“We the People…” a typographic collage currently on display at Slocumb Galleries, ETSU

We the People… a typographic collage by David Versluis was selected for the 28th Annual Positive/Negative National Juried Art Exhibition. The exhibition titled “Minority Rule” is currently on display at the Slocomb Galleries at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee from 18 February to 8 March. Image © David Versluis 2013.

Versluis states, “Over the years, in some of my artwork,  I’ve dealt with the theme ‘Minority Rule’ and all of these pieces are in the collage form. Interestingly, for this exhibition, I submitted this piece before President Obama used the ‘We the People’ refrain repeatedly in his second inaugural address.”

Slocumb Galleries and the Department of Art & Design at ETSU joined up with the college's Office of Multicultural Affairs, Black Affairs Association and Student Government Association to showcase this exhibition.

The juror, Michael Ray Charles, has a very impressive CV. Here are passages from the Slocumb Galleries website:

“‘Minority Rule’ is the theme of this year's exhibition, which features works in diverse media and perspectives—described by juror Michael Ray Charles as ‘nuanced artworks that reflect the complexities artists confront today.’”

The exhibition includes 38 artists from across the country whose work was selected into this year's exhibition.

Charles is an African-American painter based in Texas and one of the first in a group of artists showcased on “Art21,” a PBS series highlighting top artists of the 21st century. A 2003 article in “Black Issues in Higher Education” acknowledged Charles as one of the top future African-American scholars under 40. In 2000, he was a consultant on Spike Lee’s film, “Bamboozled,” and his work was included in the 2006 documentary “Race is the Place.”

Charles has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and as a juror for the Bush Artist Fellowship in St. Paul, Minn., and the Inaugural Biennial Underground Railroad Exhibition at Northern Kentucky University.

He lectures and exhibits nationally and internationally. Currently, Charles is a professor of art in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Austin.