Growing Up Against a Backdrop of Racism

Drawing by BZTAT (prints available)

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

Watching the video that has dominated the news lately of Oklahoma University fraternity students chanting a racist song has reminded me of my own history growing up against a backdrop of racism. Please bear with me as I walk down memory lane.

When I was a very young child, probably around 4 years old, I remember seeing an orange glow on the horizon from my house in Liberty, MO. My mother explained to me that it was from fires that were burning in Kansas City, about 30 miles away. She said that the fires were burning because there were riots in the city. She was nervous, because the riots were not far from my father’s workplace.

I was a fairly bright child, but I doubt I really understood what was going on. My family had been glued to the news on our small black and white TV for days, though, so I knew something big was going on.

Later on, when I was in the third and fourth grade, I was “bused” to a different school. Franklin Elementary, apparently, was a primarily “black” school, and Manor Hill, my original school, was primarily white. The integration did not truthfully integrate white students with black students as the desegregation movement had intended, because they simply switched the 3rd and 4th grades of both schools. Most of my classmates were other white children from Manor Hill.

I do remember interacting with black children on the playground, though, at recess. I noticed the differences between our skin color, hair styles, and cultural preferences, but it was not a big deal. Those differences didn’t seem to matter on the monkey bars or jungle gym. Kids were just kids to us, and we had fun no matter what.

My parents were intelligent people, and they were up on current events. They taught me to be aware of the cultural context in which I was growing up. As a whole, they respected diversity, although their attitudes were still somewhat prejudicial. They did, however, impress upon me that respect for everyone was important.

My family moved to Jonesboro, GA in 1976. Jonesboro was a small city outside of Atlanta that was deeply steeped in its Confederate history. Confederate flags were everywhere and related imagery was pervasive. When I began attending Jonesboro High School in 1978, a school that had a mix of black and white students, I was confronted with blatant racism for the first time.

The most obvious example of racism was horrific. On “Senior Character Day”, senior students dressed up in costumes as if it were Halloween. A number of male students dressed up in white KKK robes and chased black students throughout the halls. The black students were terrified. It was not a joke to them. They honestly felt that their lives were threatened, and they quite possibly were in danger. Teachers and administrators did NOTHING to stop this. NOTHING. I was told that this was a tradition that happened every year on “Senior Character Day”.

My family moved again to Hurricane, WV when I was a junior. I graduated high school there and went to college. I gained 3 degrees and embarked on a 20 year career in counseling that required me to embrace cultural sensitivity. I evolved in my understanding of diversity, and I tried to embrace sensitivity the best that I could.

Years later, and living in Ohio, I still am not perfect in regards to diversity. I know that my upbringing that occurred against a backdrop of pervasive racism inevitably has left hidden essences of racism in my own psyche. I no longer sit by and accept it as “tradition” when I see blatant racism. I rail against it. But I know I still have a long ways to go, as do we all.

When I first saw the video of OU fraternity students chanting blatantly racist words, it sickened me. The video took me back to “Senior Character Day” at Jonesboro High School. The students in the video had the same quality of smugness and white privilege that sanctioned racist bullying as not only acceptable, but as righteous. Both had an element of violence and fear based on race being “funny”. Both had the quality of “It’s OK because it is our tradition.” Part of me was amazed that this kind of thing was still happening in 2015, and part of me, sadly, was not surprised. At least it gets exposed and someone does something about it nowadays. It is no longer accepted as “tradition” as it was in my youth. It no longer conforms with mainstream ideas when exposed to the greater masses.

There are still places where it does conform with the local mainstream, however, and that needs to change.

What do I need to do to be a part of that change? We all want to believe that we are not racists, but simply proclaiming “I am not a racist” is not enough. Participating in racist action is not my tradition, but racism is deeply ingrained in my history. I cannot assume it has been completely eradicated from my being.

What is my part in stopping racism?

What is yours?

None Of Us Are Free – by Solomon Burke

Well you better listen my sister’s and brothers,
’cause if you do you can hear
There are voices still calling across the years.
And they’re all crying across the ocean,
And they’re cryin’ across the land,
And they will till we all come to understand.
None of us are free.
None of us are free.
None of us are free, one of us are chained.
None of us are free.
And there are people still in darkness,
And they just can’t see the light.
If you don’t say it’s wrong then that says it right.
We got try to feel for each other, let our brother’s know that
We care.
Got to get the message, send it out loud and clear.
None of us are free.
None of us are free.
None of us are free, one of us are chained.
None of us are free.

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT

March 5, 2015

Get over #TheDress and lets explore true visual mystery.

