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He really would rather be
behind his pottery wheel. Or perhaps, in Mexico, Africa, Brazil, India,
London, hell, even Lake Harriet. While you had a summer internship at
Nabisco or the local Law Firm, Steve was probably digging holes for a
landscaping company--one of those rugged artsy personalities.
But that really doesn’t explain much. It doesn’t tell you who Steve
Nelson is. It may tell you some of the things he's done, or perhaps
dreamt of doing. But even a person's dreams don’t contain the essence of
who they are: a lot of people never see their dreams with their physical
eyes.
The Liberator honors Steve Nelson as THE artist of the months of July
and August. Or, more simply and plainly put, as the "Artist of the
Month" (we have to come up with a more creative title don’t we). His art
is creative, inspiring, free. It seems to be the result of a peaceful
man, of a conscious man in a slumbering world.
Steve told me once about a conversation he had once. It dealt with
privilege. Being from Minneapolis, attending South High, Steve came to
understand that he was among the privileged. Because he was white? Or
because he was white in Minneapolis? While studying Art at the
University of Wisconsin-Stout, Steve told me that out at school, that
privilege was somewhat diminished--[nearly] everyone at UW was white,
including him. Who then would be the underprivileged? His point wasn’t
to sell me on the idea that in an all white society the concept of a
privileged group does not exist. No, he was sharing insight. Like a
light bulb to him, it seemed; in Minneapolis Steve was white amongst a
diverse population. Most of his crew from high school was black. When
pulled over, they would tell him, "Steve you're talking to them." Race
escapes the psyche when the palette is composed of only one color.
Interesting.
What I notice most about Steve is a willingness to think and an
unwillingness to be brainwashed or molded by conventional forces simply
because they are respected by the status quo. A white man in America can
choose who he is. Ultimately, a human being chooses who they are, no
matter how hard or easy it may be, no matter the circumstances. And one
doesn’t have to dismiss those circumstances in order to see this. Can
you tell the nigga dealing crack that what he does is his fault while
simultaneously having compassion on him for being a victim of outside
forces? Compassion does not require one to ignore something. Can you
tell the cracker who dealt niggas that what he did was his fault while
having compassion on him for being the victim of outside forces or his
own status quo at the time? In other words, I understand, but I still
expect you to make the right choice. If you don’t make it, you will
still be held accountable for your choices.
Steve chooses who he is with the choices he makes and does not make. I
don’t sense self hate; I don’t sense an overzealous, perhaps false, love
for the historically oppressed. I sense a man with a sense of right and
wrong, and the braveness to make a genuine attempt to live accordingly.
His art is an extension of that person. It strives to speak, but in
eternal words, spiritual at times. But these aren't words that come from
a disconnected, overly-idealistic spirit. Rather, they are connected, at
times even seeking to inject an opinion on today. Does God know that the
Timberwolves lost in the playoffs? I think so.
Take a look at Steve's work. It's open minded, freethinking, sometimes
radical, sometimes not. It resists stagnation. If you like it, let me
know, I'll put you in touch with him. He's cool people.
Most importantly, Steve Nelson is a visionary, because visionaries, like
him, are always growing; they are never grown. |
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