Can you tell me about Finding Mona Lisa 313 and exactly what it is?

Finding Mona Lisa 313: Urban Students Become Global Scholars is a program for students in the

City of Detroit. Through the arts, students are able to travel to other countries and they learn how to celebrate the similarities and respect the differences of other cultures.  It started because my students would study about the paintings in books but could not readily identify with them because they were just pictures on a page.  My thought was, well, why not give my students a firsthand look at the work they were studying and that began the hunt around the world.  So, I asked my 11th grade students if they were interested in going on a field trip and they jumped at the chance.  We set about raising the fund with the help of the parents, grandparents, many neighbor supporters and the sell of my art.  Our first trip was to find the Mona Lisa and so we began with the Louvre in Paris. When my students saw the Mona Lisa they didn't believe it was the real Mona Lisa because it was so small but my students came to the realization with my prompting, that the painting was real.  Finding the Mona Lisa wasn't really the point.  What is important is that my students find their place as global citizens in this world.

Each year I take different students to a country which now includes Japan, Costa Rica, Egypt, Barcelona, China and Cuba. The parents, grandparents, entire families of my students have been changed because the students come back different.  Art changes lives and my students are changed forever because they get to see these places and cultures throughout the world.  As I tell my students that when you meet people you are going to be changed.  The people of the visiting country are blessed to have my students and just because someone's culture is different does not make it bad. The travel makes the transition to college easier because there are all types of people in college.

What really touched my heart was when we were in Egypt to see my students ride camels, see the pyramids, to look at the sphinx’s and it looked like Obama and watch them swim in the Nile.  It was an amazing trip.  Each trip was different and my students kept a written journal as well as a photographic journal.  I filmed the students, took pictures of them, so each trip was incredible for them.

Where would you like to take your future students

I would like to take them to Ghana, Russia, Dubai and Korea.  Whatever the stability in the world will allow.

What effect did the travel have on your art work?

Well just like the students I’m also learning as a world citizen the effect that these world trips have on my work is the same effect my neighbor might have on my work.  When you engage with people and engage in their culture you’re going to be changed.  I think the paradigm shift that is experienced on these trips just makes you look at things differently and situations differently.  I know for me I don’t see things the same.  I notice more that some of these countries are so colorful and when I come back

I see that we are not.  I notice that they revere teachers in education and we don’t revere teachers.  So when I’m there and the Japanese revered me as a teacher.  Like in Japan they treated us so well and put the teacher on a pedestal and as a teacher, whatever you say is alright.  In China when we were in Beijing, they don’t see people of color a lot so, some of the people cried and they wanted to take pictures with us. So there was this lady she looked like she was 100 years old, she cried and I asked her daughter if she wanted to take a picture so I asked the tour guide why are they crying?  The young people crying were just so happy to see us.  Then the guide said, “they don’t see people of color".  The Chinese  people wanted to take pictures with us, so they can remind their children when you were with the people of color.  Then the guide said you were with the black people and the Chinese people think it’s good luck when they see you”.  I tell my kids (students) it made them feel so great, they were like, they are so happy to see us.  See, that how you are supposed to be with each other, when you see each other, the same kind of feeling right now is how you should make people of your own culture feel when you see them and members of your own family.

Do you think there has been a misrepresentation in the news about how African-American are seen throughout the world and African-American reception?

Well, see when people don’t travel they’re going to go by what American news says.  For example, when we were in Egypt they called me Miss Obama.  I said yes, hi, how are you (laughter). When we were in Japan the kids don’t look you directly in the eye because that a sign of disrespect to adults.  But if you catch them and wave at them, I caught two little girls looking at me and my students and I waved at them and they said “Obama”.  The reception actually is a great reception since Obama has been in office.  So, the one problem I had was in Spain and they didn’t want to serve me and my kids because we were a darker skin and I went off so bad, but it really is not being darker skin the problem was because we were Americans.  Anyway, they got their minds together and they served me and my students.  But that was the only place that it was in your face with their stupidity.  It could have been others, but if it’s not in my face, what do I care.

