THE OBSERVATION BOOTH
OP / ED & PHOTO CREDIT: ANDREA DIALECT
Without art, the world would be just like the beginning, nothing. I believe that. I always sit down and think about how God took that canvas which is the world, and created this beautiful planet of all arrays of beautiful colors, trees, flowers, and greenery and all else. I always tell myself I have a little bit of God in me when I take that canvas and create something beautiful like God did. Without that, it would be just darkness! – Hassan
BLANK CANVAS
ARTIST HASSAN AKA (GH)
Because of the era my grandmother had come up in when I told her that I wanted to be an artist, she said to me that “that wasn’t something that we, as people of color, do. We go to school to be a teacher or work for a company or something like that.”
So I went to school for Accounting. My grade average was 2.0 when struggling to be that accountant, but as an inspiring artist, my GPA rose to 3.5. If she was still here, I think her mindset would have changed as time changed by now.
I was about nine years old when I started dabbling in art. I used to draw on the back of my uncle’s pictures. You know how they’d go to the bar, and they’d take a picture, and it had the little frame? That was my canvas, and I used to get my behind whipped. I didn’t have paper, so I drew on the back of that frame. It was a white space there, so that was my paper. That was a regular thing, and I kept at it, and I guess I stopped when I got tired of those behind whippin’s, lol!
Nobody ever brought me that paper, but when I got to grammar school, I’d get the paper from school. Those starter drawings were the usual kid drawings, the big ol head, and the triangle and stick figure legs. Now most of my art is either abstract or fashionable. Back in the seventies, album covers started coming out, and they were very artistic. I used to color a lot of “Earth, Wind, and Fire” albums. Those were very creative album covers. So I would color those and add my little touch to it. There was a Spanish Artist named Antonio that I liked. I used to love him. I would always buy the New York Times newspaper and look for his work. Then there was a guy named Kenneth Paul Block that was also a great artist and inspiration.
I started college at Essex County but graduated from Newark’s School of Fine Industrial Art, which used to be on top of Arts High. Most of the teachers there had come from New York and were from Pratt, FIT and those really awesome schools. We were gaining knowledge that most in that industry were paying around one thousand dollars a class, and we were paying twenty. Many suburbanites caught wind of that and took advantage of the opportunity, so it was a nice mix. I received my degree in Fashion Illustration there. It was fabulous.
Back then, Art was so much fun. Back then, I could go to FIT and sit in the cafeteria with the students because they were open to having potential students come there and experience the school. FIT, that was my dream! When I got that letter from FIT admissions office New York, New York, West 27th Street Manhattan that said, “You are approved,” I screamed. I was so happy you’d think I got into Yale. But unfortunately, I didn’t read the letter in its entirety and I didn’t make payment for the seat and I lost that opportunity. I was so happy to be accepted which is great but I didn’t do the most important thing. So I just stayed at the Fashion Institute. That was a lesson learned!
A person who greatly influenced my work and was an inspiration would be Picasso. I am a Picasso nut; I love Picasso. That’s about it right now. Whenever I talk to somebody about this art, that’s the first person I bring up. I became familiar with his work back in the eighties. What brought him to my attention was his abstraction. How he deformed the face, the body, and how he saw life. I read up on him, and it’s said that a war was going on during that time, and everything was so confusing to him and abstract. How the war was destroying people, and He saw life as very abstract back then, but he was a fantastic artist. He also did great realism, although his life was all about abstract, and those were the things that made him rich and famous.
Picasso is that guy, but what hurts me as a black artist and a black man is not knowing of other super successful black artists at the time, like Jacob Lawrence and some of the other famous artists I’ve seen on the Bill Cosby Show. Those who were not mainstream like Picasso and those others. I wasn’t exposed to them in that way. I’m not in tune with them, and I feel bad that I’m not because it’s like not knowing my Black History.
We weren’t exposed to them in school, so I went towards that. I wasn’t exposed to many things, but I got some of it from the sideline, and/or I took the time to find out. But I still beat myself up because there are some great Black Artist out here. One of my goals is to have an Expo for about five or six artists with talent and have their family and friends come out and see their work. I also want to discuss art with the youth to share my experiences with them because I want to change that.
Choosing art, was hard for me, but I kept doing my Artwork. Although it was a hard journey, I decided to work and do my artistry. It’s been around thirty years now. I didn’t know how that would go, but I did it, and I do it. I have done a lot of Art Exhibitions here in Jersey. Most of those opportunities came through hearsay. I met some amazing people also. God had put some really good Artist in my life, but in many instances, we didn’t stick and stay. There was an artist that I knew, a fabulous Artist. He was doing some work for Bill Cosby, and he put me on to one of the shows.
I also had the opportunity to work with another Artist, Peppy, from California Malibu. He was a rich Black boy. He and his mother lived here for a minute. He used to do designs for TV Channel Two, and I would do his illustrations. I would go to New York and get his quirky little sketches because he wasn’t a good drawer. He’d give me about ten sketches to work with and my money in an envelope, and then we’d chat about life. That was really interesting. I really wish I stayed in touch with him. I met a lot of people, and I lost a lot of people. Being around other artist helps me to thrive more, so that’s where I want to be.
I really feel exhilarated when I create. When I’m in that moment I’m at peace and it takes me to a whole another place. I be in a zone like I’m at a club and just dancing and having a good time and when I finish and look at it, I’m like wow.
Each piece that I create is entitled based on mood. I don’t have one piece that I consider a masterpiece that I love, but there are those that I really like. I usually put them in categories. Say if I had twenty paintings, I’d have five that I don’t want to sell. I don’t want to sell those because I like them, and a lot came out of me, and I poured it on the canvas. To date, in my house, I have four of five that I really like.
If I stepped into a time capsule and could only take one thing with me so that I could create, it would be a pencil. I want to be remembered for sharing my work and the form of media that I chose to work with. I don’t want my life ad-libbed. I want to tell my own story.
DID YA KNOW THAT?
Art is…
- The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
- The various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance.
An Artist is…
- a person who produces paintings or drawings as a profession or hobby.
- a person who practices any of the various creative arts, such as a sculptor, novelist, poet, or filmmaker.
- a person skilled at a particular task or occupation.
The Observation Booth is utilized as a space for Andrea Dialect to stumble through, which aids in life and brand development. It can also be used by readers, subjects, and features to assist or advance our world or their own. It is a peek into one’s world from the outside. It is also for the development of content.
Everything printed here is in draft form; thus, error is welcomed and to be expected. Everything is constantly evolving, is her mantra. Seeing the work in printed format is the initial step and is quite valuable and therapeutic for developing all forms. Like Everything, Andrea Dialect uses this space as a test lab for test study and a test subject. Here you will also find influencers, professionals, and muses who are considered “clay” who lend their image to change as doing us proud who are contributors to the upward progress of human progress. It is a platform for the growth, inspiration, motivation, and development of herself, her subjects, and her readers. Enjoy.
DO YOU KNOW ANY OF OUR COMMUNITY ACCESS CONTRIBUTORS?
- IF SO LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY’VE MADE THE CUT AND THEY ARE THE TALK OF LOCAL TALK THIS WEEK!
- PASS IT ON!
- LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE!
