This itemset features artworks from the University Museum at Texas Southern's collections that are set in or focus on urban environments.
Curated By
Ben Schachter
Contributing Institution
Texas Southern University
Identifier
HCAC.TSU.IS.006
Rights
All rights held by the University Museum at Texas Southern. For permission to publish, distribute, or use this image for any other purpose, please contact University Museum, Texas Southern University umuseum@gmail.com Attn: Museum Director. Materials not created by Texas Southern University may still be under copyright. Additional materials may be presented for educational and research purposes in accordance with fair use under United States copyright law.
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Lloyd’s painting depicts the facade of the historic Wesley Chapel AME Church, founded in Houston’s Third Ward in the 1870s. The landscape and sky are painted in geometric form, commonly found in 1970s TSU student artwork. The church is set to be renovated and turned into a multi-purpose complex with a gospel music museum, recording studio, and affordable housing units.
Donato's painting shows a crowd gathering around him after a car crash, but not rendering aid. Donato crafts a scene that blends reality and fiction: he portrays himself bloodied like Jesus on the cross, surrounded by real neighbors of his from Frenchtown, a section of Houston's Fifth Ward, but there was no such car crash.
Hall's colorful painting highlights the view of a busy street corner. The main figure walks through the scene with tense shoulders and a balled fist, with a crowd of people lining the background. Graffiti, dice, and litter are seen on the street, sidewalk, and walls. This may be a depiction of Hall’s experiences growing up in Sunnyside, a historically Black neighborhood in southeast Houston.
Sifuentes’ print shows a series of shotgun houses. The composition portrays Oleander Homes, a public housing complex in Galveston, Texas, the artist's hometown. The complex was destroyed by Hurricane Ike in 2008 and was rebuilt and reopened in September 2024. Shotgun houses and urban environments are common settings for Texas Southern student artworks.
Settles' mural study depicts muscular, mostly naked men and women seemingly being sucked into a portal. An angel attempts to pull them away, while two men are stripped of their skin and bones. The figures’ hair is painted with great detail and seems imbued with special powers. The backdrop shows a horizon of shotgun homes. Settles’ final mural nearly replicates this earlier draft.
A native of New Orleans, Green transferred to TSU’s art program following Hurricane Katrina. His mural ties different aspects of New Orleans history and culture together through floodwaters. Enslaved ancestors stand at auction, and the city skyline, including the Superdome, is featured prominently.
Set against a background of shotgun houses, Black people engage in a struggle to break free from chains and physical limitations. Extreme musculature and angel wings suggest supernatural strengths. A motif in Settles’ work is the power and beauty of Black hair.
Texas Southern University students commissioned Biggers to paint this mural in the cafeteria of the student center. Composed of several distinct but interrelated images, Family Unity features several Afrocentric motifs that Biggers developed, including sacred geometry (checkerboards and spirals), shotgun houses, and husband-and-wife pairs. At the center is what Biggers called the “morning star,” which shows a couple embracing with their form suggesting a womb.
Foster’s painting is inspired by Charles White’s Sound of Silence. Third Ward is the historically Black neighborhood of Houston that Texas Southern calls home. Where White’s original features a seashell, Foster substitutes a rowhouse, the style of homes that are the heart of Third Ward. Dr. John T. Biggers, founder of Texas Southern's art department, studied under White at Hampton University.
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.
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.
Taylor offers a snapshot of Houston’s Third Ward in the mid-20th century. Growing up in Third Ward, Taylor saw it grow and change. The scene is a busy one and depicts various storefronts and residents of the neighborhood. Taylor named the pool hall in the lower left corner after himself.