What piece of art best represents you?

I think the pieces that I’m doing now are sculptural pieces and they're made out of denim.  The denim is twisted and knotted and hangs off the wall and its colorful.  I think these represent me of course I think all of my art represent me but I think the denim sculpture represents me at this time.  So, here I am with these blue jeans, my nieces and nephew give me their old blue jeans because they know I do these sculptures.  I’m cutting, twisting, and knotting them making the blue jean even harder then

what they are, I’m dipping them in paint, splashing pain on them and finally they take form.

What impact did the TED talk have on your working universe and your life in general?

I didn’t even know what TED was when they approached me. Somebody at the Charles H. Wright of African-American Museum in Detroit told them about me.  This guy who used to be my neighbor and actually his name is Ted.  Anyway the TED people called me and asked if I could tell my story in 15 minutes and I said “Oh yeah”.  TED representative said that they needed me to tell it on the stage at the Detroit Institute of Art so I said ok, and I didn’t understand, I am so glad I didn’t know what it was.  So people on my team Senghor Reid of course and his wife Tannisha, got together and put together a slide presentation and to go over some key points.  This is my first talk, out of the classroom, in front of all these people and so I talked to my friend who is a public speaker and she said don’t look people in the eye because they might be thinking about something else, just look behind them or above their heads so I said ok.  So I get there and there are all these people and I’m like damn and they give me this clicker and a screen like in a theater and I never used it. So, I’m nervous now and I say dang if I mess up they can’t do nothing I could just leave.  But I said if you walk off all the people that have helped you are going to say well, how did it go?  I went out there and started to talk about my story and I thought you could see me sweating.  After that I thought I had really messed up.  After I finished I was walking towards the back and people was standing there with tears coming down their faces and I’m thinking, oh lord I done messed up the story.  Then they said look behind you and there is a standing ovation. I said oh god and after that people were hugging me and I began to understand that people needed to hear this story.  That these students were fearless, their parents were fearless and nobody was doing anything with this type of student.  Straight A-students get to travel but not the D's and E's and the kids that are acting up, nobody wants to take them anywhere and they are the students that need it the most.

What impact did your Kickstarter experience have?

Man, I got my hustle skills back I didn’t sleep for 29 days.  Oh man.  People kept approaching me saying you need to do a documentary but I wasn’t feeling it at the time and so I said if the Kickstarter reaches its goal then that means the people really want to see this documentary.  So it changed my perspective, it made me understand how important Finding Mona Lisa 313 was and that people really wanted these kids to succeed.  Because you know, we are the keeper of their dreams.   We tell them to look at the prize, look at the light but we have to tell them how to get there, how to reach their goals.  It made me understand that the documentary was necessary.  When we put the trailer together, I didn’t have a trailer so when Senghor and I put the trailer together and then we get one hundred thousand hits on that trailer.  Wow.  When we did the preview it wasn’t even finished, and when we previewed it at the Charles H. Wright Museum it was the rough cut.  We had to show it twice because it was so many people.  It was crazy.

With all that you do is your gallery still operating?

No, I continue to look for a new space and I’m still showing, still selling art work.  I’m still giving shows and I’m the curator for the now Gilda Snowden Gallery at the Detroit Repertory Theatre.

Are you currently represented by a gallery and where can we see your art?

Yes, at the National Conference of Artists gallery in Detroit

Is there anything that you might want to add?

Well, I just want to add that as artist we create avenues and ways to show people how to live their dreams.  It is our duty to bring forth the truth when it comes to socio-economics whatever.  When injustices of this world happen, we have to step in when the truth is not being told and we have to use our art and tell what’s going on.  The art is going to outlast all of us.  We are the storytellers. It’s like when we go to a museum and see the art we can look back and know what was going on at that time.  Now, we have to hold all of these institutions accountable as African-American artist.  Our work should be on those museum walls too.  We have to represent ourselves. 

We would like to thank Jocelyn Rainey for taking the time to be interviewed

by "Rockwalker" for Artist On The Cutting Edge.

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