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FOR RELEASE: Thursday, January 17, 2008
The Blues in Many Colors
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - In "Vision of Blues Icons," an exhibit currently on display in Mullins Library on the University of Arkansas campus, George Hunt's "vision" of the blues is actually polychromatic, reveling in the brightest hues of the rainbow. The iconographic images in George Hunt's exhibit depict legendary blues performers and the blues songs that made them famous. "Kindhearted Woman Blues" shows a woman standing behind a man, whose initials on his guitar, "R.J." signify that it is Robert Johnson, who recorded this song in 1936 in San Antonio, Texas. "Kindhearted Woman Blues" contains Johnson's only recorded guitar solo, a revolution in sound that has since become synonymous with blues performances. Likewise, "B.B. King of Clubs" depicts Riley B. King (b. 1925), who got his nickname "B.B." from an early stage name, the "Beale Street Blues Boy." King's Blues Club on Beale Street is a favorite haunt for Memphis blues enthusiasts. "Big Bill" depicts William Morganfield (b. 1956), son of legendary blues performer Muddy Waters, and "Memphis Slim" depicts John Len Chatman (b. 1915), who recorded more than 20 blues albums during his career.
Hunt's exuberant canvasses of acrylic and mixed media repay close inspection. Bits of fabric and burlap add texture, sometimes underneath, sometimes over the top of the paint. Ribbons add emphasis to a performer's hat, an embossed lid of a cigar box adds a decorative element to a background, a vaccination receipt peeks out of a pocket, and an actual tin of Prince Albert tobacco fits snugly into a three-dimensional pocket in Robert Johnson's shirt. Hunt's formal education came from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1960. He did postgraduate studies at the University of Memphis and at New York University, and in the early 1960s studied under social realist painter Hale Woodruff. Hunt spent three decades teaching art education and coaching at George Washington Carver High School in Memphis before turning full time to painting. He now works in a studio overlooking Beale Street. Some of Hunt's noteworthy artistic accomplishments in the last decade include painting the original blues image for the "Memphis in May/Beale Street Music Festival" poster each year since 1994, being commissioned to paint 24 portraits for the Blues & Legends Hall of Fame Museum in 1996, being named the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum's American Music Master's featured artist in 1998 and again in 2000, being named the Blues & Legends Hall of Fame Museum's official artist for the Year of the Blues in 2003, creating the image for the Blues Foundation poster commemorating the 25th annual Handy Awards in 2004, creating the image for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Congo Square poster in 2005, and creating the image "Little Rock Nine" for the 2005 U.S. postage stamp honoring the integration of Central High School in 1957. "Vision of Blues Icons" will hang in the lobby level of Mullins Library through the end of February. Hunt will lead a "Walkin' Talkin' Gallery Tour" of his exhibit on Friday, Feb. 8, at 10 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. Please join the library staff for a rare and enjoyable conversation with one of the most honored African-American artists in the South. This exhibit is a part of "My America: The Southern Blues," a collaborative project between the University of Arkansas and the Walton Arts Center. For more information, call (479) 575-2962. ### Contact:
Molly
Boyd, public relations coordinator |
