CThru.com Presents Tony Ward

Artwork By Mikel Elam

Posted By Mikel Elam

I am getting sick and tired of the blatant attempt to undermine Barack Obama’s intelligence and leadership abilities. Basically he walked into a problem created by the previous administration. Everyone now expects him to solve every problem within one and a half years. I think it’s unfair and I know many will not be able to understand this next statement. Some of it is racially motivated. Probably coming from many who don’t think they are racist. It’s like the comment ,”I am not a racist, some of my best friends are black or latino etc, and yet these “friends” really aren’t so much in their lives.
The art represents Obama in a box. The box is getting smaller and smaller trying to squeeze the life out of him. People are taking shots at him. In this case it’s the splatter from paint balls.(I hope nothing worse ever happens) They take shots at him like comparing him to Hitler and calling him a communist, socialist……the list goes on.

Invisible One

So many forget he is a black and white president and he represents the face of real America in the 21st century. Not the confederate flag waving, wishing it would go back to the old days of whites getting to sit and Blacks standing in the back of the bus mentality.
Yes this country is in financial trouble. I am in financial trouble. So in fact I represent someone who should be angry with the status quo. However I recognize where the problems started and no one seems to be holding that person and their administration accountable for past actions.
Its an unfair practice. A selfish act of aggression without thought. Again this reminds me of the times when a person of color opened their mouth only to have a gun placed there to shut them up. Make them disappear.

Invisible Two

Recently I created a series of portraits .Men of color from around the world. I have entitled the series “Invisible” based somewhat on Ralph Ellison’s great novel,”The Invisible Man” who writes about living in a society where we co-exist with others who want us to stay away unless they need us for servitude.
Obama is a reminder to everyone we are not going back to the days of the settling fathers. And thankfully he is very visible.

The Trickle Down Theory

Posted by Meredith Edlow

……….What inspired me to do this work was needing a change from the usual. I grew up shooting digital photography. I didn’t do work in a dark room. I shoot pictures, upload images, make corrections on a computer, if things don’t work out with corrections you can press undo. The work was very robotic. I needed to do something more organic. I wanted to work my way out of mistakes instead of being able to press a button and start all over. It’s interesting what can be made out of something that is not going the way you want. I was looking for a new challenge, I wanted to make art that committed me to my choices. I will still shoot with my camera, I need to work and I love photography, but everything works better in moderation. I can still shoot photos and now I have another outlet, doing this “scratch” art. 

Happiness Is.....

Everything new is influenced by the past. The decade of the 80’s is inspiring people to tap into what they idolized as kids. At least, that is what my generation is doing. I really loved this art class that I had in 2nd grade. We made art out of very simple materials, paper and crayons. It left a huge impression on me and now I find myself moved to express myself in that medium.

Lightening Strikes More Than Twice

The work I’m doing has many connections. There’s a personal connection tied to the motifs of the economy. When I was a kid my Dad took a buyout from Sears and Roebuck Co. before the recession of the early 1990’s. That had a huge impact on me growing up. We moved from the big city, Philadelphia, to Yorktown, VA. My dad’s home town. A very small town. That change of living really had a huge impact on who I am now. The recent economic crisis has brought back many of those same feelings and anxieties from my childhood, hence the crayons. It all seemed to come together and make perfect sense for me. 

A Necessary Sacrifice Question

Meredith Edlow