Settles' painting shows a Black man abused by a group of 5 police, while a group looks on in the background. This painting reflects frustration with police brutality and racism towards the Black community. Settles replicated this image (of the police surrounding the man) in another of his paintings with a different, more abstract background.
Portraying the brutality of war in the mid-twentieth century, McCowan, a veteran, integrates the wall’s architectural elements (a fire hose and extinguisher) to highlight the tension of the scene. The mushroom cloud above the fire hose highlights Cold War-era anxieties.
A full church choir sings passionately. Hatter chose this location to make use of the rectangular shape of the doorway, suggesting the arrangement of a choir standing on risers. The exit sign, which was previously embedded on the wall, cast rays of light across the choir members’ faces.
Tinker’s drawing shows three children lounging around a fallen tree. The two girls are depicted with elongated limbs, and the rightmost girl also has oversized hands. Dr. Biggers influenced his students to draw the hands and feet of their subjects in great detail and disproportionately large. This style continues to be taught to and implemented in the works of TSU artists in the 21st century.
Hals’ drawing shows two women chatting on the street. Their environment, filled with shotgun homes and tall grass, resembles Houston’s Third Ward, the historically Black neighborhood that Texas Southern University calls home. TSU art students, at Dr. Biggers’ instruction, often looked to their surroundings for inspiration.
Walker’s bust was created during his time as an art student at TSU. Under the instruction of Professor Carroll Harris Simms, artists would create self-portraits embellished with textures, like those seen in the hair of this sculpture. While most were made from terracotta clay, this one is made from plaster. These busts are inspired by Nok terracotta sculptures and Ife busts, which Simms saw during his travels to Western Africa.
Criner’s senior notebook includes his written philosophy of art, photographs of the artist’s works and his process, and a copy of his senior exhibition brochure. As a part of the Texas Southern art curriculum under Dr. John T. Biggers and Professor Carroll Harris Simms, students would create these notebooks to explain their artistry and showcase the works they created as students.
This maquette, created by an unknown Texas Southern University art student, shows a feline creature at attention. There are various swirl patterns and textures on the figure. The swirls are a required component for the maquette project, as Carroll Harris Simms pushed his students to richly embellish their works.
Charoennimuang’s print shows three women wearing babies on their backs and carrying baskets atop their heads. Two of the women’s faces are turned away from the viewer, while the closest gazes back fiercely. All three women’s hair is braided. This print highlights some of the varied and essential types of labor that women carry out.
This photograph shows a young Carroll Harris Simms, with many of his sculptures, as an art student at Cranbrook Academy of Art. Simms received his BFA and MFA from Cranbrook, where he was the first African American graduate. Simms recalled the way student and faculty advocates helped him integrate the school. In 1950, Simms came to Texas Southern to help Dr. John T. Biggers run the art department; Simms taught pottery, sculpture, ceramics, and jewelry making classes.
Settles, a student of Carroll Harris Simms, created the sculpture “Camel” in 1978. The creation of a large terracotta sculpture was a part of each art student's curriculum. The design features include a huge hump and embellishments, including spirals, on the exterior. Sculptures lacking sufficient ornamentation were often not retained for the collection.
Hubbard’s senior notebook includes his written philosophy of art, photographs of the artist’s works and his process, and a copy of his senior exhibition brochure. As a part of the Texas Southern art curriculum under Dr. John T. Biggers and Professor Carroll Harris Simms, students would create these notebooks to explain their artistry and showcase the works they created as students.
This large, brown ceramic plate created by Carroll Harris Simms features multiple textures, including a bubbling glaze covering most of the top of the piece. Simms worked alongside Dr. John T. Biggers to build Texas Southern's art department from the ground up. Simms' decorative artworks remain in high demand by collectors.
This large ceramic plate created by Carroll Harris Simms features multiple textures, including a bubbling glaze covering most of the top of the piece. Simms worked alongside Dr. John T. Biggers to build Texas Southern's art department from the ground up. Simms' decorative artworks remain in high demand by collectors.
In this interview, former Texas Southern art student Brenda Mackey Lang discusses her time as an art student (1967-73) and as an artist later on. At TSU, Lang learned from Dr. John T. Biggers and Professor Carroll Harris Simms, met Maya Angelou, and protested with Mickey Leland.
