In this interview, Texas Southern art alumnus Richard "Sunnyside" Williams discusses his experiences as a student who graduated in 1994. He learned from faculty like Biggers, Simms, and Vital, and cites classmates and fellow alumni Roy Vinson Thomas and Karl Hall as influences. Williams taught at Worthing High School for years after graduating.
In this interview, Texas Southern art alumnus Prinston Nnanna discusses his experiences as a student in the class of 2016. He describes TSU's art building as the first place where he learned about living Black artists. He also cites Dr. Biggers as inspiring him to use symbolism in his artwork. Post-graduation, Nnanna teaches at the Pratt Institute.
In this interview, Texas Southern art alumnus Elizabeth Montgomery Shelton discusses her experiences as a student in the class of 1971. She was a disciple of Professor Carroll Harris Simms and discusses learning to create clay sculptures from him. She went on to teach in Houston public schools for 37 years after her graduation from Texas Southern.
In this interview, Texas Southern art alumnus Johnetta Tinker discusses her experiences as a student in the class of 1972. As a student, she worked closely with Dr. Biggers and would sneak into his studio to watch him work. She recalls a strong sense of camaraderie with her classmates. After TSU, she was mentored by Boston artist Allen Crite.
In this interview, Texas Southern art alumnus Kermit Oliver discusses his time at Texas Southern (1962-1967) and his artistic philosophy & practice with Dr. Alvia J. Wardlaw, director and curator of the University Museum. He highlights the religious, personal, historical, and political influences that shape his artwork.
In this interview, Texas Southern art alumnus Winston Moss discusses his experiences as a student in the class of 1963. At TSU, Moss took classes with Dr. John T. Biggers and Professor Carroll Harris Simms. After graduating, he took up woodcarving as a craft, inspired by his father who was a carpenter.
In this interview, Texas Southern art alumnus John C. Davis discusses his experiences as a student of Dr. John T. Biggers. Davis particularly emphasizes his mural in Hannah Hall, which was influenced by the destruction of other murals, and has been damaged in recent years.
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 photograph by Earlie Hudnall shows John Biggers being inducted into the Order of Kilimanjaro, an award given to him by the African Union at an event in Houston. Africa and African roots were essential parts of Biggers' art and teachings.
This photograph by Earlie Hudnall shows John Biggers seated on a bench near Texas Southern's Fairchild Building. He holds a mother & child sculpture in his left hand and an Aunt Dicy (of the eponymous tales) sculpture in his right. A mammy doll is seen to his left on the ground.
This photograph by Earlie Hudnall shows John Biggers seated with boys on a porch. The setting is Laurel, MS, where the men stopped on their way to Gastonia, NC, Biggers' hometown. Lacking proper materials, Hudnall stored the negative in a McDonald's cup until he could develop it.
In this photograph, Dr. John Biggers opens the door to Texas Southern's art building, which was dedicated the John T. Biggers Art Center in 1995. Artist Jean Lacy stands to the left of Dr. Biggers. Biggers founded the university's art department in 1949 and retired in 1983.
Pictured here, left to right, are Texas Southern art alumni Bert Samples, John C. Davis, Harvey Johnson, Leon Renfro, former art student Ricky Donato, and Professor Carroll Harris Simms walking on the campus of TSU. Johnson and Renfro would later go on to teach art at TSU.
The pre-sketch stage of Texas Southern alumnus J.W. Sampson's mural on the first floor of Hannah Hall is shown here. Before he took paint to the wall, Sampson first made a grid (to help with scaling up to the large mural size) and then drew out his intended design.
Texas Southern art alumnus Bertram (Bert) Samples is pictured here admiring his mural, which he painted on a first floor wall of Hannah Hall. Samples' mural shows the artist sleeping on his desk after his mother died, dreaming and remembering moments from his life.
Texas Southern art alumni Jesse Sifuentes and Earl Jones are pictured in this photograph from the mid 1970s. They are seen here in the ceramics room of the art center, seated in the trash cans where clay was stored.
Vital's maquette appears to portray an intersex human-chicken hybrid, which displays both male and female sex organs. The artist adorned the sculpture with swirl embellishments, a common motif in TSU terracottas. Vital would go on to make a full-scale version of this sculpture.
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. John Biggers studied under White at Hampton University.
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.
Lacy’s terracotta tower sculpture features cut-outs throughout the body. The top bears an abstract, smiling face with conical ears. The work is decorated with spirals and rolled balls of clay, both of which are among the signature embellishments used by students of Professor Simms. Lacy features this sculpture prominently in her Hannah Hall mural.
This sculpture is of an unknown figure. The sculpture has a piercing facial expression, and displays protruding veins near the brow line and a direct stare from the eyes. The crown is adorned with a spider and the outline of a web along the scalp. The design may have been inspired by Spiderman, who debuted in comics 8 years earlier.
This bust is a self-portrait of the artist. Jones depicted his face with sharp features, high cheekbones, and protruding veins near the brow line. The crown is adorned with spiral motifs, dots and rolled clay. Atop is a shrine structure, with a reptile within. Students were encouraged to adorn their self-portraits with additional embellishments.
Harry Vital’s maquette is similar to his shrine terracotta sculptures, made up of expressive layers. The base is flat with a rounded shoulder featuring circular windows and connected lines; there is a snail at the front. Upwards, the next layer's walls are closer connected with spiral cones extending outward. The top is a two-headed serpent-lizard.
This terracotta maquette is of a woman cradling a child in her arms. The woman is featured unclothed with simplified features. The circular base supports the structure with spiral motifs throughout. The crown of the head is topped with layered rings to indicate hair texture. The mother and child theme is prevalent in TSU’s terracotta collection
Leon Renfro’s bust is unique within the Texas Southern sculpture collection. It is one of only two busts made from a white plaster (as opposed to the standard terracotta material). The sculpture is also rather bare, lacking the intricate embellishments and ornamentation that are typical of the work of Carroll Harris Simms’ students.
