Portraits from William Paul Thomas from the inaugural Black On Black exhibition at VAE in 2016.
William Paul Thomas.
On Sunday, December 6 at 2 p.m., Durham-based artist William Paul Thomas will be in conversation with Michael S. Williams to discuss his portrait series Cyanosis, which suggests a parallel between literal oxygen deprivation and the toll of psychological and emotional distress. In the 2016 Black On Black exhibition, Thomas exhibited two portraits from the series that now totals more than 50. The conversation will look at the series through the lens W. E. B. Du Bois' The Souls of Black Folk. The event is part of a series of convenings called No Study; No Celebration that looks at Black On Black Project's three titular exhibitions in the context of North Carolina's history. RSVP.
Thomas paints portraits to note the specialness of individuals, choosing models that are significant in his life, honoring everyday people. This practice expanded through this series. In "Pictures and Progress," a lecture Frederick Douglass gave in Boston in 1861, he said images "...exert a powerful though silent influence upon the ideas and sentiment of present and future generations." Thomas aims for viewers to consider what types of distress they could be experiencing, using the paintings as guides.
The event will take place at Anchorlight in Raleigh, NC, and reflects on a decade of the Project’s work to nourish our cultural past, deepen our study, our understanding, and our connection.