Artist’s Perspective: Justin Bryant’s watercolor series

As told to Kayla Randall

“In my work, I am showing ownership of buildings that were built by slaves. I see the buildings as crowns. By claiming these buildings, I want to spark a conversation on how they were created. Hopefully this creates a form of a welcome to spaces that were not historically available to African-Americans. The work chooses to position itself through a form of pride instead of fear.

In most of the watercolor works, I display a contemporary African-American figure with a building or an architectural element. I want to arrange or reimagine these people and structures in the way that I want them to be seen. This is in an attempt to allow for the person viewing the work to do the same. In most cases, while I’m creating the painting I don’t have any specific goal with picking certain people or structures.

The inspiration for starting this work came from the Langston Hughes poem ‘Negro.’ In the poem Hughes illustrates the behind-the-scenes work of the ‘Negro’ from ancient Egypt to what was then the 1920s. Since I didn’t live during the time of slavery or Langston Hughes, I try to approach the past through a more contemporary framework. Therefore, part of the subject matter is about looking backward and creating a visceral experience that best illustrates a present state of being. I was also inspired by the artist Carrie Mae Weems’ series ‘Roaming’ and ‘Africa.’ In these two bodies of work, Weems questions the power structure that is in place. Through her photographs she is visually describing how buildings are an affirmation of the social structure.”

About the artist:

Justin Bryant is an LSU student and a native of Stuttgart, Arkansas. In 2012, Bryant received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), after which he played an integral role in the arts community there. Bryant has served as an art instructor at UALR’s location of Children International, a poverty-fighting nonprofit, and at Argenta Art Connection (now called the Innovation Hub) in North Little Rock. Bryant has also learned watercolor and other traditional artistic methods outside of the university setting by studying at the New York Art Students League in New York City and at Fenland School of Craft in North Carolina. Bryant is currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts degree at LSU’s College of Art and Design. He hopes to continue teaching and working with the Baton Rouge community.