Black Excellence surrounds us in a variety of ways. The public is familiar with Black excellence in sports and entertainment with celebrities like Serena Williams or Kendrick Lamar as examples. However, I believe more light needs to be shone upon our excellence in other ways because Black people are more than just great athletes and entertainers. Besides this, stereotypes against Black people try to overshadow our excellence: Laziness, unintelligence, thugs, drug dealers, loud, ghetto, and angry are a few of the many stereotypes. However, these stereotypes engraved in Amerikkkan society has never stopped us from being excellent outside of sports and entertainment. Black excellence is broad; therefore, in this article I will expand on one category of Black excellence that I believe is overlooked: ArtThere are many Black artists that demonstrate Black excellence; however, for this article I chose 2 women and 1 man that I believe exemplify Black excellence through their artwork.1.
Dorian Wilson aka "Scottie"
Scottie is a photographer and a visual activist who uses visual media to create a message. One message in particular that I loved from 2017 was from his project "Hyper masculinity is a prison." Hyper masculinity exaggerates the stereotype that males are supposed to be strong, aggressive, and show no emotions. In simple terms, it means "be a man." This is a big issue in the Black community as many Black men are not allowed or do not feel comfortable expressing their feelings growing up.Here are some examples from his project "Masculinity is a prison"
You can find more of Scottie's work on his Instagram
2. Nasia Turner
Nasia is a military veteran and artist who celebrates Black pop culture through her work. As she explains it, "My style is a combination of pop art, realism, and street art." Her work not only connects with Black people, but also with people of all backgrounds.Here are a few examples of her art:
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You can find more of Nasia's work on her Instagram
You can also purchase her art including some of the examples above on her website
3. Kiersten Ghaznavi
Kiersten is a graphic designer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who does ink, pencil, and digital illustrations."Kierston's subject matter focuses on black pop culture, afro centric natural hair, positive imagery of black women, self love and awareness."Here are a few examples of her work:
Her pins are my personal favorite!
You can find more of her work on her Instagram
She also sells her artwork, such as her pins on her Etsy page. Be sure to check that out also!These are only four of the countless Black artists who exemplify Black excellence through their artwork. All of their work sends important messages about issues occurring in the Black community and/or glorify Black culture. Art is one of the many forms of Black excellence; therefore, stay tuned for more articles in the future where I expand on other forms of Black excellence.
This article is a part of The Excellence Series.