- [Heather] Next on Curate, - [Hampton] I had to realize where I was in the world.

And so I just hit the ground running and the universe kind of opened up.

- [Geoffrey] Therapy is a pathway to health so that you can get what you need and then enjoy life.

- [Felix] That's what this art does.

It engages the viewer and just keeps evolving.

And that's the beauty about this art.

- [Jason] This is Curate.

- Welcome.

I'm Heather Mazzoni.

- And I'm Jason Kypros.

Thanks for being along for the ride.

Multi-threat artist, Hampton Boyer is hard to miss in the regional art community.

His work is bold and his vision and passion are unmistakable.

- [Heather] Hampton Recently, let us tag along to see what being a unique voice in art is all about.

This creative force and all around influencer, is our 757 featured artist.

- [Hampton] I was born in Pittsburgh.

My mom was home sick.

And so we moved down to Newport News.

I wasn't good at sports, so I picked up skateboarding and through that outlet I was exposed to independence.

Going to the skate shop, it was like going to art show.

All these different companies have different graphics.

So that's imagery that gets soaked into my mind.

My high school years when I started to go skateboard more, and the appetite of being a professional skateboarder was like more of like that's what I wanted to do.

But everyone has that pipe dream.

Once I realized I was going to have a hard time skating professionally, I geared more into artwork.

I got heavy into painting as if it was my job or my life depended on it.

I just hit the ground running and the universe kind of opened up.

My friend, Jonathan Tao He was like, "Yo, I'm starting a gallery.

And I want you to be the first show".

And I just was like so hyped.

At that time I was just a artist who was just trying to be an artist without any concept of art history or form or composition.

This kind of outsider art.

Hadn't learned the enjoyment that you get from seeing other people respond well to something that you make.

And so that moment helped me with my confidence of being an artist.

♪ (jazzy electric music) ♪ "The bird" was a doodle.

Now it turned into something that I was doing like on a repetitive motion.

I had spoke, "two herds of a feather flock together".

So I made this character that had his own crazy wings.

♪ I know it sounds silly dear, but do it for me, please.

♪ It prompts, isolation, and feeling like you're not part of the masses but it also promoted individuality and expression of self.

So you might see a bird holding a peace pipe or having a six pack until I realized that the bird was vicariously me.

I was drawing out a lot of frustrations, how you fit in with the world around you.

I had this idea for "Fully Charged Paradise" and "Fully Charged Paradise" was a narrative of how the bird came to be.

♪ On my father's grave ♪ My friends Travis, Chad, and Gary sonically helped me put this vision together.

And we ended up doing a exhibition at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center.

They performed the music.

I got in the bird outfit.

We had dancers and it was a real celebration.

After I brought the bird to life, I started to gravitate away from it because I felt that it was going to box me in as a certain type of artist.

♪ (jazzy electric music ends) ♪ ♪ (piano music begins) ♪ The name of this painting is called "Catapult".

We had just got a dog.

Everything was cool for a while.

And then every time we would leave the house we would experience her starting to act kind of frantic.

And so it reminds me of the feeling of how it felt when I lost my mother.

♪ (electric piano music) ♪ My mom was my best, best, best, best, best friend.

She just was a huge supporter for everything that I was doing.

She had breast cancer and then she went into remission.

And then about a year or so later, her cancer had come back.

That was like a really tough time for me just because she knew how much I had more to learn.

My brother called me.

He was like, "mom took her last breaths".

And I just couldn't really feel anything.

That safety net that was provided once it was cut from underneath for me, I had to realize where I was in the world after experiencing a loss like that I was able to cherish those moments of life.

That created a new limit for me.

I wanted all my artwork to be gigantic and concept and execution.

I felt that I could no longer as an African-American artist do something that didn't talk about racism and the systemic backwards mentalities that we have and the suppression.

That body of work, those were like my first real paintings.

I just had a touch on subjects that meant a lot to me.

♪ (hip hop music begins) ♪ I'm a part of an avant-garde hip-hop group called "Tunny Crew".

We're writing a new record called "Black Spirituals".

"Black Spirituals" is a three-part project.

One part of it as a concept album.

Another's a walkthrough of the album.

And then a third is the film.

♪ Give me the loot, give me the bread ♪ ♪ Got to stash it ♪ It's a coming of age, tale of four young black boys who are lured into this fantastical world, where we look at avenues within black culture that we face.

♪ To get you the cash, cash, ♪ ♪ That you can spend so free ♪ We prepared the walkthrough version where the viewers will become the first person or the main character.

You really get the feeling of being in that space.

♪ Stepping to me, now you in trouble.

♪ To write a story like this with my friends is something special.

