I feel compelled to be a caretaker of my historical legacy. Had I not become an artist, I would have most certainly become a historian. I am continually inspired by social issues to research and create visual narratives that nurture my interest in the vast African American heritage. My American roots are from South Carolina; my family migrated to Philadelphia in the 1960’s. Human strength during adversity is often the subject of my artwork. I love to document southern landscapes ruins; for me, these images symbolize the sustainability of energy throughout time. I have used my personal family tales to enrich my art and my life. As a child, my summers were spent visiting my grandmother in her southern homestead. Long days were filled with storytelling and spirited surroundings that which have haunted my thoughts and dreams into adulthood.
My grandmother was the first to escort me through the old dirt roads in which my forefathers walked. I felt their blessings along the way. She taught me about the human experience, about God and the spirits of our ancestors. She shared her personal struggles to make useful goods from her life’s bounty. She did wonders with scraps of clothing, making elaborate quilts from long gone resources. I was told that even old, rough, burlap potato sacks were used to make dresses and cover my father’s infant cradle drawer.
These memories and visions of old have inspired my creations. I explore and share the culture of my forefathers who lived within the harsh labor conditions of the south. My images introduce almost familial figures, messages embrace compelling memoirs in surroundings that are portrayed for my visual wonderment.
I use multiple disciplines such as photography, printmaking, and mixed media collage assemblages. Each art form is special in my creative process. Most enjoyable for me is the layering of light, and texture, the introducing of shadows, shapes and glimpses of juxtaposed time frames that appear as depicted in my dreams, deliberately mystical, visually stimulating and spiritually concrete. Like my grandmother, I am simply putting my ingenuity to work and I am keeping her voice alive inside me with creative and historical purpose.
TANYA M. MURPHY
No comments:
Post a Comment