{"id":4111,"date":"2014-09-11T14:44:35","date_gmt":"2014-09-11T14:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/?p=4111"},"modified":"2014-09-11T14:44:35","modified_gmt":"2014-09-11T14:44:35","slug":"jackson-state-alum-displays-thought-provoking-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/2014\/09\/11\/jackson-state-alum-displays-thought-provoking-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Jackson State alum displays thought provoking art"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A JSU student peruses the \u201cConception of a Succubus\u201d piece in the \u201cStuck between \u2018lizabeth taylor\u2019s\u2019 toes\u201d art exhibit. Photo: Reese Tornes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A ferocious tiger has returned home at long last! Placing his exhibit up for display in the Dollye M.E. Robinson Building art gallery, renowned artist, Felandus Thames, challenges many to expand their horizons through display.<\/p>\n

Thames, a Jackson State University alumuns, returned to his school origins with the \u201cStuck between \u2018lizabeth taylor\u2019s\u2019 toes\u201d art exhibit. While visiting the collection, the most common question asked is: Why did he choose this name?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe title has dual meaning,\u201d said Thames\u2019 best friend and English JSU professor, C. Liegh McInnis. \u201cThe collection is addressing the desperate and dysfunctional state of much of black America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using Amiri Baraka\u2019s poem \u201cBlack Art\u201d as reference, McInnis believes by using such vivid and confrontational lines\/images, the collection is asserting that black art must be unflinching in its critique of the black condition.<\/p>\n

The collection holds true to his words. Most, if not all, displays within the exhibit each bear unique names. These names strike home with common culture-sensitive words among the African-American minority and such as \u201cN***a\u201d and the unique \u201cConception of a Succubus\u201d. They also bear multiple meanings as well. Among the works, many find themselves questioning the meaning behind not just the art, but the titles as well.<\/p>\n

Devon Stepney, a computer engineering major from Jackson, Miss., believes that there is a double meaning behind it all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe display is made for us to challenge ourselves and think out of the box more so than we would. Therefore, when looking at each display, some may see just a shoe with shoestrings while others may see a web, opening up numerous possibilities,\u201d said Stepney.<\/p>\n

Stepney referenced one of the displays in which one shoe\u2019s lace crafts into one large web on the wall. He believes that webs serve as doors. These doors are in comparison to the many opportunities we present ourselves to with life.<\/p>\n

Thames believes that by challenging the mind to these possibilities, students can learn their craft. This \u201ccraft\u201d refers to their goals within life. Do they want to be an artist, writer, or journalist? In order for them to conceive the thought, they have to learn more about it.<\/p>\n

McInnis stated that many attempt to develop their individual voices without learning the basics of their craft.\u00a0 As such, their work is often ineffective or less effective than it could be if the craftsmanship were better.\u00a0 Additionally, one cannot be \u201coriginal\u201d if one does not know the history of one\u2019s craft.<\/p>\n

McInnis stated that when he was a student at Jackson State and what it was like for one of his inspirations to have made the journey back home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was in college, Charlie R. Braxton was working as a writer, being published in the journals, magazines, and anthologies in which I hoped to be published\u201d said McInnis.\u00a0 \u201cKnowing that he was from JSU and also from a small town like me gave me hope and inspiration\u201c.<\/p>\n

\u201cStuck between \u2018lizabeth taylor\u2019s\u2019 toes\u201d will remain on display until Nov. 6, 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A ferocious tiger has returned home at long last! Placing his exhibit up for display in the Dollye M.E. Robinson Building art gallery, renowned artist, Felandus Thames, challenges many to expand their horizons through display. Thames, a Jackson State University alumuns, returned to his school origins with the \u201cStuck between \u2018lizabeth taylor\u2019s\u2019 toes\u201d art exhibit. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4111","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-campus-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4111\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}