Date of Award
2015
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Art
First Advisor
Carmine Iananconne
Second Advisor
Anne Brey
Third Advisor
Michael Reafsnyder
Rights Information
© 2015 W. Levon Davis
Abstract
I’m not of this world, but since I’m here I will do everything I can to live out my purpose; to tell stories that validate, affirm, and make people that look like me visible. Every culture has its storytellers. I translate written stories into images. Those stories can be in the form of a poem, song, novel, or play. The stories are works that I create. I often find my greatest inspiration starts from reading literary works. I am constantly seeking ways to make sure that Black people, especially Black women, are visually represented. Since my background is in poetry, both written and performance; my images move like poems. My work can be described as the Harlem Renaissance meeting the present. You can see Jazz and the Blues. You can hear the echoes of my family that traveled the red dirt roads in Mississippi. You can see the Southside of Chicago because that’s where I’m from.
Recommended Citation
Davis, Whitnee Levon, "Lay Your Burdens Down" (2015). CGU MFA Theses. 114.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_mfatheses/114
