Attendees experience “Seeking” by Ellie Rush during the Black Life Ordinary exhibition at the Clark County Government Center, downtown, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024.
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 | 2 a.m.
Out of the many topics to address during Black History Month, a Clark County art exhibit this year focuses on one in particular: the ordinary aspects of life in the Black community.
The Black Life Ordinary Exhibit is on display at the Rotunda Gallery in the Clark County Government Center through Thursday.
The exhibit is juried by Claytee White, the director of the Oral History Research Center at the UNLV University Libraries, who during a reception for the gallery on Friday said, “We’re looking at Black life every day.”
“We’re looking at it from all kinds of angles: professional art, home life, work life. We’re just looking at the ordinary portions of a person’s life. And the beauty in that,” she continued.
Some of White’s favorite artists include Vicki Richardson and Harold Bradford, both of whom are local to Las Vegas and featured in the exhibit.
“People used to say that there was no culture in Las Vegas,” White said. “And our artists are proving them wrong. So our art shows life in Las Vegas. Our art is just like art anyplace else. It talks about human feelings, talks about what life means. And we have artists of all ages. And they bring all of that to the canvas.”
White also pointed out that the exhibit featured the work of Clinton Wright, a photographer who previously worked for Las Vegas Voice, which was the first African American newspaper in Las Vegas and is no longer in circulation.
Wright’s photographs at the exhibit include black-and-white shots of Black residents doing ordinary activities such as working and shopping at a grocery store, playing basketball, reading magazines and posing for the camera.
“There are so many talented artists in our community and we need to continue to celebrate and lift up the arts, do you agree?” said County Commissioner William McCurdy II, who along with the Clark County Public Arts Office presented the exhibit.
Another of the featured artists in the exhibit is Karen Buford, who said she had been creating art for at least 50 years. She uses acrylic and digital images and sometimes creates collages. Her work in this exhibit is something she calls digital art photography — a process where she digitizes a photograph and converts it to a painting or drawing.
“For me, it means discovering the everyday lives of people, Black people in particular, and how they navigate through this society, and their triumphs and just everyday moments of joy and love and happiness amidst a larger picture of struggle,” Buford says.
Buford wants audiences to know that Black life is not only defined by struggle and bad times – it’s also defined by joy, family and being a part of both American culture and African American culture. Her work celebrates African American culture, and she creates with a goal in mind.
“I have a mission that states pretty much that I want to educate, elevate and inspire,” Buford says. “And to do that, I hope that art can be a vehicle for that. To inspire people to live their best lives. And I hope it helps me be a positive force in my community.”
Another featured artist in the exhibit is Charles Holbert Jr., who primarily focuses on creating comic book art, having previously worked for a comic book store in town. But his work featured in this exhibit is something different: a drawing of his mother, who died in November 2022.
“She always encouraged me to do things like this,” Holbert says.
Holbert cared for his mother in her final years, watching her lose the ability to use her legs as they repeatedly walked together through the same government building where his art would later be displayed.
The drawing features her face surrounded by roses in a monochrome of pink shades. It’s dated 2022, as Holbert intended to give the drawing to his mother. In the wake of her passing, it instead became a tribute to her.
“I’m hoping that Black Life Ordinary is up long enough so that the public can really get to see it and appreciate it,” White says.
