John Wilson's creative work spans 7 decades

BOSTON – From an early age, John Wilson’s parents encouraged him to explore his keen sense of artistic creativity.  In 1922, Wilson was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts.  Both of his parents were immigrants from British Guiana (present-day Guyana).  Wilson first began drawing


John Wilson's Father and Child (1990).

at the Roxbury Boys Club.  He would eventually study at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and he received a B.S. in Education in 1947 from Tufts University.  For seven decades, Wilson’s drawings, paintings, prints, and sculptures have focused on racial injustice.  Wilson has embraced being an artist who embraces societal concerns.  During his lengthy career, Wilson has become one of Boston’s most prolific artists.  He was an art professor at Boston University from 1964 to 1986.


One of Wilson’s most well-known sculptures is Father and Child (1990).  Located on the campus of Roxbury Community College, the Father and Child sculpture depicts a man and child reading together.  This monument serves as yet another remarkable and descriptive piece of art in the city of Boston. 


Wilson’s artistic work was recently on display from November 17, 2012 – March 24, 2013 at the Danforth Museum in Framingham, Massachusetts.  There were 84 drawings, oil paintings, prints, and sculptures on display at the exhibit.  Black Despair, a 1945 oil on masonite, The Trial a 1951 Lithograph, and Trabajador, a 1951 oil on masonite, were three pieces on display at the Danforth exhibit.
Wilson is also well-known for his 1986 sculpture of Martin Luther King, Jr., which is in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.  Wilson also sculpted Eternal Presence.  The concept of the sculpture was derived from traditional Mexican Olmec heads and contemplating Buddhas.  In 1987, Eternal Presence was placed outside of The Museum of The National Center of Afro-American Artists in Boston, Massachusetts. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Recovery Month supports addiction treatment programs and services

F or twenty-three years Americans have celebrated the month of September as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.   The purpose of Recovery month is to educate Americans about mental health services and addiction treatment programs that can help people struggling with substance abuse.   Recovery month also raises awareness about specific challenges that people in recovery face.   Although drug and alcohol addictions are complex problems with the correct treatment and support people who struggle with these addictions can recover. In a Presidential Proclamation On August 31, 2012, President Barack Obama declared September 2012 as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.   In his proclamation Obama said: “Over the past 3 years, we have worked to strengthen substance abuse prevention and treatment programs, and to support Americans in recovery… Drug and alcohol abuse continue to take a tragic toll on millions of lives across our country. ...
Read more

The Life and Art of Allan Rohan Crite

Image
The Boston Public Library was one of three locations in the city of Boston to display the art work of longtime Bostonian and artist Allan Rohan Crite. Beginning in the fall of 2007 until February 3, 2008, the BPL, the Boston Athenaeum, and the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists exhibited collected works of art from Crite’s storied career in The Life and Art of Allan Rohan Crite: 1910-2007 . Funded in part by the Boston Public Library Foundation, the exhibit offered onlookers a view into Crite’s lengthy artistic career. When I visited the exhibit on January 19, 2008, over fifty collages, drawings, paintings, and sketches adorned the Wiggins Gallery in the McKim Building of The Boston Public Library. Crite was born on March 20, 1910, in Plainfield, New Jersey. In that same year, his family moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Crite would later make Boston his home as an adult. Over the course of his distinguished career he promoted visual art as a lecturer, p...
Read more

Political legislation brings attention to US Dental Care Crisis

A ccording to a report created by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) there is a national crisis in American dental care.   On June 7, 2012 Cummings and Sanders – the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, introduced legislation to address the inefficiencies in the American dental care system.   Approximately 130 million Americans do not have dental insurance.   ¼ of American adults 65 and older have lost all of their teeth.   More than 75% of American adults over 30 have gum disease.   Additionally, about 17 million low-income children do not go to the dentist every year. On June 26, 2012, PBS aired a documentary about the U.S. dental care system on the investigative news program FRONTLINE .   The 50 minute documentary, Dollars and Dentists , analyzes current economic trends and patient access in the dental care industry.   The documentary is a joint investigative pie...
Read more