Cat custom pet portrait painting by BZTAT

I am not a fan of memes. They tend to annoy me at no end. When something goes viral on social media and other spaces of the internet, you cannot escape it. The fact that memes tend to appeal to the least desirable of human interests compounds the problem for me.

When “The Dress” image meme started making the rounds, my first thought was, “Why is that ghastly dress getting any notice at all?” Regardless of what color it was, it had no appealing qualities to me, especially the way that the photo was cropped and posted.

As I read one of the bazillion posts about “the dress” that appeared in my social media feeds, I knew instantly the science behind the visual controversy. I have been exploring the science behind color theory and visual appreciation of color all of my life.

The meme wasn’t really about the science or color, however. The meme was, instead, an excuse for people to argue and insist that they were right, when there was no right or wrong in the first place. It was an excuse for everyone to pile on and participate in an unwinable fight. The content, although tapping into a deeper meaning, was really crappy content that was getting much more of its “15 minutes of fame” than it was due.

Thankfully, the meme has evolved into a more valuable discussion of the science behind color and how we each see it a little bit differently. There are reasons why we see color in the way that we do and why each of us sees it differently.

If you want to discuss the art and science of color, why not share a more appealing image?

When I paint a portrait of a pet such as the one here of Edie, my thought processes are not simply focused on achieving a likeness of the pet. Instead, I am focused on using color as a way to bring that likeness alive in a vibrant and colorful feast of color.

Edie is a brownish grayish tabby and white cat. Her natural colors are not ones that I prefer to use on my palette, so, rather than paint her actual colors, I chose to use colors that suggested them. When I paint white on an animal, it is never a pure white. it tends to be a shade of blue or a shade of pink that is developed through layering. Underlying layers contribute to the visual appreciation of the final layers of color, through reminiscent bits of color that are revealed around edges and through the interaction of pigments within the layers. The use of an orange background and a blue blanket on which the cat rests also contribute to the way that we see the overall color effect of the image.

Negative and positive space interaction make the composition dynamic, and light and dark contrasts also contribute to the way we see the overall image.

I am not a scientist, and I confess that most of my exploration of color theory has been an intuitive journey based on what I know of the basics of the science. Still yet, I think that my portrait of Edie has more to offer in the debate about color than that ridiculous dress does.

Why not give Edie her 15 minutes of sharing on the internet?

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT

February 21, 2015

What’s on BZTAT’s Easel? A custom pet portrait of Rosie and Jake!

Painting by Artist BZTAT

“Sure! I can do that!”

I have a habit of saying that sometimes when I probably should not. When one of my best collectors asks me to do something special, though, I want to give it a try.

I am a fine artist and not an illustrator, so I make it clear to patrons that I make the decisions about what goes into a painting, not them. Still yet, when a special request gives me a new artistic challenge, I am willing to try to incorporate different ideas into the composition.

Painting by Artist BZTAT

Recently, some friends who have commissioned a number of my paintings in the past paid a visit to my studio. They were drawn to a painting of my cat Brewskie Butt that was hanging on the studio wall. There was just one problem. They were dog people, not cat people.

“Could you paint a portrait of our Rosie and Jake with a coffee mug like that?” they asked.

“Sure! I can do that!”

The project turned out to be a bigger challenge than I anticipated.

Rosie

Jake

First of all, Rosie and Jake have completely different facial profiles. Rosie, a Border Collie, has a bouncy cheery look, while Jake, an English Cocker Spaniel, has more of a droopy dog look. They are different sizes, as well, so balancing them on a long horizontal canvas was not easy.

The coffee mug presented challenges too. I needed to have it look as though it was in front of the dogs and resting on a table. Making this look plausible wasn’t easy. Getting the proper perspective and color for the mug took quite a few trials and errors.

I added the window behind Jake, because the Rosie side was active and dynamic, but the space behind Jake seemed empty and dull. I went back and forth on the shape and color of the mug, too. I finally settled on a shape that worked best with the dogs in the back, and on an orangish yellow color that brought it into the foreground. (Warm colors tend to advance to the front and cool colors tend to recede to the back in a visual plane.)

I added a touch of orange to the background by adding a sun to the landscape in the window, tying the foreground and background together.

You can see the entire work in progress progression in this slideshow:

The final painting turned out quite spectacular and fun. Despite the challenges, I enjoyed the process of painting the portrait, and I was very pleased with the end result. I guess Rosie and Jake’s family was pleased too. They have already hung the painting over their kitchen table so that they can enjoy their morning coffee with their beloved pups!

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT