Macon Magazine

WHEN YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN TABLE, INSTEAD OF ASKING SOMEONE TO HAVE A SEAT AT THEIRS, YOU GAIN A FORM OF POWER." – CRAIG COLEMAN, MERCER UNIVERSITY ART DEPARTMENT CHAIR into question the traditional narratives in those courses," she said. "I'll admit that this process has been more daunting for me as I re-conceptualize my own training, and sometimes consider ideas for the first time alongside my students. But I've found that these efforts to question the foundations of art history have led to some of the most rewarding conversations I've had in class. My hope is that I encourage students to do what art historians do: examine visual culture up close, negotiate multiple interpretations and most importantly, remain curious." Not only is Mercer's art curriculum reflective of the university's focus on social justice, but its visual arts exhibits are, too. Last fall, Charvis Harrell's exhibition, "Cartoon Violence: Elegy and Testimony" at the MAC shone light on how imagery used to describe Africans in America and their descendants has had a long, cruel history. "By exposing the way these images have been used, the lasting effects they can have on identity and esteem, and how they have added to the hardships African-Americans have endured, this artwork was an effort to start a dialogue that begins to look past stereotypes and deal with people as individuals," Rubens said. Several other Mercer exhibits also have spotlighted the school's focus, including a talk entitled, "Creative Activism: e Role of the Arts in Confronting Economic Injustice" featuring Harrell and Dr. Cameron Kunzelman, and Coleman's art projection of images of Little Richard on the Second Avenue façade of the MAC and onto the Cotton Avenue Confederate statue. According to Rubens, this exhibit took place shortly after Little Richard's passing in 2020 and the symbolism of the imagery went viral. Teaching art itself is a form of social justice, Coleman explained. "e idea of seeing and dissecting art involves critical thinking, the perception of values and more," he said. "e process of becoming an artist is the process of expressing your independent voice and learning your own sovereignty, which is in solidarity with justice and equity. When you can make your own table, instead of asking someone to have a seat at theirs, you gain a form of power." According to Dunn, overtly political art is just one avenue of Mercer's effort, "but deep and attentive art-making practices also are inherently valuable in that they kind of tame us for the better by making us more reflective and contemplative," he said. "Art making is a vehicle for personal growth." to assign exhibition reviews to my students to encourage them to visit not only the MAC but other local institutions like the Tubman Museum and the Museum of Arts and Sciences, which are continuing to show compelling work." McClenathan also is introducing as many different voices as she can into art history classrooms at all levels. Currently, the course that best reflects this goal is the upper-level contemporary art seminar course she teaches, in which students are asked to approach the complexities of the art world today as 21st-century artists from around the globe are discussed each week. "I'm also introducing perspectives into my introductory survey courses that call " PREVIOUS PAGES: THE ART PROJECTION OF IMAGES OF LITTLE RICHARD ON THE SECOND AVENUE FACADE OF THE MCEACHERN ARTS CENTER. CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: GWENDOLYN PAYTON'S 2020 'FAITH OF THE DREAMER' ART EXHIBITION. PHOTO BY REBEKAH HOWARD. ARTIST CHARVIS HARRELL'S 2020 EXHIBITION 'CARTOON VIOLENCE: ELEGY AND TESTIMONY.' MERCER ART DEPARTMENT CHAIR CRAIG COLEMAN ADJUSTS HIS LITTLE RICHARD PROJECTIONS AT THE MAC. APRIL/MAY 2021 | maconmagazine.com 127

• Cover