I Loves U The Mostest

This project was formed through my creating of an artist’s book of the same name and informed by my lived experience as a Black Southerner; it is a visual, experiential representation of the culture of Black people from the South. Through this explorative, self-erected installation, I will express the hyper-realities of Black Southern music, cuisine, worship, and pastimes. I am following in the tradition of Southern folk artists, such as Romare Bearden and Nellie Mae Rowe as well as more contemporary artists, like Renee Stout and Betye Saar. The piece itself comprises 5 parts that are as follows: an updated second edition of the artist’s book, quilt collages, video collage, object collection, and the construction and arranging of the room itself.

Growing up in Nashville, Tennessee, Southern culture was an ever present comfort in my life prior to leaving for college. The culture shock of living in the northeast, provided a stark contrast to my life experience up until that point. This dissimilarity caused me to have a deep introspection regarding the nature of the folkways that I was raised on. Upon intense research, the majority of my findings indicated the African American and African origins of what was broadly identified as “Southern”. This misconception as well as my Southern pride drove me towards this topic of exploration last semester during which I rediscovered my family’s history, learned about the spiritual customs of African Americans, practiced ancestral foodways, studied rural community traditions, and ultimately made meaningful work as tribute to all the Black people which I hope to continue. By re-representing the histories and contributions of Black people in a hyper-stylized manner with glittering portrayals, I hope to demystify the lives of African Americans. More importantly, this represents a greater goal of emphasizing our importance and contributions to American and Southern ethnological heritage, to the end of creating something people can be deeply touched by.

In some ways, I feel like the work I am hoping to produce has been a means of rebelling against American historical precedents and their modern reverberations. However, researching, planning, and physically articulating my vision for this project has shown me an alternative mode of thinking that de-centers the white supremacist hegemony and focuses on the love I have for my people. In her book of essays, Art On My Mind, bell hooks remarks “There can be a sacred place in everyone's life where beauty can be laid bare, where our spirits can be moved and lifted up by the creation and presence of a beautiful object”. I Loves U The Mostest has represented that sacred place for me.