"Stolen Moments" First Art Show Recap

I have been taking photographs for several years with the hopes of having an exhibit some day, but I wasn't quite sure how to move from guy walking around with camera to actually letting people see my work. I was with a fellow photographer friend of mine, and he said, "It is about time you start showing your photographs. Come do a show at the Birdhouse." I was overwhelmed at the thought of filling up such a large space. I asked Shannon Herron, a friend of mine who is an art major, if he has ever done a show, and to my surprise, he said no. I asked him if he would join me in doing this show, and I guess you can say the rest is history. On Dec. 3, Shannon and I presented our first art shows. I would like to thank Shannon, The Birdhouse staff, and everyone who came out and called to wish me well. It was greatly appreciated.

At the request of several friends who said they wanted to be there, I found a way to share this experience with you. I made a little video recap of the show. Below you will find the artist statement and video for my first show Stolen Moments.

“I love photos, because, being that we are in constant motion, moments pass and cease to exist again. The photograph suspends life for us. You need only look to relive.” Perry Farrell

We live in a constant state of motion. We have appointments, an ever growing to do list, and as if that isn’t enough, we have family obligations, too. Life in the 21^st century offers us little time to slow down and enjoy the things that make life worth living. When I’m out taking photographs, I get into a meditative space, and the world slows down enough for me to steal those moments in time that we normally miss going about our day. Things like the way light dances through a window, capturing moments of our favorite band playing, or ordinary objects photographed in new ways. Once the shutter closes, the moment is stolen and can be relived though that moment will never be again. This is the power of photography, preserving moments, so we only have to “look to relive.” This collection is made up of those moments captured digitally, on 35mm film, and using new technology called Instagram for cellular devices.

Faithful in the small things

Thursday, I had the privalige to share my gift of poetry and song as a part of the University of Tennessee's Celebration of 50 Years of African American Achievement. I began to think back to when I first started acting in high school, and I never would have imagined that people would start asking me to perform, and that at times I would get paid to do so. Never neglect the small things. Those talent shows or singing at your church, etc. Those things build your skill and confidence, and those things get you to where you are living out your dreams. Be faithful in all you do, so that in due time, you can reap the fruits of your labors. Below are some photos that were taken by my friend Jessica Yonker.

Traveling: A New Perspective Pt. 1

Two weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to join the youth cohort of young activists to attend the Alternate Roots  National Learning Exchange, and it was held in Baltimore, Maryland. I was very excited to meet other youth activists from around the country, and I was excited to go to Baltimore, because it was a city that I had never traveled to. While at the learning exchange, I receieved new insights on using art and culture for healing, how to do activist work intergenerationally, and how to be sustainable in the work we do and taking care of our natural environment. It was also affirming meeting and working with other young activists from across the country, because sometimes you can feel so isolated in the work that you do, so the mere fact that other people were doing work in their various communities was really comforting to me. 

Intermixed with the learning exchange was AMAZING theater and dance works. One of the shows that moved me was from Teo Castellanos D Projects' dance theater piece that was called "FAT BOY" that  used aintient art forms and break dancing to talk about America's over consumption, juxtaposed with images of world poverty and hunger, created a thought provoking piece of theater.

Following that show was a show called Peaches from Progress Theatre that was inspired by Nina Simone's song " Four Women". Peaches is a staged essay and dream sequence that used music poetry and monologues to tackle the stereotypes of African American female identity from slavery times to the present, alluding to both academic and popular discourse on race in America. It was amazing, because I could see friends and family in their story.

Another impactful piece of theater I saw was from Jump-Start Performance Co. The piece was entitled "I'll Remember for You," and it is a new bilingual play that was about a mother with Alzheimer's disease and her daughter who was left to care for her. This play blew me away, because I have never experienced a bilingual play, and it gave me the chance to practice my spanish skills, which are in constant need of work. The play was hard to watch at moments, because it was like watching the struggles of my family trying to support my grandmother through her declining memory. It was great to see other stories being told.

Millicent Johnnie & Co. presented Johnnie's work "Daughters of the Cane" which is an interdisciplinary performance work supported by scholarly research and film documentation informed by music, dance and folklore of the Sugar Cane Plantation experience found through out the African Diaspora. Through this work, she "will evaluate the economic inequalities created as a result of monopoly capitalism, neocolonialism and imperialism." It was a very stunning dance piece with an amazing soundtrack, but before she presented this piece,An inspiring moment happened. Johnnie introduced her dancers, and one of her dancers told her story of how she was in a car accident and how her foot needed to be amputated. She said that she thought she was never going to be able to dance again, buit that Millicent Johnnie worked with her and created choreography that made room for her special ability. When her solo came up, it was some of the most passionate, beautiful and elegant dancing I have ever seen, and her story was inspiring, because she didn't let a set back define her life moving forward. I will never forget this piece or that dancers story.

