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“Dream of the Slave,” a large-scale mixed media work created by Curlee Raven Holton, associate professor of art and director of Lafayette’s Experimental Printmaking Institute, was recently acquired by the Allentown Art Museum.
The work uses images from a West African village to tell the tale of slavery. It represents the African American journey and depicts how slaves were able to “dream themselves into a new world.”
“Our museum has long been an advocate of artists from the region who create artwork of national merit,” says David R. Brigham, Priscilla Payne Hurd Director of the Allentown Art Museum. “We are pleased to acquire a work by Curlee Holton. Through his paintings, drawings, and work at the Experimental Printmaking Institute, Holton has had an impact on the art world.”
“The impressive size and historical content of Holton’s piece make it an important addition to our permanent collection,” adds Christine I. Oaklander, curator of collections and exhibitions. “I’m delighted that we now own such an important example of his work, one that will speak to many adults and school children visiting the Museum.”
Holton created “Dream of the Slave” as the final piece in a series inspired by a trip to West Africa in 1992 as part of a Fulbright-funded study of traditional cultural and spiritual practices of the people of Ghana.
“As an African American, this had a profound impact on my sense of self and cultural understanding,” says Holton. “The experience inspired me to passionately embrace the narrative elements of my work. It is clear to me that the story of the African still remains in the shadows of history. As an artist, I believe my role is to help illuminate that history. I am also acutely aware that this history has played an important part in my development as an individual and as an artist.”
The latest of Holton’s many collaborations with Lafayette students is the Master Artist/Master Printmaker program, in which three senior art majors are collaborating with renowned artists to create limited-edition prints that will be shown this year in Tokyo and New York (see related story). Designed to promote graphic and fine arts, the program links artists with printmakers who are creating a limited edition of prints using traditional and digital media. It also fosters special mentoring opportunities, encourages creative experimentation, and enables artists and students to work side-by-side.
Holton is also guiding seniors Giselle Edwards (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Sarah Deitsch (Norwood, N.J.) in an intensive research project. The trio is creating a retrospective on the work and career of noted African American artist Paul Keene (see related story). Holton is helping Edwards and Deitsch complete interviews with the artist and a major collector; prepare an exhibit proposal, budget, and schedule; create a promotional packet; and compile a catalog for the exhibition.
He served as mentor to senior art major Krista Catalano (Greenwich, Conn.) during a recent independent study that introduced her to art management (see related story). As part of her work, Catalano helped mount one of Holton’s exhibits at George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, N.J, and assisted with an exhibit at Dizyners Gallery in Philadelphia. She also had an opportunity to develop her portfolio and work closely with visiting artists, as well as curate a major exhibition of student art work on display at Lafayette’s David A. Portlock Black Cultural Center (see related story).
Holton is director of Lafayette’s Experimental Printmaking Institute, which he founded in 1996. EPI provides an open and creative environment for professional artists and students to create new bodies of work while investigating and experimenting with a wide variety of approaches to the print medium. Its artist-in-residence and visiting artist programs have featured more than 50 residencies, many involving artists with international reputations. EPI’s exhibitions and international exchanges have introduced a broad range of artists and contemporary printmaking trends to members of the Lafayette community and beyond. It also has encouraged artists such as Faith Ringgold, Al Loving, and Sam Gilliam to explore printmaking, a genre outside their typical media.
Holton has mounted more than 30 one-person shows and participated in more than 75 group exhibitions, including the Seventh International Biennale at the National Center of Fine Arts, Cairo, and shows at Centro de Cultura Casa Lamm Gallery, Mexico City. In 2001, he received a commission to create the awards for the Pennsylvania Governor’s Awards for the Arts. His works are in the collections of universities, foundations, and corporations, including Cleveland Museum of Art, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Villanova University, and Morehouse College. He was the1999 recipient of Lafayette’s Carl R. and Ingeborg Beidleman Research Award, recognizing excellence in applied research or scholarship.