Acer worked really hard Path, killed it.

♪ Toast with the champagne, say cheers ♪ And I feel like I grew a lot in this project ♪ Go celebrate ♪ ♪ Today.

♪ ♪ (hip hop music begins) ♪ Every day seems so full Shoot, I don't know whether to be the artist or if I should curate the next show or write a new song because ♪ All I know is, win.

♪ Yo I cried.

I done sweated, I done fought for this.

And it's a dream come true.

♪ Cause' all I know is win.

♪ ♪ All I know is win.

♪ ♪ All I know is win.

♪ ♪ All I know is win.

♪ ♪ All I know is, yeah.

♪ - [Heather] You can learn more about Hampton Boyer on our website whro.org/curate.

- [Jason] There you can access all our previous 757 featured artists.

Plus find an archive of episodes stretching back nearly five years.

Speaking of time machines, a Detroit Michigan design startup has plucked a seventies era staple to build its business around.

- They have taken tie-dye from hippie status to designer must-have.

but the road to success hit a turbulent bump along the way that turned everything upside down.

(acoustic music begins) - [Alexandra] No matter who you are, and you're welcome in "brightly twisted".

It's artwork being put onto clothing.

People have ideas in their head of what tie-dye looks like.

And it looks really different than what we make.

- [Tammy] A designer here in Michigan came in and just looked at our things that she says, "Oh, it's everything and nothing like tie-dye".

And I thought it described our process perfectly.

We use rubber bands.

We use all the processes, but we have just a different way of looking at it.

My husband, Greg is the originator.

So it started with him.

And then I joined him and we did it for about a year together.

And then we in hired our first employee, which was Zach.

And then Alex has been with us the full 10 years.

- [Alexandra] We just moved to Detroit, Michigan, in Corktown.

We're trying to keep it so that you get a sense of Detroit when you're in here.

And that we become a real stop when you come to visit.

- [Tammy] Each of us make about 20 to 30 pieces a day.

We all dye about six hours.

And then the business comes after that.

- We have an arrangement of different products that we provide here.

all the way from just your basic accessories like socks, scarves, headbands, to higher end clothing.

What we said from the beginning is that it's uncommonly pretty.

And for me, that reads as anyone can wear it.

I don't think a lot of people think they can wear tie-dye and then they see our pieces and it doesn't read to them as tie-dye.

I they're like, "Oh, this isn't tie-dye.

This is hand-dye like, this is artwork that you're wearing" What we've done is we've created different designs and different colors and made it more accessible.

- [Tammy] One of the most important things for fabric and the kind of fabric set we choose, and the hand always is, is soft and has a good drape so that the apparel starts out as a great shape.

And then we just amplify it with beautiful dye.

- [Alexandra] The designs we're known for are the snake skin print.

Zach actually created it all on his own.

It was the first design that he did.

But what we're really known for more is our color.

We've just escalated the color.

Everything has a little bit of difference and I think that's important in the world that we're living in.

It's just to keep that individuality.

And I think that's what really draws people to what we do.

- [Tammy] I hope it makes them feel good about themselves.

that the style fits them just right.

The color compliments them.

And I hope they feel really like an individual.

- So hi everybody.

I'm Zach.

Thank you all for coming to our little dye workshop - [Alexandra] Part of how, why we started doing the classes is we wanted to get to know the community and we wanted to work with them and hear their opinions and value what they have to say about our line.

You get to come in, you get to dye four pieces.

Two pieces you donate.

Two you keep one.

One of the donations it's a dog bandana.

The other piece is a scrap piece of fabric, which your entire class's scrap gets turned into a quilt and then donate those quilts.

- [Tammy] I don't think any of us understood or realized how much we are going to love working with people.

Now there's people coming in and we're engaged with them.

They're enjoying the process.

It's, it's been really inspiring to us.

- For me the tie-dye has actually been much more of a therapeutic process.

At the end of a really stressful day, to get back there and just to let go and dye and not think about anything else, has been the best gift for me.

♪ (piano music begins) ♪ Earlier in 2018 in February, I told my team that I was one of the survivors of Larry Nassar.

I saw him when I was 11 years old to the time I was 15.

And so it's been a very intense last year.

Not just for me but for the three people that I work with that had to take on my absences.

Part of the physical manifestation from my trauma from him was I have endometriosis.

- When Larry Nassar was arrested.

I mean, she was the first person I called.

And she said she hadn't had anything happen.

And as she kept getting more sick then I started to sense that that wasn't true.

- I wasn't going to come forward at all.

The idea of having to put something on my family that I had been dealing with for 14 years that I knew was incredibly hard, It seems selfish to put onto someone else to have to deal with.

