Rick Lewis, Associate Dean in Illinois State University’s Dean of Students Office, is a painter exploring the crossroads of race and identity. The (In)Visible Men paintings invite the viewer to hold up a mirror to their own perceptions and look beyond persistent stereotypes. Mr. Lewis is actively engaged in documenting the contemporary black male experience as he thoughtfully provokes discourse on the roles of diversity and understanding threaded throughout everyday life.
Artist Talk & Reception March 31 at 4:00 featuring a student panel of models portrayed in the (In)Visible Men series. Panelists include Brandon Cottrell, Jamol Griffin, Keith Harris, and Robert Warnsley.
The Artist Talk will open with a monologue read by School of Theatre & Dance actor, Nate Aikens.
Idris Goodwin’s “They Shooting’ or I aint neva scared: A reverberation in 3 parts” is a selected work from HANDS UP: 6 Playwrights, 6 Testaments, a project intended to showcase diverse black male perspectives in an effort to incite conversation and understanding around the complexity of the black male experience. http://www.thenewblackfest.org
Most recently Rick Lewis’s work was selected to be part of a three person exhibit Contemporary Portraiture at McLean County Arts Center. Listen to an interview with Rick about his (In)Visible Men paintings. http://youtu.be/oyTG48lRmFI
Sponsored by Milner Library with support from the Multi-Ethnic Cultural and Co-Curricular Programming Advisory Committee, A Dean of Students Office Diversity Initiative.