James Eugene (Jim114)
By combining art nuances from historical art movements such as Dadaism, Pop Art, Surrealism, Russian deconstructionism, with his own Haitian, African, and African American ancestry, James creates the base for his art style. (Lunionsuite.com, 2018)
James Eugene, an artist, born in Brooklyn N.Y and raised in Jersey commonly goes by the name Jim114. James is a contemporary artisan who blends the margins between traditional and digital art and is the founder of NeoArtStyleDesign. Most of his work circles the issue of communication and transition, however his goal is to bring all types of people together through his artwork. James considers himself to not be an artist, but a writer, web designer, entrepreneur and teacher as well. (Eugene, 2018)
Currently James is a freelance illustrator, digital media designer and photographer. As a professional artist he has illustrated for corporate businesses, churches and community driven organizations. Many of James work can be found on music CD covers, popular clothing lines and on a variety of sports memorabilia. (Eugene, 2018)
Joshua Mays
“I am very much influenced by thinking about the future, Futurism, Afrofuturism, what humans will grow to be. I am always thinking about transhumanism and what we can potentially evolve into, but I am also appreciating mythology and storytelling. It is this combination which fuel my flow.” (Luna Rienne Gallery, 2018)
Joshua Mays is an Oakland based painter, muralist and illustrator. Born in Denver, Joshua studied at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design before moving to Philadelphia, where he lived and worked for a total of eight years before he began exhibiting and traveling worldwide. He was created various commissioned works in Washington DC, Denver, Portland, Philadelphia, Oakland, London, Johannesburg, Mexico City and Jakarta. (Luna Rienne Gallery, 2018)
Krista Franklin
“Sun Ra probably resonates the most with me for his mythmaking, and the way that he invented his identity. I love people who make up identities for themselves in spectacular and fantastic ways. Once I heard that he was from Saturn I was sold. I also still dig the ways he challenges people from the African Diaspora to think about our lives and our realities in some extremely expansive ways.” (Hazel, 2018)
Krista Franklin has become a pivotal voice, with her enchantingly piercing words and alluring imagery, for the Afrofuturist and Afrosurreal movements. Franklin is originally from Dayton, Ohio but received her BA degree from Kent State University, and her MFA from Columbia College Chicago.
The work which Krista Franklin creates emerges from an intersection of poetics, popular culture, and the vast dynamic histories of African Diaspora. The Surreal, mythmaking, black portraiture, and the collective conscious are conceptual preoccupations of her work. Her work expands through many avenues such as collage, hand papermaking, installation, poetry, letterpress, altered bookmaking and in performance art. (Franklin, 2018)
Krista is a science-fiction geek, who has a deep fascination with horror and the supernatural, which is ultimately portrayed in her work, this is why her worked became labeled as Afrofuturist. Her work is primarily made as a mixed medium collage, creating a piece which places hybridity at its core. Krista often pulls imagery and ideas from both the past and present, and presents them in visual and literary spaces where they can live together. (Hazel, 2018)
Krista’s work has been exhibited at Rootwork Gallery, Produce Model, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Chicago Cultural Centre, The Cornell Fine Arts Museum, National Museum of Mexican Art and was featured on 20th century Fox’s Empire. (Poetry Foundation, 2018)
Reference List
Eugene, J. (2018). About the artist James Eugene (Jim114). [online] Jameseugene.com. Available at: http://www.jameseugene.com/about-the-artist.html [Accessed 22 Aug. 2018].
Franklin, K. (2018). Krista Franklin. [online] Kristafranklin.com. Available at: http://www.kristafranklin.com/about/ [Accessed 22 Aug. 2018].
Hazel, T. (2018). Sixty Inches From Center » Black To The Future Series: An Interview with Krista Franklin. [online] Sixtyinchesfromcenter.org. Available at: http://sixtyinchesfromcenter.org/archive/?p=15558 [Accessed 22 Aug. 2018].
Luna Rienne Gallery. (2018). Luna Rienne Gallery. [online] Available at: http://lunarienne.com/artists/joshua-mays [Accessed 22 Aug. 2018].
Lunionsuite.com. (2018). Meet Haitian AMerican Artist James Eugene [Jim114] – L'union Suite. [online] Available at: http://www.lunionsuite.com/meet-haitian-american-artist-james-eugene-jim114/ [Accessed 22 Aug. 2018].
Poetry Foundation. (2018). Krista Franklin. [online] Available at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/krista-franklin [Accessed 22 Aug. 2018].
