AOTCE: When did you get into the arts? 

 

TAFT PARSON: I am a creator who took a long break.  Through my childhood I focused on photography and illustration, and then took a long break to have a career in medicine.  However, rather than create, my wife and I became avid collectors.  During the pandemic, I found that I had time to create and got inspired to start putting paint to canvas.

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AOTCE: What type of art do you do?  Representation, abstract, etc. 

 

TAFT PARSON: My work is primarily text-based art.  I found that written communication has become hyper-transient in our social media driven society, whereas historically written communication was meant to be important and permanent.  For much of history, it was both expensive and difficult to leave a physical written record.  I wanted to bring some of that permanence back in my work, as I feel that it makes me much more deliberate and thoughtful about the statements that I make.

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AOTCE: Why do you think photo realism is prominent today?  

 

TAFT PARSON: As a collector and creator, I can appreciate the technical skill involved in producing hyper-realistic works. Additionally, regardless of medium used, these types of pieces are staggering in their beauty.

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AOTCE: What is your subject?  

 

TAFT PARSON: I use my life experience as a black American to drive the work.  For example, while I would categorize my art as text based, I also use abstraction extensively in my work.  The twist is that I use techniques that black abstract artists pioneered, as we have long been under-recognized in the formal art world.  For example, using a push broom technique to quickly move paint over a large piece as was done by Ed Clark, or dyeing colors into raw canvas as done by Sam Gilliam while he was in the Washington color school.  

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AOTCE: What is your medium of choice, and do you use more than one?  

 

TAFT PARSON: Recently, I have primarily worked with acrylic on canvas.  However, as I explore the techniques of various abstractionists, the medium may change.

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AOTCE: Do you create regularly?  How often?  

 

TAFT PARSON: I will say regularly in my spare time.  Between work and family, I create in short spurts on a frequent basis.  I make sure to work on a piece daily.

 

AOTCE: What is your motivation?  

 

TAFT PARSON: I have a lot to say, and I see my work as a way to get my thoughts and feelings out into the universe in a unique manner.  Also, learning and experimenting in important artists’ techniques is fun.  I feel like I can get into their head and heart, if only for the time it takes to finish a piece.

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AOTCE: If you teach, what lesson/s do you leave with your students?

 

TAFT PARSON: I teach, but not art.  One lesson that I have taught medical students and residents for years that I feel translates to the world of art is to make decisions that you are comfortable defending.  Do the right thing, not the safe thing.

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AOTCE: Who are your greatest influences?  

 

TAFT PARSON: All of the artists that influence my work are great in different ways.  I really like William Pope.L for his text-based work, Sam Gilliam, Ed Clark, and Alma Thomas have been some of the abstractionist's techniques that I have had the most fun using.  

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AOTCE: Whose work do you admire and why?  

 

TAFT PARSON: I admire the work of artists who I feel are technically superior to myself, and who are using their craft to make important statements about the world.  For example, Titus Kaphar has a masterful mix of technical artistic skill and the ability to make bold statements about our history in his work.  

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AOTCE: Do you have any art exhibits or other events coming up?

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TAFT PARSON: I currently have a piece on exhibit in a group exhibition called The Pandemic and Beyond at the Swords into Plowshares Gallery.

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AOTCE: Do you work from a business studio or a home studio?  Why?  

 

TAFT PARSON: I currently work from home… It fits my work style to be able to hop into the basement to do a bit of work in between work and family duties… Plus, there’s no additional overhead.

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AOTCE: Where can your work be seen?  Are you affiliated with a gallery?  

 

TAFT PARSON: As noted, in the Plowshares Gallery right now.  I am working with Harper Galleries and expect to have another show there in the near future.

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AOTCE: Do you have an online presence where your work can be seen?

 

TAFT PARSON: I am not on social media, and therefore my work can only be seen in person when I have a show.

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interview by VF