As we approach When Harlem Comes Paris, the unique event that celebrates the culture and art of the Harlem Renaissance’s presence in Paris in the 1920s, we sat down to talk to the featured visual artist for the event, James Terrell about his unique artistic approach to defining this historical period.

Figurative painter, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pastor James Stephen Terrell is a true renaissance man. He is the recipient of a BFA from Howard University, an MFA from Parsons, and a Masters of Divinity Degree from the Union Theological Seminary. James Stephen Terrell has taught throughout the city and lectured at Union Theological Seminary, Howard, Second Baptist Church, Martin Luther King Memorial Library, Corcoran School of Design, and the Sumner Museum. His paintings have appeared in solo and group exhibitions in Washington, D.C, New York City, and New Jersey, the latest of which was at the Smithsonian-Anacostia Museum. To hear James’s music and see more of his art, visit www.myspace.com/crucifiedtothecrossroads.

AV: When did you know that you were an artist?

James: I always wanted to pursue Art.

I was always a creative person, and I inherited my talent from my father who studied Art in college but pursued Religion as a profession. The house where I grew up had fine art on the walls. Growing up in DC, I studied the piano, clarinet, and guitar. But it was not until I enrolled in Pace University for Business Management that I realized that I had to paint, draw, and perform music. Howard University (where I received my BFA ) and Parsons School of Design (where I received my MFA) allowed me to develop and combine my artistic talents.

If I did not pursue art, I would have become spiritually miserable. If I did not expand my knowledge of art through spiritual study, I would have been lost in a sea of worldly confusion. Art give me the opportunity to tune out the world for a moment and meditate on my life experiences. Art allows me to express my concerns and the concerns of humanity. Art has helped me learn about and appreciate other cultures.

Art has expanded my mind, Art is not an easy discipline to master. Art incorporates math, history, reading and writing. Art is commentary on ones environment. Art is an examination of humanity as well as the soul. Although different streams of consciousness, ethnicity, and spirituality exist within all of humanity, the different forms of painting I create convey and explore the concerns, joys and beauty that exist within all of humanity.

Every piece of Artwork I creating is more then just a painting. My artwork is written with color, line, and shapes and can be read by the eye and interpreted by the spirit.

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James Terrell talks about his art during pARTake on March 1, 2010.

AV: How would you describe your artistic style?

James: My art is very linear. It is figurative art. It is art that allows one to take a moment and think about my surroundings.

My art is filled with vibrate colors and various types of line. The art I create is representative of the reality, which lies beneath the natural, physical appearance of the human existence. My paintings are historical, political, psychological, musical and emotional. Art seeks to dig up a deeper understanding, which exposes the truths of life. My art is a visual language, which is devoted to depicting the visual contemplation of the human experience. My art is a doorway, open to expressing various levels of human emotion and thoughts through the forms of pattern, texture, shape, line, shade, and color.

AV: Who or what has been your biggest influence as an artist?

James: My father Rev. Dr. James E. Terrell has been my major influence in art. He told me not to limit myself to just art. He told me to look at everything with an artistic eye.

My mother, Judge Mary Ann Terrell, of the DC Superior Court and founder of the High Tea Society (a non-profit organization for DC teens) who works countless hours and dedicates her time to helping better our community, told me to never give up on my art. My mother encouraged me to use my art as a way to help the youth better express themselves. My mother told me to use my life experiences to create. My mother told me to use my painting to document not just my growth but the growth of my

As an Art teacher in the DCPS School system the youth have also influenced my art.

I am able to reach out to the youth and show them how to use their creativity to change their mood. Art is important because it allows the youth to express many of the issues confronting them today in a positive manner. The Youth show me what they feel to be relevant in art now and at this point in our lifetime.

The electric energy released through the music of Jimi Hendrix is also an influence on my use of color and line in my art.

AV: What are some of the challenges or mistakes that you have experienced as an artist and what did you learn from it?

James: You have to meet people who can help you. Not everybody who likes your art can help you promote it. You cannot take to heart the advice of those who think they know what you want as an artist. You have to know exactly what you want as an artist or people will take advantage of you and your art. As artist you have to be in control of your art. In order to promote your art you have to go to reliable sources and reliable people who genuinely want to help promote your art and not the idea of what they think an artist or your artwork should be.

AV: Who is your favorite Harlem Renaissance visual artist and why?

James: I like the art of Romare Bearden. His colleges are like puzzles that when pieced together form a timeless glimpse into the African American experience.

I also like the art of William H Johnson. He was classically trained and could draw and paint realistic figures but he choose to create a style with vibrant colors and simplified figure to express the history and culture of African Americans in the south and in the north.

AV: What are your thoughts on the DC visual arts scene?

James: The DC Art Scene is starting to expand. There are a lot of new places to show at in DC. DC has a new energy. So much has changed in DC, from the people to the venues that showcase art and music. DC seems to be more supportive of the arts. Some of the area galleries still are not showing work of true contemporary artist of the DC area. Art needs to be seen by the public. Let us all thank the internet and internet galleries like Authentic Contemporary Art for being a creative avenue and outlet that allows art of known, unknown and emerging artists to be seem by the more of the public.

To view some of Terrell’s artwork available for sale for When Harlem Came to Paris, click here.