Introducing the art of Peggy Blood (Interview)

PEGGY BLOOD

DESTIG TORONTO - ART | DESIGN | TRAVEL - ISSUE 09 / JANUARY 2021

BEST OF 2020 | TODAY'S GREAT CANADIAN ARTISTS | SPECIAL ART FEATURES | HOT PICKS

"HOW MARVELOUS THAT THEY BROUGHT FORTH SUCH MAGNIFICIENCE FROM THEIR BRUSHES AND CHISELS." - ANONYMOUS

"Blood’s creative process is free without boundaries, exploring and discovering. She is only the connector of what is brought forth, the paint and canvas take control. The outcomes are just as new and surprising to her as if she was the viewer absorbing the work for the first time."

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Expressionistic artists Peggy Blood is a painter,

children (8-16) under the Office of Equal Opportunity

muralist and illustrator. She primarily uses oil and

(OEO) for two summers. It was such a gratifying

mixed-media to convey and examine visually the

experience that she knew Art Administration might be a

female figure, nature, critical perspectives on social

career direction worth considering. After graduating from

and cultural issues. Her large scale works usually

the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark (the first

depict complex images with vivid colors and heavy

black graduate to obtain an MFA), she taught at her alma

impasto. Blood’s paintings explore and push the

mater for three years and served as Interim Chair for one

medium to engage with the audience in a dialogue

year at the University of Arkansas in Pine Bluff. From

about their perception, context and meaning within

Arkansas by way of New York she moved to California.

the composition.

Can you pinpoint when your interest in art was sparked?

Share some details of your background with us.

Blood’s interest was sparked at the young age of four.

Throughout Peggy Blood’s career she has had the

Blood 's parents encouraged her to draw and paint. She

opportunity to develop various programs. In her

recalls her mother buying her a watercolor set, prior to

young years as a junior and senior in college she was

her entering kindergarten. She painted pictures from

appointed to direct and develop an art program for

Ebony magazine and the landscape of the family property.

culture did not have a major impact on Blood’s painting style. Subject selection change due to the environment experienced. Blood has always traveled within the US and abroad, and had found different cultures and landscapes fascinating. Blood responds universally in her approach with an emphasis on relating it to her personal experiences and/or identity whether as a citizen of the USA, Georgia, or as a black person living in a global society.

Share with us some of the stories and themes you have explored.

One theme focused on Chinese women behind the scenes as the backbone of China’s society. She stands

"Blood responds universally in her approach with an emphasis on relating it to her personal experiences and/or identity"

What do you seek to stimulate in viewers of your art?

Blood hopes to inspire curiosity and surprise. At first glance, the viewer may think they have captured the essence and meaning but as they linger they will realise that there is a multitude of happenings being depicted.

Please share some insight into your creative process.

Blood’s creative process is free without boundaries, exploring and discovering. Blood is only the connector of what is brought forth, the paint and canvas take control. The outcomes are just as new and surprising to her as if she was a first time viewer absorbing the work.

What pathway best fits your creativity?

Mixed media gives Blood an unlimited opportunity to explore textile texture on a two-dimensional surface, impasto is executed on every painting.

You have lived in California and later in Georgia. How have these locations contributed to shaping your art?

The landscape and culture in Savannah is drastically different from that of northern California. However, the

behind the man, accepts imperfections, but is actually the spine of the family's existence. The painting depicts an older woman dressed in peasant clothes and a hat with a shoulder pole caring a load of vegetables in one basket and a baby in the other basket as she picks beautiful flowers. The painting is symbolic of a hard-working farm woman that seeks out the beauty and softness of life.

Another painting depicts a multitude of umbrellas that form into a bicycle with a load of grass in the back basket.

Your work has been shown in many galleries and reside in collections across the USA and globally. Tell us about some of these places.

Contributions abroad have a greater impact on foreigners especially since few foreigners experience art from black Americans. Overall people are surprised to see a woman

"Few foreigners experience art from black Americans. People are surprised to see a woman artist paint on a large scale.

