Art student makes bold statements
Art student makes bold statements By Alex McAdams for The Daily Mississippian February 29, 2008 Media Credit: Kyle Kruse. The combination of out-of-date advertisements and African-American stereotypes are usually too taboo to be emblazoned in American culture today, but Ole Miss student Vitus Shell isn’t afraid to make a bold statement. Shell, who is in the process of earning a master of fine arts degree from the University of Mississippi art department, has devoted his studio graduate work to African-American ethnocentric culture by using and recreating images of sharecroppers of the Reconstruction Era, portraits of contemporary inner-city thug life and works along other themes. The progression from past to present African-American lifestyles was intentional, Shell said. “In my first body of work, I would search through archives and find pictures of sharecroppers (to use),” the 28-year-old artist said. “I felt they might have been under-appreciated at that time. (My intent) was to