Earl J. Hooks Artist Panel Discussion

The Art of Photography: Through the Eyes of Earl J. Hooks
Exhibit dates: June 16 – July 29, 2023
ARTfactory, 9419 Battle St, Manassas, VA 20110

Artist Panel Discussion: July 15, 2 pm – 4 pm (Doors open at 1:30 pm)

Please note: VIP Seating is sold out. Seated live streaming is still available in the art gallery where you can experience the seminar surrounded by the work of Earl J. Hooks.

Exhibition Summary
The ARTfactory celebrates the life, and photography of nationally renowned artist, Earl J. Hooks (1927-2005). For the first time, The Art of Photography: Through the Eyes of Earl J. Hooks brings together fifty photographs spanning over sixty years of the artist’s oeuvre. Well known in the second half of the 20th century for his sculpture and ceramics, The Art of Photography recontextualizes Hooks’ legacy through careful pairings of photographs and three dimensional works. Elevating the artist’s nuanced interest in color, shape, texture, depth, and space, The Art of Photography builds visual connections that redefine Hooks’ studio practice. The ARTfactory is pleased to announce this retrospective is co-curated by Manassas resident, Earl Hooks Jr.

Earl J. Hooks’ photography is accompanied by QR codes linking his photography to rarely seen film footage by the artist. These QR codes are courtesy of the artist’s family.

The exhibition will also address the artist’s history with the local and national chapters of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. The exhibition reception is sponsored by longtime supporters of the ARTfactory, the Prince William County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Artist Panel Discussion
To coincide with the Earl J. Hooks exhibition, ARTfactory is hosting an Artist Panel Discussion on Saturday, July 15, 2 pm to 4 pm. The topics of this panel discussion concentrate on Hooks as an artist, photographer, educator, and his lasting impact on the art world. Of particular interest is Hooks’ personal and professional relationships with the artists on the panel. This event includes artists William M. Duffy, Ed Hamilton, John Simmons, as well as scholars Melanee Harvey and Halima Taha.

Panelists:

William M. Duffy is a sculptor, well recognized for his expertise in the ancient art of handcarving. Duffy experiments with figuration and abstraction through a wide variety of materials, including stone, bronze, steel, and wood. Duffy’s work is in private and public collections; commissions include the Kentucky Governor’s Awards in the Arts, the Farmington Historic Plantation Slave Memorial, and the (Un)Known Project “On the Banks of Freedom” Slave Memorial. Aside from his artistic practice, Duffy is known for his thirty-five plus years of service as an educator mentoring young students interested in the visual arts. Most recently, he was named the recipient of the Louisville Visual Art 2022 Legacy Award. William M. Duffy is a graduate of the Louisville School of Art.

Ed Hamilton is a sculptor, nationally known for his specialization in public art. Hamilton has created public art memorializing important people in American history across the United States, including the Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park in Louisville, Kentucky; Booker T. Washington Memorial in Hampton, Virginia; and the Spirit of Freedom Civil War Memorial, a commissioned work honoring the African American Civil War veterans, in Washington DC. Last year, he unveiled a statue of Julius Chambers in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ed Hamilton is a graduate of the Louisville School of Art, and has received honorary degrees from University of Louisville, Western University, Centre College, and Spalding University.

Born and raised in Chicago, John Simmons came of age at the height of the politically charged 1960’s. His talent as a photographer was identified and natured by Robert “Bobby” Sengstacke. In 1969 Bobby received an artist in residence at Fisk University and presented John’s work to David Driskell and John was given a scholarship. It was a life changing experience where John studied with Carlton Moss, Aaron Douglass ,Earl Hooks, Martin Puryer, Stephine Pogue and Greg Ridley. His next educational milestone was receiving a scholarship and attending graduate school at The University os Southern California with help of Carlton Moss to study cinematography. He is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) since 2004, serving as one of the vice presidents in 2017 and 2018. John has worked behind the camera since the early 1970’s shooting documentaries with film director Carlton Moss. He moved to music videos, commercials and features. He was an Adjunct Professor in the Television/Film and Theater Department at UCLA for twenty-five years and continues to mentor many up and coming cinematographers. Simmons _introduction to television began with movies made for TV. The Killing Yard, The Ruby Bridges Story, Selma Lord Selma and numerous independent and network documentaries including PBS, Showtime and HBO. His first multi-camera prime time show was The Hugley’s which began an illustrious career in multi camera sitcoms. Simmons has earned three Emmy nominations; twice for the Disney series PAIR OF KINGS for two consecutive years. In 2016 John won the Best Cinematography Emmy for the Nickelodeon prime time multi camera series NICKY, RICKY, DICKY AND DAWN. He is presently shooting and directing for various networks John Simmons has continued to carry a still camera everday and has photographs in the permanent collections at The Getty Museum in Los Angeles,Harvard Art Museums, Harvard University, High Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta GA, Houston Museum of Fine Art, Houston, TX, David C. Driskell Center, University of Marilyn, Wesley and Missy Cochran Foundation , The Center for Creative Photography at The University of Arziona and The Museum of Contempary Photography of Chicago.

Halima Taha is an art professional whose curatorial, art advisory, gallery, appraisal, strategic planning, writing, and management services develop corporate, not-for-profit,  academic, and civic programs and audiences.   She is best known for her groundbreaking bestseller, Collecting African American Art: Works on Paper and Canvas, the first book to validate collecting fine art, printmaking, and photography by Americans of African descent as viable assets and commodities in the market. It was also used as a choice PBS membership incentive raising three times its fundraising goal.  In addition, her work provided the Foundation, in conjunction with the historic National Black Fine Art Show (1997-2009), to cultivate and educate the market, enabling Swann Galleries to successfully establish the first African American auction category within an international arena since 2008. Her work was also the catalyst for significant museums to pursue collections of African American Art for exhibition within the last 25 years worldwide. She is an art advocate committed to nurturing the development, documentation, and acquisition of Black visual culture as a  professional speaker and arts writer for Artnet, Black Art In America, Pigment, Tribes, and SugarCane Magazine.

Moderator:
Melanee C. Harvey is associate professor of art history in the Department of Art in the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University. She earned a B.A. from Spelman College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in American Art and Architectural History from Boston University. In addition to serving as coordinator for the art history area of study, she has served as programming chair for the James A. Porter Colloquium on African American Art and Art of the African Diaspora at Howard University since 2016. She has published on architectural iconography in African American art, Black Arts Movement artists, religious art of Black liberation theology and ecowomanist art practices. Her recent publications include a thematic introduction on motion for Movements, Motions, Moments: Photographs of Religion and Spirituality from the National Museum of African American History and Culture (Double Exposure Series) and an entry on the artistic activism of Benny Andrews in The Unforgettables: Expanding the History of American Art (University of California Press, 2022). During the 2020-2021 academic year, Melanee was in residence as the Paul Mellon Guest Scholar at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art. She is currently writing her first book entitled, Patterns of Permanence: African Methodist Episcopal Architecture and Visual Culture.