Blog.
Mapping the World of Art: Part VII — The Architecture of Self-Definition
Where are you on the map? You are standing at one of the first major crossroads of the modern art world. As the old European narrative began to fracture, new centers of artistic power emerged. In Part VII of Mapping the World of Art, we follow the Harlem Renaissance and the work of Alain Locke and Aaron Douglas to see how Black artists transformed history, memory, and migration into a new architecture of self-definition.
Mapping the World of Art: Part VI — The Liberation of the Frame
Long before Cubism shattered the Renaissance frame, African sculptural traditions had already developed powerful ways of representing layered identity, movement, memory, and multiple perspectives at once. This post explores how modern art emerged from the collapse of the single viewpoint—and why fractured ways of seeing have always been deeply connected to the lived realities of the African diaspora and the Delta South.
The Art of Displaying Art
Museums carefully consider every aspect of displaying art—from hanging height and spacing to framing and museum-grade glazing. This exploration of gallery presentation reveals how thoughtful display shapes the way we experience, preserve, and live with art.
Mapping the World of Art: Part V — The Constructed World
The Renaissance didn’t just improve realism—it constructed a system for organizing space. This post explores how perspective shaped the way we see the world.
Mapping the World of Art: Part IV — The Observed World
Ancient Greek artists didn’t abandon systems—they created a new one. As the human body began to be observed, measured, and idealized, a powerful visual standard emerged. This post explores how “natural” came to mean something very specific—and how that way of seeing shaped what we recognize as art.
Mapping the World of Art: Interlude — The Politics of Sight
We assume seeing is objective—but it isn’t. This interlude explores how perception is shaped, and why the way we look at art is never neutral.
10 Things Lovers of Art Should Know
A practical guide to collecting art in Northeast Louisiana—why regional work matters, what makes a piece last, and how to build a collection that reflects both place and perspective.
Mapping the World of Art: Part III — Art and Power
What if art wasn’t just something to look at—but something designed to control how the world is understood? In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, images followed strict rules. What emerged was a system—one that organized experience and sanctioned power.
Mapping the World of Art: Part II — Before "Art"
Step into a cave 36,000 years ago—long before the word “art” existed. This post explores how the earliest human markings, from Africa to Europe to Southeast Asia, reveal a shared impulse that would eventually become art history.
Mapping the World of Art: Part I — You Are Here
Imagine the entire history of art as a space so full you can’t move through it. This introduction reframes art history as the process that clears the chaos—and gives you a map to understand where you are and where you can go.
Yellow Pigments: A Story of Trade, Toxins, and Toil
Yellow is one of the most contradictory colors in the history of art—at once valued and hazardous, shaped by geology, trade, and labor. From earth pigments and toxic minerals to global trade networks and Delta folk traditions, this essay traces how yellow came to carry meaning across materials, places, and time.
How a Tiny Insect Colored an Empire?
From a cactus in Mexico to the robes of empire, the story of carmine reveals how a single color shaped global trade, artistic production, and cultural meaning.
Kinds of Blue. Miles Apart
From the rare ultramarine of Renaissance Europe to the indigo of the Delta, this post explores how two blues—miles apart—carry histories of labor, value, and movement. Through stone and plant, trade and tradition, these materials reveal who had access, who labored, and how color preserves cultural memory across time.
Art of War
A response to the fascist bombing of a Basque civilian town, one monumental work became the most politically powerful artwork of the twentieth century. From Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit to James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time to Gordon Parks raising his camera like a rifle, Black artists have outlasted every regime that feared them. That tradition is not behind us. It is upon us.
History Can Be Nuts: The Truth About George Washington Carver
For generations, classrooms taught that George Washington Carver invented the peanut. The real story is far more powerful. At Tuskegee Institute, Carver helped Southern farmers rebuild exhausted soil through crop rotation, agricultural research, and the mobile Jesup Agricultural Wagon.
Monroe’s Huey P. Newton and Black History Month 2026
On the final day of Black History Month 2026, we reflect on Monroe native Huey P. Newton and the enduring legacy of the Black Panther Party. Their survival programs, political vision, and community organizing offer a blueprint for understanding the present moment — and a reminder that Black history is still being written.
5 Ways African American Creativity Can Shape the Future of AI Art
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the art world — but who will shape AI? This post explores five practical ways African American creativity can influence the future of AI art, from preserving community histories to building intergenerational dialogue right here in the Delta.
The Strange and Sacred Labor of James Hampton
James Hampton died with sixty dollars in the bank and left behind a garage filled with thrones. Built from foil, cardboard, and discarded furniture, his monumental installation was the product of fourteen years of midnight labor. The Strange and Sacred Labor of James Hampton explores how faith, discipline, and endurance shaped one of the most extraordinary works in American art.
Is a Color Just Color? Or Something Else Entirely?
When you stand in front of a painting by Daryl Triplett or Don Cincone, color doesn’t just sit on the wall — it shifts the air around you. This post explores how pigment becomes presence, memory, and material force.
10 Things You Might Not Know About Black Museums
Museums dedicated to Black artists do more than preserve culture—they actively shape art history. Explore ten lesser-known truths about how Black museums function, from collection policies to conservation practices, and why these institutions matter now more than ever.