Black History Month: N.K. Jemisin
I’m a visual artist, but books have always been my first love. So I feel like this last day of Black History Month should feature a literary artist. Let’s talk about:
You might have heard people call N.K. Jemisin “the new Octavia Butler,” but to me they’re more like (Wonder) twins separated at birth. Both authors write profoundly deep, detailed books which make their versions of the future seem almost inevitable.
I wasn’t always a fan, though. I found Jemisin’s first novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, a little too dense in content to read: some parts I was able to follow, but I kept losing sight of the overall story. On the other hand, the pacing of Jemisin’s more recent Broken Earth trilogy is much smoother. I feel like she lets the characters and narrative breathe a lot more. Maybe it’s just the difference between a new writer and a seasoned one.
Either way, most everything Jemisin writes is worth your time. A few reasons I like her work:
Like Octavia Butler, she creates whole new worlds with a deceptively simple writing style
Her characters’ dialogue is so authentic that I sometimes get a little (welcome) deja vu
Even in her more post-apocalyptic works, there’s a sense of pragmatic optimism, a need for persistence that overpowers the worst circumstances.
If you prefer a narrative a little closer to our reality, I’d highly recommend the Great Cities duo; Jemisin shows you a living New York City that’s funny, grim, and vulnerable. Or you could try her short story collection, “How Long Till Black Futures Month”; it seems appropriate after a month of concentrating on the 20th and early 21st centuries.
Thank you for staying with me until the end! I hope I’ve introduced you to a few inspiring artists you’re unfamiliar with, and gotten you a little nostalgic for the greats. And if you’d like to see some of my work — in person — please join me at PublicDisplay.Art gallery for “Icosahedron.” I’m showing my collage work in this group show alongside several Puget Sound-area artists I admire, including Liz Tran, Aisha Harrison, Mary Coss, and Humaira Abid. The exhibition officially opens on Thursday, March 2nd. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Black History Month: Kerry James Marshall
Only two more days of Black History Month… so let’s make the most of them. Let’s talk about:
Kerry James Marshall is best known for painting Black people black — no brown or gold or red skin tones, just black (with a few dark gray highlights). I first encountered him in an art docuseries. Unlike some other artists in that episode, Marshall seemed so approachable even though he was clearly accomplished. I would imagine knowing him might be like having an old friend named Al, and then finding out later that you were besties with Albert Einstein.
It occurs to me that I like Marshall’s paintings for some of the same reasons I like the work of Amy Sherald. More specifically:
The way Marshall paints Black people is meant to focus the eye on the person rather than their skin color, or whatever associations Blackness might carry for the viewer
There’s a sense of stillness and harmony in his work, a kind of visual representation of the flow state
Also, picking up the cultural references in his paintings is my favorite kind of Easter egg hunt.
Like Titus Kaphar, Marshall is a winner of the MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant; like Faith Ringgold, he has been named to the annual Time 100 List of influential people. Can’t wait to see what he does next. See you tomorrow for the final entry in my Black History Month series of inspiring artists…
Black History Month: Octavia Butler
Today’s inspiring Black artist means as much to me as Prince and Bowie mean to their respective fan bases. Let’s talk about:
I’m one of many people who are just not ready to let go of Octavia Butler, even though she died in 2006. Butler was the first Black female science fiction writer to make it big, like Isaac Asimov-big. In her novels and short stories, Black people are front and center, making critical decisions and generally having epic, high-stakes adventures. One of Butler’s best-known books, “Kindred,” has been adapted as a TV series.
Again, so many reasons to love her work but here are a few:
Her writing is evocative, compelling, and efficiently worded and paced
The characters’ race is a part of the story, but not the whole thing
Her stories often feel inevitable, or as if they were recent history you just hadn’t heard about until now.
Unfortunately, I just found out “Kindred” the TV series has been canceled, but it’s possible another streaming service might pick it up and keep the story going for another season. Like Nnedi Okorafor’s novels, Butler’s other work is also being developed for television, but there’s no word on when they might drop. On the bright side, people are still talking about Butler, in podcasts, old TV interviews uploaded to YouTube, and essays.
Black History Month is winding down, and so is my blog post series on Black artists who inspire me. Stick around: we still have two more days in the month, and two more artists to talk about.