Kojo Griffin Lectures at SUNY New Paltz: Artist explores Psychology of Emotional and Physical Abuse

NEW PALTZ — Kojo Griffin, a thirty year-old visual artist whose work explores abuse and impending violence will present a slide lecture and discuss his art work on Wednesday, September 5, 2001 at SUNY New Paltz. His visit is part of the Art Lecture Series and is sponsored by the Student Art Alliance, a funded member of the Student Association. The lecture begins at 7:30pm in Lecture Center 112. It is free and open to all.

With his recent recognition as a participant in the Whitney 2000 Biennial, Kojo Griffin has become the subject of much interest in the art world. The content of his work is contemplative and can be quietly brooding while his subject matter does indicate his interest in the psychology of emotional and physical abuse.

“The figures in these multi-layered compositions are patterned after button-eyed rag dolls and the kinds of storybook characters that combine human and animal features,” the Winston-Salem Journal said. “Set off against backgrounds that incorporate landscape elements, traditional Eastern spiritual symbols, and richly associative abstract shapes, these figures suggest a spirit of playfulness innocence. A closer look, though, reveals their involvement in disturbing scenarios that reflect traumatic personal experiences associated with social problems.”

Griffin says, “I paint the moment before or the moment after something has happened. I paint things people don’t like to talk about and deal with.” His work has been exhibited at the Tubman Museum of African American Art, the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, and other museums and galleries thoughout the country. Examples of his work appear in the exhibition “In Cold Blood” now on view in the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, through September 23.

Additional information about upcoming arts events at SUNY New Paltz is available on the web at www.newpaltz.edu/artsnews or by calling 845-257-3858.