Most did not know black people in America were artists. Children in Africa were amazed that a woman painted as a professional because men in Africa are primarily Fine Art painters and women work on crafts."

artist paint on a large scale. Most did not know black people in America were artists. Children in Africa were amazed that a woman painted as a professional because men in Africa are primarily Fine Art painters and women work on crafts.

The list of Embassies, Museums, and Galleries below is a sample of some of the places that have shown and or collected Blood's art within the last ten years: - Embassy gallery/Ethiopia, East Africa.

- Embassy gallery /Monrovia, West Africa , Liberia.

- Embassy gallery Guyana, South America.

- Kerala Lalithakala, Akademi Museum, Kochi, India.

- Varanasi Historical Museum, Varanasi, India.

- Kolkata Creative Center Museum , Kolkata, India.

- Gallery Gitanjali, Goya, India.

- Jiujiang University Gallery, Jiujiang, China.

- Shanghai Teacher University Gallery, Shanghai, China.

- Obafemi Awolowo University Gallery, Nigeria, Africa.

- Ray's Atelier Gallery, Colva, India.

- Methodist Episcopal University, Monrovia, Liberia.

- Stella Maris Polytechnic University Monrovia, Liberia.

Tell us about some of your career proudest moments.

The proudest moments in my career were: a) Blood was voted and recognized by my colleagues as a Distinguished Professor. (Distinguished faculty titles are awarded

to

qualifying

faculty

in

recognition

of

distinguished excellence in research, teaching, and service).

"Mixed-media gives Blood an unlimited opportunity to explore textile texture on a two-dimensional surface."

b) Blood developed and coordinated a two semester Web Ct global course taught in partnership on-line by a professor from Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Kwame Nkrumah University, Ghana, West Africa and Shanghai Teachers University, Shanghai, China. c) Blood was selected by the US Art Embassies State Ambassadors program to tour, lecture and give workshops in West Africa to encourage women to pursue Fine Arts. Blood was also hosted by the US Ambassador on Embassy grounds.

If you had to pick the Top 3 artworks you have created (for whatever reasons), which would they be and why? a) Saturday Night Bath has always been a favorite of Blood's entire family. It is owned by Akus Gallery, Eastern Connecticut University. The painting is of a black mom giving her son his weekly Saturday Bath next to a black kettle of hot water. This was typical in southern rural areas before running hot water was in homes. The painting brings back sights seen as a child. It recalls early life observations by Blood as she rode her bike in her neighborhood in Arkansas. (It is a painting that the Secretary of State Hilary Clinton selected to stand next to while giving a speech at the US Embassy in Liberia, Africa.) b) Lushan series. Blood did a series of paintings of/ and at Fushun National Park, China. The paintings show a tall forest,

the beautiful high-peaked mountains tipped with fog and snow and townships. It was one of many trips to China in the last 20 years but memorable because it was the only time art was created. The paintings are owned by Jiujiang University, Jiujiang, China. c) Gypsy Woman, a painting of a beautiful gypsy woman clothed in flowing multi-colored fabrics. Her neck, arms, ankles and toes adorned in gold and silver bangles and rings as she strolled on the Asiatic Sea sand. Most days for five months Blood visited the beach to watch fishermen and in the hope of getting a glance of Gypsy Woman. The painting is owned by Ray Artilier Gallery, Colva, India.

You studied under John Howard, a protégé of the great Hale Woodruff (a legendary artist during the US Negro Renaissance Period). Tell us about these artists and how they paved the way for you.

John Miller Howard founded the art department at UAPB in Pine Bluff Arkansas. He studied under Hale Woodruff a muralist who himself studied under Diego Rivera. Woodruff was born in 1900 and Howard in 1908, they became close friends through the years; both died in 1980. Each was heavily influenced by their teacher: Woodruff by Rivera, and Howard by Woodruff, like them Blood uses bright colors and impasto texture in her painting.

Some of the artists selected by Blood were at one time employed by The Works Project Administration (WPA). The WPA (created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt) began during the Great Depression, the Federal Project Number One initiative employed artists. The program was the beginning of art careers for many artists including: Jacob Lawrence, Charles White, and Hale Woodruff. The Office Of Economic Opportunity (OEO) was similar to the WPA program.

