And The Nominees Are...

For Most Dedicated Visual Art Student:
Katherine Clarke, Christopher Johnson, Alonzo Jones, Tenaya Farmer, Tyisha Butler


For Visual Artist of the Year:
Alonzo Jones, Alan Eppinger, Lloyd Hutchins


Congratulations Nominees!


Winners will be announced at the Red Carpet Awards Show.

Thank You BFA Students!

Our Visual Art students were indispensable during the Black Heritage Festival. A special Thank You goes out to Katherine Clarke, J'Aaron Merchant, and Dangua Allen for making Prof. Brandon Williams' workshop a success!

Honors Convocation Design Contest

The Honors Convocation Planning Committee invites students to submit their designs for the cover art to be featured on this year’s Honors Convocation program booklet. 

This year’s Honors Convocation theme is “Rising to the Occasion.” 

Students should submit their original artwork for consideration to Dr. April Gentry in the Dept. of Liberal Arts (Payne 126/127) or via email at gentrya@savannahstate.edu. Students should be sure to include their full name, classification, and contact information. 

The winning piece will be selected by committee, and a PRIZE will be awarded. 

DEADLINE for Entries is 5 PM on Friday 12 March

Players by the Sea Week: March 1st - 5th

MONDAY - MEET & GREET 11-2PM (FREE) KING FRAZIER CAKE WILL BE SERVED

TUESDAY - IMPROV 12-2PM (FREE) & MYSTERY DINNER 8PM IN MORGAN HALL ($3.00)

WEDNESDAY - OSCAR AWARD SHOW FORMAL/CATERED EVENT ($4.00) 7:00PM RED CARPET PRESHOW COMPLETE WITH PAPARAZZI 8:00PM CEREMONY IN BALLROOM

THURSDAY - STUDENT PRODUCTION OF GEORGE C. WOLFE'S COLORED MUSEUM AT 8PM KENNEDY AUDITORIUM ($4.00)

FRIDAY - COOKOUT 11-3PM AT MORGAN HALL (FREE) & STUDENT PRODUCTION OF GEORGE C. WOLFE'S COLORED MUSEUM AT 8PM KENNEDY AUDITORIUM

Two More Nights!

Thanks guys for all the support. We had such a great turnout that we had to turn away a lot of people. If you missed tonight's performance, please come see the Thursday and Friday night show. Doors open at 7:30pm and the show begins at 8:00pm. No late admittance allowed! Students/ Staff/ Faculty $5.00 & General Admittance $10.00

Painting Workshop at Black Heritage Festival to utilize Viewfinder techniques

Brandon Williams, Instructor of Visual Art at SSU is holding a painting workshop at the Black Heritage Festival this Saturday at the Savannah Civic Center from 1:30-3:00pm. The workshop will focus on a viewfinder type of approach to painting popular in 16th century europe. And you thought your camera was special...

Black Diamonds Update

You have asked for it and the Black Diamonds do not disappoint! 

Saturday, February 20th at 5:55pm in the Civic Center in downtown Savannah, Black Diamonds and the cast of "For Colored Girls" will perform for free, one time only, as part of the Black Heritage Festival.

The Oscars Night will also feature a performance by the Black Diamonds on Wed. March 3rd.

On Saturday May 1st, Black Diamonds will be performing for the Presidential Scholarship Gala 

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf

Come enjoy the familar story of "Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf" presented by Players by the Sea

Directed by: Teresa-Michelle Walker

Designed by: Thelmore Jackson & David I.L. Poole
Feb 17-19 at 8pm


**Feb 17 will be a one-night only free performance as part of the Savannah Black Heritage Festival**


Feb 18 & 19 $5.00 Students/Faculty/Staff & $10.00 General Admission


Featuring
Mia McDonald
Cleo Armstrong
Italia Hines
LaJune Wise
Tracy Nicolas
Ashlee Butler
Keisha Williams

