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HUGEAUX collaboration with Otto Neals, Dr. Mohamed Buwe Osman, Barry Mason, Dr. Margaret Burroughs, Vanessa Thaxton-Ward, Janaka Bowman Lewis and Abdi-Noor Haji Mohamed.

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Hugeaux collaboration with various artists and writers.

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PART 1

HUGEAUX - SKETCHBOOK 2008 ( The Text)
The 2nd Annual The African & American works by African-American & African Artists born 1930 to 1961
exhibition April 1 - June 30, 2008 .

Honoring : OTTO NEALS

Artists includes:
Dr. Mohamed Buwe Osman (Somalia / North Carolina)
Barry Mason (New York)
HUGEAUX (Florida)

Featured Writers:
Acknowledgements by Hugeaux Jacksonville, Florida.
Introduction / Text by Abdi-Noor Haji Mohamed Somalia / Sweden
Preface by Janaka Bowman Lewis Atlanta, Georgia.
Epilogue by Vanessa Thaxton-Ward Hampton Virginia.
Text Honorable Otto Neals New York, New York.
Text Honorable Dr. Margaret Burroughs Chicago, Illinois.
Text Barry Mason New York New York.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I shall like to that God Almighty for gathering a group of good friends for such an extraordinary exhibition. This BLOCKBUSTER exhibition would not be possible without the contributions and support of Honorable Otto Neals, Barry Mason, Dr. Mohamed Buwe Osman, Honorable Dr. Margaret Burrough, Vanessa Thaxton-Ward, Janaka Bowman Lewis, Abdi-Noor Haji Mohamed etc. I thank you all.
I hope you enjoy this 2nd SKETCHBOOK 2008 exhibition as much as I did in organizing it.
Remember our Efforts are worthless without DOCUMENTATION.
Kind regards....HUGEAUX


INTRODUCTION by Abdi-Noor Haji Mohamed

“I am blessed to be a human being because it is the only species that has the ability to write. An ape can be trained to speak few words but never can it acquire the skill of writing. So I am not an ape that has evolved into a man with advanced thinking ability. Simply I am a human being. I have rights to defend, duties to undertake.

Abdi-Noor Haji Mohamed
Somali Writer, poet, activist, photographer and film maker, living in Sweden, Europe now.


PREFACE by Janaka Bowman Lewis

Art (is) history: Intro to The African & American Sketchbook 2008

The relationship between oral and written (hi)stories is often discussed, but the visual often inspires and connects the two. Visual art has told stories in African and in African-American culture from the beginning of time. Additionally, storytellers and writers are motivated by images and artistic representations. In Ghanaian culture, the symbol of the sankofa bird told us to “return to the past,” to go back and reclaim that which we have lost. African American artists have reclaimed the power of historical representation through major artistic movements including the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Art Movement. Aaron Douglas’ Aspects of Negro Life (1934) reflected upon the dawn of emancipation through mural. Elizabeth Catlett’s Black Unity (1968) represented, through dual-faced African masks and a clenched fist, the connections that span both history and geography.


Artists also continue to create history through the visual realm. Kara Walker, to name just one example, utilizes the seemingly basic form of silhouette to tell complex stories about abuse and misrepresentation in African American history while confronting cultural stereotypes. African American art is not static it moves through physical spaces and by way of various media, from walls to projectors to television and computer screens. Today, both visual and literary artists embrace the digital form to make stories widely accessible. Hugeaux’s The African & American S k e t c h b o o k 2008 contributes to and helps to redefine artistic traditions of re-presenting the past as we move into the future.

Janaka Bowman Lewis
Doctoral Candidate, Northwestern University
Atlanta, Georgia


Honorable OTTO NEALS
Text by Otto Neals
Otto Neals, painter, sculptor, and printmaker was born December 11, 1930 in Lake City, South Carolina.
My talent as an artist, I believe comes directly from my ancestors. I am merely a receiver, an instrument, for receiving some of those energies that permeate our entire universe, an I give thanks for having been chosen to absorb those artistic forces. I try to paint and sculpt African people, working always to portray those characteristics that are true of their beauty, their power, and their love. We are but shadows of those who have gone before us and before I enter the world of the spirits. I hope by example, to touch a positive nerve in our youth.

The Creator, I believe, has allowed us, as artists to be a bit more perceptive than others. We are able to peer inside a block of stone and extract an image. or a log may reveal a form that others may not see.

When I stood at the base of the great temple of Ramses at Abu Simbel. it felt as though I was there before, as though I had a hand in its construction. Perhaps it is true. Perhaps some of the energy that had moved the hand of some great ancient African carver has this day moved mine. I would like to think so.

At a much younger age, I heard voices, which I now believe were my ancestors speaking to me. Although I cannot remember the content of the messages. I am convinced that they have guided my life to this day.


BARRY MASON
Text by Barry Mason

When I am engaged in the creation of my works,
I feel a strong presence of the ancestors
directing my path in every shape, stroke, form, color, word.
Almost like I was painting in a trance
or that of an out of body experience.

I feel that it is fair to say, when artists are
in the midst of their creative transformations,
some things can and cannot be explained.
Not because the artist don’t know or ignorance.
It’s because in our own lives, we are constantly
dealing with the abstract , not everything about us is all that clear.
Thus art represents the real and the abstracts of life,
the clear and not so clear.

I just know what I know when I know it
and, then, sometimes, I don’t.
But, I do wish to and as an artist I am always in a journey to know.

And when I reach back to find some answer(s) from my ancestors,
it all comes together. I let go and let the process flow
freely without question, explanation or second thoughts.

Copyright Otto Neals All Rights Reserved. Permission Granted.
Copyright Dr. Mohamed Buwe Osman All Rights Reserved. Permission Granted.
Copyright Barry Mason All Rights Reserved. Permission Granted.
Copyright Dr. Margaret Burroughs All Rights Reserved. Permission Granted.
Copyright Vanessa Thaxton-Ward All Rights Reserved. Permission Granted.
Copyright Janaka Bowman Lewis All Rights Reserved. Permission Granted.
Copyright Abdi-Noor Haji Mohamed All Rights Reserved. Permission Granted

An African American Indian contribution to the Fine Arts through the Humanities

Copyright Hugeaux All Rights Reserved.