This is a brochure for Dobbins’ senior art exhibition. The culmination of the Texas Southern art curriculum is a senior exhibition where students showcase artwork created over the course of their undergraduate studies. The brochure features a photo of Dobbins, a brief biography, a catalog of the artwork featured in the exhibition, and a photo of one of her drawings. It is inscribed with a note from Dobbins.
Mass depicts scenes of family life, including a gathering at the dinner table and church services. The laborer at the far right suggests the role of physical work in sustaining the Black family. As in other murals, architectural elements from Hannah Hall are incorporated in this mural.
Oliver’s painting depicts a young boy sitting on the stump of a tree. The boy is barefoot and wearing a contemplative expression on his face. Oliver’s style in this painting is very free-form, with quick and abrupt brushstrokes throughout the composition. Oliver is one of the most successful art graduates from TSU, going on to be the only North American artist to design scarves for the fashion house Hermes.
This painting by Charlene Claye shows a group of three people, including at least two women, fishing by a pond. This painting highlights one of the many types of labor Black women perform to support their families and communities. The broad, blue strokes extend a sense of timelessness and depth.
Mills' painting is a portrait of an unknown woman, dressed conservatively in a turtleneck, with short hair and a pearl earring. As a part of the art curriculum, students are required to create portraits during elementary painting. Many of Mills’ pieces share this painting’s muted and dark color palette. Some of Mills’ classmates recall him being color-blind, perhaps partly explaining these color choices.
Rickey Donato's painting shows onlookers of various ages gazing with concern at a man who is bleeding and wearing a cross. This is likely an allegory for Jesus, often portrayed bloodied from the crucifixion. Imagery of "Black Jesus," played with by a variety of Black artists over time, counters iconography of a fair-skinned Jesus.
This radiant work by Oliver Parson engulfs the viewer in the spiraling flow of a smiling woman's silky headwrap. The headwrap is a fashionable method of hair protection and expression of identity that is shared among women across the African diaspora.
Erma Gordon’s “Bison” sculpture includes two-toned clay with a smooth finish on the body. The hair of the bison is carefully sculpted on the top of its body, lending a realistic, soft texture. The artist depicted herself creating this sculpture in her Hannah Hall mural. Wildlife are frequent subjects of TSU student terracottas.
Burley’s vibrant mural explores cycles of life and focuses on women. The left conveys night and includes a female constellation. The right shows daytime, with plants and animals. A rainbow runs across, signifying unity. The large, detailed hand is a frequent motif in the art of Biggers’ students.
This abstract work features three distorted cows’ faces that seem to be staring upwards and at the viewer, against a colorful triangular background. Vital was an art student at Texas Southern and later went on to become a faculty member in the art department. Many works in the school’s collection, particularly from the 1970s, use cubist styles.
Elizabeth Montgomery Shelton’s terracotta is made up of a variety of colored clays with embellishments that have been painted using black and tan slips. The top half includes layers of plates extending out from the surface, while the bottom half is evenly decorated with pressed circular clay. The structure perhaps mimics an instrument or a bird feeder.
This is a brochure for the April 2010 John T. Biggers Carroll Harris Simms Symposium On the Art of the African Diaspora: Building Upon Our Legacy. This regular event from the University Museum at Texas Southern brings together artists, historians, educators, students, alumni, and members of the public to celebrate the legacy of Biggers and Simms, who worked together to build TSU’s art department from the ground up.
Remble's drawing portrays renowned Mardi Gras Indian chief David Montana. Mardi Gras Indians refers to Black New Orleanians who draw from Creole, Indigenous, African, and Afro-Caribbean tradition to develop a unique form of visual culture and resistance. Remble, a Texas Southern graduate, was born in New Orleans and later moved to Houston. In his own words, he aims to "explore and preserve the diverse subcultures of the American South" through his art.
Samples’ senior notebook includes his written philosophy of art and photographs of the artist’s works. As a part of the Texas Southern art curriculum under Dr. John T. Biggers and Professor Carroll Harris Simms, students would create these notebooks to explain their artistry and showcase the works they created as students.
Samples’ painting is a self-portrait. During the elementary painting course, Texas Southern art majors are required to paint self-portraits. Samples’ classmates recall being intimidated and inspired by his talent and work pace when they sat next to him in the studio. Samples was one of the founders of Houston’s Project Row Houses and now works as an art conservator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