The last piece that I will mention, due to trying to keep this a short blog post, is Brotherly Love from Olive Dance Theater. This piece explores the revolutionary, healer, state and public, and how they connect through the dance form of breaking. The piece was inspired by "the social and political havoc of the 1970's between the city of Philadelphia and the community-based organization of MOVE." The show departs from the historical and delves into the personal and societal heart of change through protest, violence and tolerance. While watching this I rember thinking how the art of break dance is a visual protest, and how coupled with the images and music, and even the dirt that was thrown on stage, all showed how political unrest can quickly turn violent and how people can play a role in the healing of the community. Once again, I was blown away, because I had never seen breaking in the context of theater, and I am excited for more people to explore using it on stage to expose it to new eyes.

All of the art I saw gave me a new perspective on how breaking the traditional thoughts of theater could be new and refreshing, and how it can drive home points of social and political concern. I was blown away at taking theater outside of the four walls of the building could add things that being encased in a theater couldn't give. This inspired me to pick back up the pen and continue working on my original performance piece to give voice to the things that is wrong with the world we call home. Thanks for giving me a new  perspective to take with me while I start creating my own original piece.

Where are you standing? / A reason to be thankful

Life has a way of sending us little reminders, and I got one of those reminders earlier this week when I went to visit my Grandma at the nursing home. I walked in the room, and she said, “Joe-joe, is that you?” I was in awe, because through her period of getting used to her new setting, my family and I have seen a glimpse of the worse that is to come with Alzheimer’s disease, but that moment was like heaven at the sound of her calling my name. We sat and talked, watched TV, and I told her I love you as many times as I could, just to hear her sweet reply of “I love you, too.” This visit had all of the things that would make you say, “She is having a good day.”

As I was on the elevator getting ready to leave, I saw a lady approaching the elevator, so I held the elevator for her. As she entered the elevator, I could hear her crying and see her fumbling with her cell phone. Once she finished dialing, I heard her say, “You need to leave your job and get here as fast as you can, because we don’t know how much longer she has left.” At that moment I realized that even in my Grandma’s worst of times, she was still with me.

I was reminded that life is a journey of the unknown, and sometimes we can be caught in moments that can profoundly alter our lives. I am sure that none of the people of Japan woke up thinking that this would be the last time they would see some of their loved ones. I was reminded that we should take every moment to let the ones we love and care about know that we love and care about them, and we should be thankful for them.

I was also reminded of how important our perspective is. My father said in a sermon that “Where you stand determines what you see.” In the rough times of life, it is easy to focus on the things that aren’t going well, and when we continually focus on those things, we overlook the things that provide a break from the seemingly constant onslaught of those negative times. Even in the darkest moments of our lives there are areas of light. In the most terrible of situations, there are reasons to be thankful. Even in the most difficult times of having a Grandma that has Alzheimer’s disease there are moments of love and caring. Where are you standing? Are you standing on the side of negativity and focusing on all that is bad, or will you challenge yourself to stand on the side of positivity and focus on all that is good and your reasons to be thankful? As we journey through life, let’s give it a try.

- A Reason To Be Thankful-

For visions of sunrises and sunsets

For fall giving way to spring

For the coolness of a breeze

For the refreshing of the stream

For the mountains and the valleys

For the highs and the lows

For grey skies and rain

For the rainbow’s beauty after the storm

For loving and being loved

For holding and being held

For the give and take

For the love we make

For peace and solitude

For reflection and meditation

For grace and mercy

For redemption and salvation

For over and over blessings

For the taking off of chains

For purpose by design

For my light to shine

For justice and equality

For freedom and unity

For confidence and courage

For commitment and dedication

For you and me

For them and we

For friends and family

For the living and the dead

For the minutes, the seconds, the hours

For the days, the weeks, the months

For the past, and the future

For the then and now…

This moment with my head bowed and my heart saying thanks



Soundtrack for a Revolution!

     I have always found the similarities between our Civil Rights Movement and South Africa's fight against Apartheid interesting. One of the things that moved me was hearing the movement expressed through song. We got a glimpse of that in the Broadway play Sarafina, that was later turned into a movie. I remember how moving it was, as a child to see the passion, struggle, and triumph of those students. The music of the Civil Rights Movement is equally as moving. I can't sing "We Shall Overcome" without crying. These songs form the auditory catalyst that moved so many to action.

     In 2002 Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony was created by Lee Hirsch. It starts at the beginning of Apartheid with the announcement of the Apartheid segregation policy to the triumph of Nelson Mandela being elected President. The story weaves interviews and music seamlessly to tell the tale of the struggle of Apartheid. The movie went on to win awards at many film festivals including winning the Audience Award and the Freedom of Expression Award at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. You can watch the trailer here. This film is now available for purchase from here.

            Now, we have the documentary Soundtrack for a Revolution directed by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman and Executive Produced by Danny Glover. Soundtrack for a Revolution tells the story of the American Civil Rights movement through the music and protest songs that pushed people to action. Soundtrack for a Revolution is a vibrant blend of interviews, archival footage, and contemporary performances by our favorite starts. I am glad that these films are preserving our history through song. For more information on screenings, go to the website here.