space where[br]I was actually exhibiting art. 0:09:37.020,0:09:40.140 And as they stood there[br]with their hands on their weapons, 0:09:40.140,0:09:44.722 I asked the police officer[br]what was different about my citizenship 0:09:44.722,0:09:48.004 than that of all of the other people 0:09:48.004,0:09:51.691 who were not being[br]disturbed in that moment. 0:09:52.300,0:09:55.996 He informed me that they[br]had been following us for two hours, 0:09:55.996,0:10:00.511 and that they had been getting[br]complaints about Black men -- 0:10:00.511,0:10:03.127 two Black men walking[br]in and out of galleries. 0:10:04.154,0:10:08.890 That painting is about the reality 0:10:08.890,0:10:11.872 that it's not a question 0:10:11.872,0:10:16.538 of if this is going to happen again, 0:10:16.538,0:10:18.508 it's a question of when. 0:10:20.886,0:10:24.353 This most recent body of work[br]is called "From a Tropical Space." 0:10:24.353,0:10:28.047 This series of paintings[br]is about Black mothers. 0:10:28.643,0:10:34.506 The series of paintings takes place[br]in a supersaturated, 0:10:34.506,0:10:36.522 maybe surrealist world 0:10:36.522,0:10:39.738 not that far from the one we live in. 0:10:40.004,0:10:41.637 But in this world, 0:10:41.637,0:10:45.767 the children of these Black women 0:10:45.767,0:10:47.186 are disappearing. 0:10:49.431,0:10:52.775 What this work is really about is trauma. 0:10:53.571,0:10:57.154 The things that Black women[br]and women of color in particular 0:10:57.154,0:10:58.344 in our community 0:10:58.344,0:11:02.890 have to struggle through[br]in order to set their kids out 0:11:02.890,0:11:04.484 on the path of life. 0:11:05.742,0:11:08.238 What's encouraging for me 0:11:08.238,0:11:13.145 is that this practice of mine 0:11:13.145,0:11:15.834 has given me the opportunity 0:11:15.834,0:11:19.452 to work with young people in my community. 0:11:19.718,0:11:22.943 I'm quite certain[br]the answers are not in me, 0:11:22.943,0:11:24.496 but if I'm hopeful at all, 0:11:24.496,0:11:26.861 it's that they may be in them. 0:11:27.369,0:11:31.418 NXTHVN is a project that started[br]about five years ago. 0:11:31.676,0:11:34.803 And NXTHVN is a 40,000-square-foot[br]arts incubator in the heart 0:11:34.803,0:11:37.122 in the heart of the Dixwell neighborhood 0:11:37.122,0:11:38.557 in New Haven, Connecticut. 0:11:38.557,0:11:41.541 This is a predominantly[br]Black and Brown neighborhood. 0:11:41.541,0:11:47.800 It is a neighborhood that has[br]the history of jazz at every corner. 0:11:48.165,0:11:52.049 Our neighborhood in many ways[br]has been disinvested in. 0:11:52.605,0:11:58.074 Schools are struggling to really[br]prepare our population 0:11:58.074,0:12:00.426 for the futures ahead of them. 0:12:00.651,0:12:05.753 I know that creativity[br]is an essential asset. 0:12:06.657,0:12:11.054 It takes creativity 0:12:11.054,0:12:14.872 to be able to imagine a future 0:12:14.872,0:12:17.805 that is so different than the one[br]that is before you. 0:12:18.149,0:12:24.662 And so every artist in our program[br]has a high school studio assistant. 0:12:25.185,0:12:28.799 That's a high school student[br]that comes from the city of New Haven 0:12:28.799,0:12:32.138 who works with them[br]and learns their craft, 0:12:32.138,0:12:34.287 learns their practice. 0:12:34.287,0:12:36.267 And so we've seen the ways 0:12:36.267,0:12:41.349 in which pointing folks[br]at the power of creativity 0:12:41.349,0:12:42.794 can change them. 0:12:44.015,0:12:49.763 Beauty is complicated[br]because of how we define it. 0:12:51.152,0:12:56.135 I think that beauty and truth 0:12:56.135,0:12:59.052 are intertwined somehow. 0:12:59.553,0:13:05.731 There's something beautiful[br]in truth-telling. 0:13:07.631,0:13:09.819 That is -- 0:13:09.819,0:13:13.802 that as an act, truth-telling, 0:13:13.802,0:13:17.751 and the myriad ways it manifests. 0:13:18.173,0:13:20.011 There's beauty in that.