{"id":11228,"date":"2020-06-30T14:20:42","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T18:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/artanddesign\/?p=11228"},"modified":"2022-09-14T16:17:10","modified_gmt":"2022-09-14T20:17:10","slug":"seeing-stars-with-emmanuel-agwam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/artanddesign\/2020\/06\/30\/seeing-stars-with-emmanuel-agwam\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing Stars with Emmanuel Agwam"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe stars and big smiles around Black figures in my portraits tell the viewer that this is a person who deserves to be present and that the person deserves to ‘shine.'” \u2013 Emmanuel Agwam<\/a>, Illustration (\u201822).<\/p>\n

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“Outside When I’m Not Supposed To,” by Emmanuel Agwam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The smiles, stars and bright symbols in Emmanuel Agwam’s portraits express “a positive perspective on Black people and Black experience. Most people consider that a celebration” says Agwam. “I consider it a demand, that Black people be represented in a positive light.\u201d<\/p>\n

Agwam’s work has gained notice this year from both his professors and peers. In early 2020 he was featured in “Royal State of Mind<\/a>,” a platform for young Black creatives, and was interviewed by “20XX Magazine<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Illustration Professor James Hoston<\/a>\u00a0suggests that Agwam’s imagery is laden with meaning, from his use of color to “signify a present state of mind” to his contribution to a “positive vernacular” that was once negative in minstrel shows mainly during Jim Crow.<\/p>\n

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“Black Dollar,” by Emmanuel Agwam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Agwam’s affection for his subjects is clear.<\/p>\n

“Everything and everyone I paint right now involves these characters that I have love for. Sometimes the people in the work are friends, family, past lovers. Sometimes they are people that don\u2019t exist. Most of the time, I will simplify the characters and add things so my friends and family won\u2019t know it\u2019s them,\u201d says Agwam.<\/p>\n

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“I Fell but I’m Smiling Now,” by Emanuel Agwam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI am struck by the smiles of his subjects” says Professor Hoston<\/a>.\u00a0“I think of Chester Cat in Lewis Carroll\u2019s \u2018Alice\u2019s Adventures in Wonderland.\u2019 The smile is crafted in a similar angle and with extra teeth showing as a flat aspect across the face. It\u2019s seen as a mischievous grin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Agwam studied Illustration Rendering Techniques<\/a> with Prof. Hoston. “Emmanuel has a great color sense in his painting. He embellishes to his own tastes. He has a natural talent for painting.”<\/p>\n

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“Star Crossed Lovers,” by Emmanuel Agwam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fine Art, says Agwam, is now his career goal.<\/p>\n

“Until last year all I knew was that I wanted to make a living from my artwork. But I’ve outgrown the mentality of putting money over creative satisfaction,” he says.<\/p>\n

His works\u2019 prominent use of rendered textures, and in creating a narrative with each piece, comes from illustration, he says. But his choice of subject matter comes from fine art.<\/p>\n

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“Star Born From the Bricks,” by Emmanuel Agwam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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“Everything and everyone I paint right now involves these characters that I have love for. Sometimes the people in the work are friends, family, past lovers. Sometimes the subjects in the work are people that don\u2019t exist at all. Most of the time, I will simplify the characters and add things to them so my friends and family won\u2019t know it\u2019s them,\u201d says Agwam.<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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“Smiling,” by Emmanuel Agwam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Aguam says he is at a crossroads as a fine arts artist who practices illustration.<\/span><\/p>\n

“In my alone-time I study fine art, but while in school I study illustration. I take from both. I\u2019ve noticed that fine art and illustration are not really two separate entities. Many painters use elements of both in their work just as I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Agwam’s current influences are a mix of Black contemporary artists such as Naudline Pierre<\/a>, Jennifer Packer<\/a>, Devin B. Johnson<\/a>, and Geneva Ellis, and classical artists Johannes Vermeer and Francisco Goya.<\/p>\n

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“Cry if you need to I got you baby,” by Emmanuel Agwam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prof. Hoston references connections he sees in Agwam’s work:\u00a0 The “appropriated” art and sculptures of Betye Saar<\/a>, whose work was recently on exhibit at MoMA<\/a>, and the black commical minstrel movement in vaudeville during the eras of Jim Crow and slavery from 1840’s till 1870\u2019s:<\/p>\n

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“Emmanuel has captured an expression used in the past, as a negative, but has instigated that same expression, into a positive vernacular for his paintings” says Prof. Hoston<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

“Depending on your age and history within the United States, his paintings can teach you something about his struggle. The use of dark tones for the figures and bright colors to muted colors, in the background, isn\u2019t something new. I feel he wants to signify his state of mind, in the present tense.”<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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“Boxing,” by Emmanuel Agwam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Agwam laments not being able to see more art exhibits during COVID-19 and says he’d like to see more museums fulfill their educational missions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt upsets me that galleries have the ability to do online walk-in exhibitions but often choose not to. \u00a0There are disabled people and people like me who live far from these galleries that, even pre-COVID, wouldn\u2019t be able to view works in-person.”<\/p>\n

Agwam finds ideas through conversations, literature, and recently movies.<\/p>\n

\u201cMovies have opened a plethora of new subjects and ideas to explore. Those experiences raise questions, sometimes a multitude of questions that I ask myself. Then I answer those questions in the painting.\u201d<\/p>\n

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“The Lamb and it’s conscious,” by Emmanuel Agwam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
“Grossly simplified my life goes like this,” he says:<\/strong><\/h5>\n