Africanology: Realities in the American Worlds

Amiri Geuka Farris seems able to apply his considerable artistic skills to virtually any subject and evoke from it some compelling never-before-seen nuance or dazzling quality. This brilliant aspect of the artist's work was apparent enough in the 38"x40"canvases titled "Elton John Red Piano," "Knarles Barkley Decepticons," and "Sara Bareilles Love Songs"produced for 2009's Seeing Sounds exhibit and it is even more evident in his newest installation, Africanology Realities in the American Worlds.   Just as the title indicates, the creative alchemy at work in this series is an uncommonly alluring one that reflects the dynamic energy of an artistic sensibility meditating on a conscious respect for ancestral spiritual awareness operating through the mixed media often chronological signals and social customs in our modern times. Or, to put it another way: what viewers see on display is a deeply African consciousness viewing the modern world through the lens of American culture. The result is a startling painted convergence of shimmering spiritual energy and aesthetic form that generates a renewed sense of awareness and appreciation.  Standing before these mixed media paintings, it becomes easy to consider the fun that Harlem Renaissance artist Romare Bearden might have enjoyed dressing up iconic images of classic African sculpture in the poly-layered Bling of Hip Hop culture. Or imagine--if you can make such an eternity-spanning leap--one of the venerable ancient griots of Africa or dreamwalkers of Australia themselves painting prophetic visions of contemporary times. You could also dwell among these canvases--as well as the larger body of Farris's work--and consider the splendor that might have been produced by someone such as Andy Warhol if he had chosen to infuse his now classic pop images with layers of poetic spirals and patches of Victorian flourishes. Or contemplate the possibility of Jean-Michel Basquiat peeling away the skin on one of his nightmare traumas and replacing it with the flashing acrylic, inked, and water colors of dreams shaped into more assertive statements of strength and beauty.Once the viewer successfully makes such a leap of the imagination, then some sense emerges of what Farris has accomplished thus far in his journey through the creative multiverse.  Images such as "What Chu Talkin Bout" reveal the artist comfortably at work with layers of patterns and scenes from social history, comics, and elegant Victorian flourishes all collaged into a laid-back Hip Hop perspective that is both humorous and profound.  The central character in the foreground states via a dialogue bubble, "You got it all wrong, man! Chill out! Let me rap wit' ya!" The statement is one the character could be making to clarify a disagreement with someone else, or one the artist could be making to address would-be critics of his work. It could even go further than either of these and represent a commentary on various trends and beliefs. The viewer has the option of taking the theme provided and interpreting the words and experiencing the art however it best fits. "Africanology universe" is a very similar yet vastly different work in which viewers see an African-styled mask afloat in a cosmos of expressionistic splashes of dark and bright colors, swirling circles, and outlines of symbols that could represent actual spiritual presences just as easily as they can the artist's creative impulses.  It is one of the stronger representations of the show's theme illustrating an ancient African consciousness on a journey through galaxies of exploding energy, forms, and possibilities. The mask itself stands as an enduring unified construction of tradition and legacies while the surrounding environment continues to shift and morph, as if battling to establish its own definitive destiny and identity.  Particularly notable in regard to Farris's ability to simultaneously integrate and transcend different schools of creative aesthetics in his art is the manner in which the expanding impressive corpus of his work --whether realistic portraits or adventures in neo-surrealism tempered by elements from history and culture--continuously evolves toward a painted statement on a unified theory of all things harmonious, creative, and meaningful. Considering that Farris is a developing musician as well as a creator of fine art, it makes sense that many of his painted compositions can be described as visual symphonies that strike an amazing balance between spontaneous eruptions of expressive jazz and lyrical lines of more controlled classically-styled ballads. More often than not, the end result may sing notes that strike chords of both recognition and revelation: the experience tends to be an elevating one that causes a shock because it reminds viewers of the power of good art even in times when the more challenging realities of the world are not very inspiring. It is tempting--and possibly even appropriate--to describe Farris as one of those young artists destined to earn a lasting place for him-self in those pages that record the history of twenty-first century art. But it may be even more important to appreciate the fact that he is among us right now: hard at work crafting canvases that honor the beauty in human lives; that tell the stories we should never forget; and that empower those dreams which color our existence with joy. Aberjhani_co -author of Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance_and ELEMENTAL, The Power of Illuminated Love_(c)February 2010