Notes on a Gladiator Artist

I am sitting in the main gallery of the Creative Alliance at the Patterson. There are no activities scheduled today. It is quiet, save for the hum of the overhead lights. On three walls there are 10 feet by 100 feet of exquisite charcoal drawings that are the Joseph Norman Middle Passage Mural. With more room, all 150 feet would have been shown. As the project's creative collaborator, the Mural's installation is the culmination a two year dialog with the artist, hours of research and contemplation, followed by more dialog. For the artist it has been ten long, arduous years of hard work and self-exploration and discovery. Now, at last The Middle Passage Mural: Joseph Norman exhibition opens on Saturday, September 24 in Baltimore's famed Creative Alliance at the Patterson.

I have watched and assisted Joseph execute this monumental project and I am left with one burning question: What manner of man entertains the notion of creating a mural that measures 10 feet high by 100 feet long, with only charcoal, paper and a little ink - and then does it - in less than a total of 21 days? Joseph Norman, that's who, the baby son of Reverend and Mrs. Lloyd Norman, Sr., may they eternally rest in peace.

Joseph Norman is a paradox. He is a  man of extremes and focused passion. A trained athlete, he approaches his work with the discipline of a gladiator. I have seen him address it like a warrior, wrestling an opponent to the ground. He measures himself against the greats and resides happily in the shadow of his beloved Picasso, Pablito. On other days his marks emerge on the page as pure poetry, hundreds and hundreds of delicate poems overflowing with of love and concern for his subject. Thousands of sketch books attest to his unrelenting dedication to his art and his library and scholarship to his discipline of being a professional artist.

It is in these extremes that live the magic of his work. It has been said that he makes beautiful pictures about ugly things. It doesn't get much uglier than the Middle Passage, the forced, violent movement of an estimated 9 to 12 million African men, women and children to the New World as slaves, a practice that persisted for hundreds of years. And yet here I sit in the midst of  profoundly poignant images, a mural of suffering and transformation that is in its own way calming and reassuring. It is art and creative expression at its very best and being a part of its creation has been a tremendous gift.

Perhaps it is the truth that there is no good without bad that makes Joseph Norman's work so powerful. In symbols, hieroglyphs and metaphor of extreme beauty he skillfully recounts the horrific events of the Middle Passage. And as with the language of symbols, his masterful markings allows a viewer to engage with the Middle Passage on a different, more visceral level. It allows us to acknowledge our own paradoxes, the extremes in our own lives within which exists the potential for great beauty.  

In his hand, very basic materials - charcoal and paper - are marked into something of beauty and deep meaning. In the Middle Passage Mural, these marks tell a story of the tragedy and suffering of a people, torn from all that was familiar to them. The beauty of the Mural is that it takes the story of these Ancestors and their descendants to an elevated place of truth, honor and dignity for all to witness.

For more videos, pix and info please visit these sites:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Wyzzest?feature=mhee#p/a
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joseph-Normans-Middle-Passage-Mural-Project/192305637505824
http://creativealliance.org/events/eventitem2724.html

xoxox
Leasa

Greetings from The Cre8tive Life

An Artist's Life   c. L. Fortune, 2010

I've been giving a lot of thought to creativity, the joy of it, it's messiness and how much I love belonging to The Tribe of Creatives. These are my people, a special crew with a very specific assignment - to live and make art. To be the art you make. How incredibly amazing is that?!! Being the vessel through which images, words, music, structures, and mad notions travel into existence comes with  challenges of any birth. It isn't always easy but the ultimate joy and satisfaction more than compensates for any passing difficulty. And would you really have it any other way? Okay,  more steady income and more time to create, for sure.

The Cre8tive Life blog is my way of honoring the creative process and those who live the creative life. Here you will find artist interviews, videos, photographs, poems and flash fiction and things I find compelling.  I welcome you to share your story as a Creative, other blogs and events and I will post them here ~ with pleasure. Let's have some fun!

xoxox
Leasa