WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

STATEMENT
African Americans today are faced with centuries of myths and misguided perceptions perpetuated by the dominant cultural; to a point they have reached a fever pitch across the country. At times, the African American male is a prisoner within himself and trapped in his neighborhood usually because of his race or circumstance.  One could argue that he was dead before birth.

I often return to my old neighborhood to record images of the people there.  My figures are typically distorted to reflect the pressure and anxiety individuals feel inside and the perceptions and expectations imposed upon them by society. These images illustrate the most pressing issues of contemporary life.

Recent events of street demonstrations in Ferguson MO. and Baltimore MD, following the deaths of black individuals by law enforcement officers, are depicted with men that have cigarettes stuck in their noses to block inhalation of tear gas and older activists observing the strategy of the young millennials and figures entangled with hands bounded to illustrate the concept of black men trapped within their own circumstances.

BIO
Jesse Howard received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Ball State University. His artwork is included in permanent collections at the Depaul University Art Museum, Beloit College, Minnesota Museum of American Art and Rutgers University. He has received numerous awards and grants including the Grand Prize at the Purdue University National Drawing Exhibition Drawing Resurfaced II, First Place at 58th Annual Beloit & Vicinity Exhibition, and the Ragdale Foundation Residency Scholastic Award. Jesse Howard is a featured artist in The Color of Art Documentary, directed by David Weatherby. This film won a Black Excellence Award in the category of Film Director at the African American Arts Alliance of Chicago event hosted at the Black Ensemble Theater. It will also be featured at the DuSable Museum.

Howard’s solo exhibitions include the University Club of Chicago, the Aurora Public Art Commission, Northeastern Illinois University, South Suburban College, Wright Museum Beloit College, Elmhurst College, Morton College, and Concordia University. He has been included in group exhibitions such as Black Matter/ing: An Activist Poiesis, Wright Museum of Art Beloit College (Beloit, WI);Diasporal Rhythms’ Exhibition The Love Affair Continues, DuSable Museum (Chicago, IL); 42nd Annual Competition & Exhibition, Beverly Arts Center (Chicago, IL); I AMerican, Tall Grass Arts Association (Park Forest, IL);Drawing Resurfaced II, Purdue University Galleries (West Lafayette, IN); New American Paintings Juried Exhibitions – in Print, Midwest Issue; and the 60th ChautauquaAnnual Exhibition of Contemporary Art, ChautauquaInstitution (Chautauqua, NY).