Slim Crowism
Vitus Shell: Slim Crowism by L. Kasimu Harris for Burnaway May 23, 2013 The February sky was dark and Vitus Shell mixed colors hours before the golden light of morning. The previous day, his workspace was filled with visitors and other artists. Now, he painted alone, transforming a pencil outline into a shade of life on paper. As the sun rose, Shell took an x-acto knife and cut the painting from the paper, easing his workflow for that afternoon, when he would paint and pack, before darkness fell again and the next group of Joan Mitchell Center resident artists arrived. Six weeks earlier, Shell had driven from his hometown of Monroe, Louisiana to New Orleans on Interstate 55 South, a route filled with overpasses crossing swampy waters. After a short hiatus from making art, Shell again had a clear grasp of himself and his work. Now, between telephone conversations and switching CDs, he thought as he drove. His thoughts repeatedly returned to the bridges between Jim Crow and hip-hop