"Necessary Contemplation"

Abstract:In this interview, artists Jason Patterson and Lauren Frances Adams discuss the history of white supremacy in America and how it shapes their own experiences and artistic subject matter. Patterson is an artist whose work consists of portraiture and the recreation of historical documents. He also designs and builds ornate wood frames that house his portraits and paper artifacts. These frames aesthetically reference the design of the time periods of his subject matter. Patterson's artwork centers around Black history in the United States, but his recent work has focused on the Black history of Maryland's Eastern Shore. Adams' paintings and installations engage museum collections and commemorative landscapes to address historical memory and craft traditions. Both artists describe their process of working with archival subject matter and generating ideas in relationship to education, literature, landscape, genealogy and philosophy. They discuss recent projects about 19th and 20th century histories of Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Baltimore City and Maryland's Kent County.