Ry Watkins

Studio Art major

I was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, within the same square 50 miles as the 4 (recorded) generations before me. From drawing on church programs and collaging old newspaper clippings, I've always been led to make my mark on the materials around me. I found New England extremely jarring and wholly different from my experience living in Tennessee; the environment made me feel small and insignificant in the face of so many people who had experienced so much, and yet knew nothing about the places or people from which I came. This sparked the multidisciplinary exploration of collective cultural history in my work.

I Loves U The Mostest

mixed media, artist book and installation

Jewett Gallery and PNW 203

a narrow wood-walled room with dirt floor and chicken wire ceiling; various sculptural elements hang from above and are attached to the walls

a wood stump upright in a gallery with a handmark artist's book resting on top of it, open to a spread and displaying an attached strung bead page marker

This project began with my creation of an artist's book of the same name and was informed by my lived experience as a Black Southerner; it is a visual, experiential representation of the culture of Black people from the South. By aggrandizing my memories of Black Southern life through a hyper-realistic and niche lens, I am creating a snapshot of home that serves to proverbially sedate any homesickness or longing for the simple pleasures of growing up a little Black kid in the South. In some ways, I feel like the work I produce has been a means of rebelling against American historical precedents and their modern reverberations. However, researching, planning, and physically articulating my vision for my work 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.

two hands holding open an artist's book on top of a wood stump; the left page is a black and white photo collage of people with brown twig-like forms embedded in it; the right page is segments of red and blue text

two hands holding open an artist book on a wood stump; the open spread is all bright blue with the words 'Like a...' arching across it in white

two hands holding open an artist book; both pages are colorful collages; text on the left wraps around the images to say 'i JUST WANNA MARRY A...' and text on the right reads 'GLORY BE'

one hand holding open an artist book on top of a wood stump; the left spread is red text on white page; the right spread is denim with text overlay; the right hand holds up a small plastic baggie filled with red feathers

two hands hold open an artist book on top of a wood stump; the left page is drawings and handwritten text; the right page is paintings or drawings of hands in tones of blue

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