Artist Statement
When I turned eighteen years old, my grandfather stressed the importance of voting by taking me to a tree where he was told that African-Americans were lynched by their neckties on their way to vote. The experience left a profound impression in my mind.
Kevin E. Cole, 1990
Since 1992, my work has evolved from the use of the necktie as an icon, motif, and symbol of power. I have emphasized the relationship between color and music, particularly jazz, blues, rap, and gospel music because of its strong presence in the African-American community. The works incorporate patterns and textures from traditional African cloths such as the Kente and Adinkra cloths, cloths that speak to human conditions an d behaviors. Throughout all of my work, I continue to investigate the existence of polyrhythmic space and overlapping planes, the raw emotional power of color and texture. In these recent works I have includes scarf shapes that represent the struggles of women.
Gabriel’s Horn Series 05-06
The inspiration for my work has at times come from music. However, the events that impact the human condition are far more wrenching and far more inspirational for me personally. In a recent body of work, the “Gabriel’s Horn” series, the inspiration was predicated on visual images and statements that touched me after 9-11.
It started with a photo… a photo shot by a friend, Bill Stephens, of a young boy holding a piece of tar paper and a piece of steel. Materials integral in the erection of a well-known symbol of power and respect were materials involuntarily used as a funeral pyre for so many, another kind of symbol of power and respect. The images of the twisted mass also felt uncannily familiar.
Additionally, while in my studio watching the news, a segment aired focused on the remains of victims of September 11. According to the program, there are approximately 1006 unidentified remains which the government has either refused or does not have the resources to identify.
In an indicting and thought provoking statement, a victim’s wife mentions that identification of the remains of all of those unidentified would only cost pennies and yet they still will not assist. She goes on to state that “it’s okay; I’ll see him again when Gabriel blows his horn.” This statement and its moving memories prompted me to also experiment with another material, copper.
The new curvilinear shapes and forms, materials such as tar paper, aluminum and copper continue the dialogue started with wood and neckties of man’s struggle with hate and senseless destruction and his spirituality.