“Every artist writes his own autobiography.“~ Havelock Ellis
Trip to MOCA, Museum of Contemporary Art
The Scream, I felt the frustration.
Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye… it also includes the inner pictures of the soul. — Edvard Munch (Virtual Art Academy)
The Screaming Head, 1999, Henry Taylor, Side B, MOCA show 2023
A few days ago, I visited the Contemporary Museum of Los Angeles (MOCA) and saw and enjoyed Henry Taylor Side B show. The exhibition was a retrospective of Henry Taylor’s work—primarily portraits. The work, The Screaming Head, 1999, stopped me. Similar to Edvard Munch’s work The Scream, where I felt fear, panic, and anxiety down in my soul. Taylor’s screaming head, I got the absolute frustration and angst the artist must have experienced as a black man.
I’m a Minneapolis-based artist working in watercolor, gouache, oil, drawing, and mixed media.
After teaching art and design for many years, I returned to making art fully. These days, I spend my time drawing, painting, experimenting, and paying attention to what shows up.
I often work small. My work moves between observation, memory, and imagination. Some pieces lean surreal. Some stay close to what is seen. What interests me is what begins to emerge when I stay with the work long enough.
On my blog, you’ll find both my artwork and my reflections. I’ve come to see they are connected. What I learn in the studio often changes how I see my life, my relationships, and my community. In that way, art has become more than making objects — it has become a way of understanding and being in the world.
View all posts by Bill Hendricks -- Shadowmason