OEO was part of the War on Poverty programs started under the President Lyndon B. Johnson administration. Blood’s first employment was under OEO as the Director of an art program in Altheimer, Arkansas. The summer program taught over 90 lowincome children with a staff of four.

A few noted artists among many during the Woodruff generation were: a. Jacob Lawrence, worked for many years at the University of Washington. He is best known for his

work The Great Migration Series. Lawrence married the

e) Aaron Douglas a professor at Fisk University, graphic

artist Gwendolyn Knight. He was the first African-

artist and muralist known for his work God’s Trombone

American to join Edith Halpert's Downtown Gallery.

based on James Weldon Johnson's poetic work.

Jacob Lawrence was a friend and neighbor of Blood’s

f) Elizabeth Catlett is known as a graphic and sculptor

sister and Blood’s niece was a recipient of the Jacob

artist. She taught art at Dillard University as well as other

Lawrence scholarships at UW.

institutions. She was married briefly to the artist Charles

b) Charles Wilbert White, professor at Otis art Institute ,

White, and later married the artist Francisco Mora. One

Los Angeles, CA, was known for his WPA murals. His most

of her noted works is Lovely Twice.

famous mural The Contribution of the Negro to American

g) Lois Mailou Jones, married fellow Hattian artist Louis

Democracy is located on the wall at Hampton University

Vergniaud Pierre-Noël. She was a professor at Howard

library. Married twice , one wife was the legendary artist

university and other institutions. She taught David

Elizabeth Catlett.

Driskell, a known contemporary educator, artist, curator,

c) John Thomas Biggers was a professor and chair of the

and author. One of her most famous works Les Fétiches,

art department at Texas Southern University. He is

is a painting of an image of five African masks, the work is

primarily known for art depicting social injustice, culture

symbolic of Black American identity.

and the life of African-Americans. One of his notable murals is The Contribution of Negro Women to American

All of the artists mentioned above created paintings,

Life and Education.

prints, and murals that depicted the historic struggle and

(Three legendary men, Lawrence, White, and Biggers who

perseverance of their culture. Each in their own unique

mentored Blood, while she was in graduate school).

expressionistic style used bright colors to communicate

d) Romare Bearden is best known for his collages and

their story. The artists worked in a time that repeatedly

photomontage compositions that depict the African

denied them opportunities due to their race.

American culture and life. He was the founder of “The Spiral” a group that addressed the struggles of artists and

You have seen everything from segregation to BLM.

common aesthetics shared by member artists. Hale

How has this affected you and your art?

Woodruff (a member) named the group “The Spiral”. One

Growing up in the segregated south without a doubt has

of Bearden’s most famous works is: Three Musicians.

had an impact on how Blood thinks, lives and approaches

In recent years black artists have gained prominence.

How do you view the way the "mainstream" art stakeholders are approaching this segment?

As early as the 1800s black artists have sought to be recognized as legitimate creative artists worthy of being recognized and accepted equally. Artists such as Scipio Morehead, Robert M. Douglas, Patrick Reason, Joshua Johnson, Edmonia Lewis and Edward Bannister had to succumb to the realization that their art would never be viewed in their lifetime on an equal footing with those from white artists. Although there seemed to have been slim improvements during the Negro Renaissance Period and another surge of interest during the Civil life. Blood paints her experiences. Perhaps her early works (mostly genre type paintings) demonstrated how her environment impacted her psychologically, such as: walking past a white school only blocks near her home to attend a black school that was over five miles away.

Using marked-up and torn second-hand text books handed down to the black school from the white school; shopping and buying goods but not able to stop and buy a soda in the store if thirsty or hungry; parents not able to rent a hotel room when traveling across the country by car; seating in the back of the bus; threatened with a bat for drinking out of the white people’s fountain, seating in the balcony at the movie theater, marching with SNCC (The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee); and attending the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Ark where a professor refused to teach her in the classroom.

