Unique Butler ART 21 PROJECT

"(Forever Free) Buy Black!," 1996

Acrylic latex, stain, and copper penny on paper, 30

3/4 x 24 1/4 inchesPrivate collection

Photo by Beth Phillips Courtesy

Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York

"You 've go t to th ink o f how these images were used in Amer i can

cu l ture . . . they were everywhere and they were used to marke t any th ing

f rom o i l s to ink , f rom food produc ts to c l o th ing . . .Peop le ope ra te f rom an emot iona l p l ace when they see these

images because they th ink o f the pas t as be i ng someth ing that

happened and that the concept s don ' t l i nger. But these concept s

cont inue to affec t us in many ways , i n modern concept s o f adver t i s ing as

we l l a s in contemporary adver t i sements . " - M ichae l R ay

Char l es

“(FOREVER FREE) BUY BLACK!,” 1996

Charles’ art is influenced by African-American culture is a tasteful manner. As I viewed his pieces, because of my heritage I felt a connection to each piece. His work is powerful and bold. Each piece makes a statement and has a meaning about the stereotype of African-Americans. This particular piece spoke to me because I feel like I can relate to “Buy Black.” Buy black is a stereotypical statement such as “acting white.” In the piece it appears as if the character is made up in black face with red lips. The style of the picture has an old Jim crow feeling.

The photograph to the left is my response to the Buying

Black” piece. The three items in the picture are

stereotypical products in african-american

households. I manipulated the photograph to make it

black & for a timeless effect.

RESPONSE TO “BUY BLACK”

INTRODUCTION TO “LOSS & DESIRE” FEAUTRING JANE ALEXANDER, 2003 –CHARLES ATLAS

Production still from the "Art in the Twenty-First Century" Season 2 episode, "Loss & Desire," 2003

They says the eyes are the gates tothe soul. Atlas and Jane Alexander teamed up for a series of art pieces thatare captured in differentMoments of time throughout the “Loss and Desire .”This particular photograph drew me in because the piercing eyes show a gloominess of loss but at the same time I can see the determination of the desire in her eyes.

RESPONSE TO “LOSS & DESIRE”

Like the eyes, a smile can be just as powerful. This smile was actually taken fromA photograph of me snapped while performing in a dance class. I responded to Atlas’Picture with this smiling photograph because when dissecting the piece for meaning there isNo right or wrong answer but you can clearly see the happiness conveyed though the smile.Ultimately I gathered that Atlas’ passion for theater inspires his beautiful photography.

"SANTA ANA WASH, NEXT TO NORTON AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA" (1978) –

ROBERT ADAM

Adam uses black and white filters in the picture for a dramatic effect.A lot of his pieces are simple but yet beautiful. He captures photgraphs of common areas or things that you may see on a daily bases but they go unnoticed. This particular piece stuck out to me because it reminds of a trail that I run everyday.I also noticed that the majority of his pieces are in 1 point perspective.

To the right is a picture of my response to the “Santa Ana”. This a trail I run on a

weekly bases. It actually reminds me of the sanata

Ana because it’s a still show of nature and I never

noticed how beautiful it was untill I stopped running and actually shot the picture. I shot the picture in a 1 point

perspective just as Adam did. I think you can see that

there is no end to the beouty of the scenery this

way.

RESPONSE TO SANATA ANA WASH