Ulysses Marshall has been an artist and arts educator for over 30 years. Ulysses works principally in collage and mixed media and his paintings have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Vietnam Veterans Museum, John Heinz History Museum, Williams College, and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. He received his Bachelor's and Master’s of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland and he is the recipient of the Distinguished Whitney Independent Study Fellowship in New York, the Phillip Morris Fellowship and several Maryland State Art Council Individual Artist Awards.

His work explores different aspects of southern black life and intertwines themes of limited freedom, spiritualism, Africanisms in Black American culture. For this exhibition Marshall has presented a series of mixed media collage style paintings he refers to as “Paper Dolls”. The exhibition will also feature poetry from some of Prince George’s most dynamic poets and spoken word artists paired with these “paper doll” paintings by Ulysses Marshall.

The exhibition is in partnership with the American Poetry Museum and is curated by Fred Joiner, Curator of the American Poetry Museum and Jon West-Bey, Curator of the Prince George’s African American Museum. Visitors are also encouraged to create their own poetry in response to the artwork. Programs associated with the exhibition include poetry readings, lectures, events for kids, and much more.

The exhibition will be on display at the Prince George’s African American Museum’s Gallery 110 from November 30th 2012 until April 13th 2013. For more information call (301) 209- 2981 or email programs@pgaamcc.org or visit the Museum’s website at www.pgaamcc.org.
 

Curatorial Statement

Paper Dolls is an experiment in interdisciplinary arts for Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center (PGAAMCC). This exhibition began with one question. What would happen when a poet’s eye meets the canvased creation of a visual artist? The answer is this exciting exhibition that captures the complexities of southern Black life in aesthetic and verse.

The genres of poetry and visual art have very different applications but common purposes. Both bring to life images present in the mind of the artist or the poet. Artist Fred Wilson once commented that "he finds it amusing that his process consists mostly of researching and reflecting on [these] questions, and only later working with material elements." The same contemplation was done curatorially to try and appropriately consider what it means to be Black in the south. The next step was to pair the art and poetic voices appropriately but also to feature the individuality of the respective literary and visual artist. The poetry and art featured in this exhibit can each stand on their own, but by pairing up the pieces, a whole new work of art is created. This exhibition highlights the differences of perspectives while blending these very different but complementary art forms.

For this exhibition, the image of the Juke Joint was invoked to complement the subject matter of the artwork. Ulysses Marshall’s work deals with contemporary southern Black culture. Having grown up in Georgia, Marshall creates deep and complex works that evoke spiritualism, cultural Africanisms, and touch on the relationships between his subjects. Marshall calls his collages “Paper Dolls” as an homage to his childhood when he would create collages from the pages of Life and Look magazines. The poets chosen to respond to Marshall’s work were chosen because their work deals with southern Black life and explores the idea of the south as a Black homeland. A balance between performance poets and literary poets was chosen in order to get a variety of perspectives on the subject.

The most important aspect of this exhibition is the fact that all of the poets and the artist live in Prince George’s County. By featuring both the artistic and poetic genius of the County, the visitor gets a unique experience that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The visitor is encouraged to actively participate in the exhibition by submitting their own works of poetry in response to the artwork, so it can be added to the walls of the gallery. There are no right or wrong answers. I hope you enjoy the exhibition and that you will join the conversation by writing a poem. It is our hope that by participating you will gain a new perspective and use that perspective to see the world in a different way.

Jon West-Bey, Curator, PGAAMCC
Fred Joiner, Curator, American Poetry Museum
 

PUBLIC PROGRAMS January-April 2013

Poetry Readings
Saturday, January 26, 2pm-4pm Patrick Washington
Wednesday, February 6, 7pm-9pm Hoke Glover
Wednesday, February 20, 7pm-9pm Angela Abadir
Wednesday, March 6, 7pm-9pm Sistah Joy
Location: Gallery 110, 3901 Rhode Island Avenue, Brentwood, MD.

Poetry Slam: Sunday, April 28, 5pm-7pm Intergenerational Poetry Slam (Community Youth and Seniors will perform Spoken Word Poetry)
Location: Hyattsville Busboys & Poets, 5331 Baltimore Ave, Hyattsville, MD

YOUTH & FAMILY PROGRAMS January-April 2013

Early Keepers, Early Childhood Arts & Cultural Education (3-5 years old, parent participation required)
Saturday, February 9, 10:30am-12pm Location: Mall at Prince Georges (Center Court)
Saturday, March 2, 10:30am-11:45am Location: 4519 Rhode Island Ave, North Brentwood, MD
Saturday, April 6, 10:30am-11:45am Location: 4519 Rhode Island Ave, North Brentwood, MD

RSVP required. Contact Chanel Compton, ccompton@pgaamcc.org or call 301-809-0440. ext:110

Arts Workshop with Ulysses S. Marshall: Saturday, March 2, 2pm-4pm
Location: 4519 Rhode Island Avenue, North Brentwood, MD.
 

American Poetry Museum

Busboys and Poets

 Suitland High School

Gwendolyn Britt Community Center

 Board of Directors for the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center and Members of the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center

Artist
Ulysses Marshall

Poets
Angela Abadir
Derrick Brown
Hoke Glover
J. Joy Matthews Alford
Patrick Washington

Exhibition Curators
Jon West-Bey
Fred Joiner

Exhibition Design
La’Tasha Banks

Special Thanks
Busboys and Poets, American Poetry Museum, Suitland High School, Gwendolyn Britt Community Center, the Board of Directors for the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center and Members of the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center
 

For more information about Ulyssess S.Marshall:  http://ulyssesmarshall.com/