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[[left margin]] Community Oil on Canvas, 2005, 36"x36" [[/left margin]] Yvette Watson Encouraged by her twin sister to make the transition to fine art, Yvette Watson began painting people whose skin color was similar to her own. Prior to this, as an illustration artist, she painted according to her particular job assignment which usually did not include people of colour. At her sister's urging and through the manifestation of her fine art, Watson found the freedom to paint subjects of her choosing and to express her own personal conviction. Clifford Geertz described religion's persuasive force as the 'social history of the imagination.'1 In speaking of the visual arts, imagination is vital. The perception of imagery, visual memory, icons, dance, language and knowledge are all rooted in imagination.2 As such, imagination is not "static" but an active process. This activity of imagination explodes within Watson's paintings. Though not "explicitly religious," the imaginative force of her work maintains the Christian element which so deeply influences her lived experience.3 One navigates one's place in the world via various domains; the "mode(s) of orientation" used by Watson are religious faith and painting. For her, painting becomes a way to visually express her religious devotion and moral values. Love of Christ and love of family inspire and influence Watson's work, where she paints images representing values she believes everyone should uphold. Through rich colors and details, Watson's images gracefully glide across the canvas with the dignity and posturing expected of royalty. Watson frequently paints families. Particularly striking is the proportion size of her painted males. The size of the male figure represents the protective role she believes men should have in traditional nuclear families. Her depiction of Black men directly contradicts common recurring imagery found in today's society. As Henry Louis Gates comments, Black men are often portrayed in any number of "lascivious" or "threatening images."4 Tragically, every Black man living in the United States carries "the burden of being perceived .... [as] 'an already-read text' - the already-read text of debasedness and animality."5 Watson's paintings contradict such social stigmas and portray Black families as loving, caring, nurturing units. Listening to Christian music or singing in a strong voice, Watson surround herself with psalms while painting images that maniest her religious imagination in themes of "life, families, and faith."6 In so doing, she inwardly reflects on her "rich and diverse" culture and urges her viewer to do likewise."7 [[image]] FIFTEENYEARS Insofar as the religious imagination is engaged with 'pressing human concerns,' those concerns will impinge on imaginative autonomy by imposing specific cultural form on its products (83). -Csordas PARISH GALLERY | 1991 to 2005 43