In contrast… (For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction) after the incident at the the University of Arkansas, other faculty members opened their arms of acceptance to assure Blood received a great university experience. Faculty and students would greet her, Blood was given a weekly noon half hour segment on a Fayetteville TV station to speak about Black art, the University’s President’s secretary typed her MFA thesis, a huge turn-out for Blood’s thesis exhibition, faculty and community purchased her art.

As society gradually accepted people of color, Blood too changed. Her art gradually changed in style to more universal themes that emphasized Blood’s experiences within and outside of her culture.

Rights movement, for the most part, the museum establishment and the white populace have not opened wide their gates to black artists in comparison to white artists. Twenty years ago, few black artists were known, now more black artists are known and people are buying their works of art.

The surge in the purchase of black art is mainly driven by black professionals buying art as they acquire property and better jobs. Of course black art is also being purchased by white people but for the most part it is bought by blacks. There is currently a great surge of interest with the Black Lives Matter Movement. Each surge increases the general awareness of black artists.

In a book authored by Dr. Blood, “Below the Surface: Ethnic Echoes in America's Modern and Contemporary Art” she speaks about the disparity between minority art and the white mainstream art. The BLM art has not just been noticed in America but also in other countries.

India, with similar culture issues, has taken an interest in Black Art. A traveling exhibition curated by Dr. Blood (and she is also one of the featured artists), has been extremely popular as it moves from one part of the country to another. Most recently it was at Kolkata Creative Center. Is the interest genuine? for the black community, it is. For others, considering that we live in a capitalistic society… if it sells then there is a genuine interest in it as an active commodity.

"As society gradually accepted people of color, Blood too changed.

Her art gradually changed in style."

What are you working on at the moment, what can we

c. Rome Italy. Touring the Vatican as part of a special

look forward to from you in the near future?

group on a Sunday (a day when it is normally closed) was a

The USA is such a beautiful country and Georgia has it

special highlight. The group was able to linger and easily

own unique special landscapes for inspiration. Bloods will

view the art collections without any obstructions.

look towards Georgia’s vast marshlands, mountains,

d. Costa Rica; Grecia, Turrialba, Zacero and small regional

canyons and lakes.

towns built on rolling hilly landscapes, rain forests and gardens. Small towns in any country makes the flavor of

What are the top 5 places you have visited?

the culture. Grecia, for example, has a beautiful small

Although Blood has toured at least forty-five states, she is

iconic Cathedral de la Mercedes that seats in the middle

passionate about meeting and learning about different

of the town surrounded by a fairy tale type park. Colorful

cultures... it is a difficult to narrow it down to five.

tiles invite guests to homes starting at the property line

Her selection is based on a combination of art and culture:

entrance and spreading throughout their houses. It all

a. Savannah, Georgia is known as the hostess city, but

speaks to their culture and traditional religions.

China has to be the hostess country. Blood has visited

e. West Africa, Nigeria, Lagos, Accra, Kumasi, Ghana and

many cities in China (west, east, north, south, central and

other neighboring cities; being part of academia has an

in rural areas). In every case the people are friendly and

advantage in that your foreign colleagues introduce you

accommodating, they are always anxious to share their

to their scholars, students and chiefs. You also benefit

culture. It is most overwhelming to see the vast changes

from formal and informal presentations about their

that have taken place in the last twenty years in China’s

history and culture. Accra stands out emotionally because

infrastructure and improved living conditions.

of the waiting quarters at the slave fort.

b. Moscow/St. Petersburg Russia. The people are eager to

f. India; Kochi, Varanasi, Goya, Kolkata, and other cities:

direct foreigners to events and activities. Most interesting

In many ways India is a step back to an appreciation of

are Greek Orthodox churches and the plethora of grand

family, culture, traditions, symbolism, beliefs, and religion

monuments, castles and expensive up-scale department

(Buddhists, Hindus and Jains), cremation rituals and

stores. All of this is contrasted against the picturesque

evening worships attended by hundreds of people. Blood

rural landscapes and impecunious living conditions.

has a wonderful photo of a bull entering a china shop.

www.peggy-blood.pixels.com