The Shellof Vitus

  BLACK CREATIVE CIRCLE Article by STARLA GATSON | Photography by JERON STRICKLAND | STRICKLY US  Black female politician and author Shirley Chisholm once declared, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” The Congresswoman’s guidance has been echoed and shared countless times over the decades, encouraging many to  show up in spaces  they or others like them have not previously occupied. But what is one to do when the table for which he is looking doesn’t yet exist? Why, he takes a cue from the  Black Creative Circle of North Louisiana  (BCCNL) and builds it himself! The BCCNL was created to give local black creators a place to show up and show their work, be empowered, and inspire one another, filling a need the organization’s vice president, K’Shana Hall-Davis, noticed fairly quickly. “When I went to certain events in the area, I never really saw anyone that looked like me as the artist,” she explained before adding, “I’m not s...

  Vitus Shell Vitus Shell is a mixed-media collage painter born in Monroe, LA, where he lives and works. His work is geared toward the black experience, giving agency to people from this community through powerful images, deconstructing, sampling, and remixing identity, civil rights, and contemporary black culture. He received a BFA from Memphis College of Art, 2000 and an MFA from the University of Mississippi, 2008. Vitus Shell has been in residence at Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Anderson Ranch Art Center, Hermitage Artist Retreat, Mass MoCA, Joan Mitchell Center, Skowhegan School of Art, and Masur Museum of Art. THIS LAND is funded in part by a grant from South Arts with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Additional support provided by the Mississippi Arts Commission. "Being from North Louisiana, you’re like the step cousin … of everybody from South Louisiana. And sometimes we don’t get the full credit…" – Vitus Shell  

  The Masur Museum of Art Presents: Many Rooms: The South Got Something to Say The Black Creatives Circle of North Louisiana presents: K’shana Hall-Davis, Drék Davis, Benicia King, and Vitus Shell Exhibition on View through November 6, 2021 Public Reception: Thursday, September 16, 5:30 – 7:30 pm Artist’s Talks: 6:00 pm Masur Museum of Art 1400 South Grand Street This exhibition showcases the work of members of the Black Creatives Circle of North Louisiana.   The BCCNL is a service organization focusing on increasing the connection and visibility of Black creatives within North Louisiana. The exhibition will represent various themes from each individual artist, which collectively derives inspiration from the Biblical scripture John 14:2, “There are many rooms in my father’s house.” Each room entwines with each other distinguishing the multiple conversations that are being held yet concealed within the South. Each artist will do a brief talk about their work starting at 6:00. T...

A Little Ratchet Into every season there is a public and private discussion of what is an acceptable of presentation Blackness. A Black actress and comedian takes to the internet to decry Black women in hair bonnets in public and pleads with them to have more respect for themselves. Academics have conducted many studies that show that candidates with “Black-sounding names” are less likely to be interviewed for jobs with all other factors being equal. White social media influencers participate in “blackfishing” by assuming the features of Black women through filters or surgery to get the look with none of the burden of Blackness. The debate on sagging pants is still alive and well after decades of debate. Now that Hip-Hop culture is pervasive, the arguments over Black images has new language. Whatever leans a little too far over the sign of what is coded respectable is often deemed ratchet. Like the ratchet wrench that loosens and tightens, what is considered ratchet morphs and changes1...

 

  Artist Vitus Shell will give virtual lecture  No Ceilings  to the LSU School of Art on Wednesday, January 20, at 5 p.m. via Zoom. Vitus Shell’s paintings encompass a depth and intensity usually displayed in the work of artists far past his age. While a student at MCA, the Monroe, La., native traveled and learned more about different cultures and art forms. He attended the National Black Fine Arts Show in 1999 for the first time and received a first hand view of the inner workings of the art world. Other artists he met while at MCA who have continuously inspired him include Brenda Joysmith, George Hunt, and Alonzo Davis. To date, he has accumulated an impressive list of achievements, some of which include: participating in exhibits at universities, museums, and private galleries across the country; painting a mural for the National Civil Rights Museum’s NBA Pioneers exhibit; and being commissioned to do public art by the Memphis UrbanArt Commission. Opportunities for She...

  Q&A with Vitus Shell (from Crosstown Arts newsletter, Sept. 25, 2020) Crosstown Arts residency alumnus Vitus Shell is a mixed-media collage painter born in Monroe, Louisiana, where he lives and works as a visiting assistant professor at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. His work is geared toward the Black experience, giving agency to people from this community through powerful images that deconstruct, sample, and remix identity, civil rights, and contemporary Black culture. He received a BFA from Memphis College of Art in 2000 and an MFA from the University of Mississippi in 2008. Vitus Shell has been in residence at Crosstown Arts, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Anderson Ranch Art Center, Hermitage Artist Retreat, Mass MoCA, Joan Mitchell Center, Skowhegan School of Art, and Masur Museum of Art. Vitus has participated in exhibits at universities, museums, and private galleries across the country, including The McKenna Museum of African American Art, Stephen F. Aust...