And then after the trial, when the woman spoke it was one of those things where I was like I can't be quiet and it's brought us all a lot closer.

- I was relieved to know, so we could get into therapy.

So when we were opening the store, I was very sick.

So we were trying to come up with stuff that I could do to still help.

And one of my mom's ideas, she was like, "Well why don't you do the window display?"

So I decided I was going to make a dress out of all of our own material.

I've always loved butterflies.

And then I read a quote by Maya Angelou and it was, I'm not going to say it correctly, but it's "We rarely acknowledged the work that it takes to get to the beauty that a butterfly is".

And I realized, I was like this is exactly what my last year has been.

It started with one idea, with one butterfly.

And then it just, I needed hundreds to make it happen.

And that's sort of what happened as with all of us girls.

It started with one woman being willing to share her story and then hundreds just started coming forward to acknowledge a real change that needs to happen in our country.

And they did it.

And it, it doesn't mean that it's over.

There is so much work that we have to do.

But what happened in this process of creating a dress is that I was able to kind of let go a little bit of the trauma that I had been through and start healing.

And so it became very powerful.

- [Tammy] And I got to watch her begin to heal.

It was an absolute healing process.

So art therapy, there's a lot of validity to it.

- [Alexandra] There are over 300 butterflies on the dress.

Each one representing one of the sisters.

Each one is different.

And then they come together to create one piece.

My hope is that it just shows that there is a place that you can get to beyond the dark.

And so what I hope is that this dress you can look at it and say, "okay, I can get there.

I can get to that beauty".

"I can get to that comfort of being like, this happened to me, this isn't me, but I'm here now because of it."

"And I'm in a better place".

- [Tammy] I think a butterfly flying just kind of describes these women.

They're just flying out of cocoons and they're just making it, they're starting their lives again.

And it's beautiful.

- [Alexandra] because of the women that came before me I've been given the ability to be able to feel that confidence that I felt as a young gymnast.

And to now feel it again, as an adult is something that I don't think I could say, thank you enough to any of them.

And that the dress is for them.

And that's important.

♪ (piano music ends) ♪ - For all the artists we featured on the show, art has been about so much more than just what ends up on the canvas.

It's also about the journey that led to that creation.

One area group is using that roadmap to help men's souls.

For people who have suffered trauma, this class teaches that art can heal.

- I lived through 9/11, I lived right in downtown Brooklyn.

So I know firsthand about tragedy.

Therapy, I was saying to somebody actually yesterday, at one of my classes, therapy is not like the destination.

Therapy is a pathway to health, so that you can get what you need from therapy and then live, you know, and enjoy life.

You know, so it's not the final destination.

I'm reminded of the, a, white horse, Chalk.

It's in a place in England where I'm from.

- [Gary] Sometimes when you're making art you actually forget the world outside or you just have this very clear connection with yourself.

There's a clarity and calmness that comes to you.

- [Geoffrey] I've been an artist my whole life.

Loved art, always.

And that was, that's always been my life.

My, my, my number one identity is, is a visual artist.

But parallel to that I've always worked in the field of mental health - [Gary] "Healing VB" was launched in response to the incident that happened.

We were all bereft after the May incident and had no idea what we could do or provider, or even if we were relevant in the conversation.

The leadership of the Coral Springs Museum of Art called our Director of Exhibitions and Education and said, "how can we help you, help the community?"

"Because that's what we did after the Parkland shooting".

- [Geoffrey] It was a collaborative project from, you know, EVMS, the art therapy program and the museum here at Mocha.

- [Gary] And together, we crafted this, a program that happens once a month, after hours.

It's a group of people.

We had no idea of zero or 10 were going to show up or a hundred and every month we've had about 20 people showing up some the same, some different some effected by the shooting, and some dealing with other issues.

which is exactly what we had hoped - [Geoffrey] By us doing this together it's, it's fantastic and it, we want it to just be, a you know, an ongoing thing that will, can, that can grow because it, it could totally spread this, this model.

All the good that can go into a group.

So we wanted to capitalize on that, and also encourage people where we, where we see a need that they will be empowered through coming monthly to seek maybe more formal therapy.

If that is something that would be valuable to them.

And I've seen that happening already.

We all benefit from help and, and at different stages of our lives.

So I'm trying to also to remove the shame of that and the stigma around, you know, seeking mental health treatment or options.

So that, that can be less scary for people.

These monthly sessions as a place to then just pause and have the permission and the space to be able to attend to me, you know each person is attending to me.

And that sharing me with the next person and so on and so forth.

But we don't often have that space to ponder and reflect.

Traumatic experiences, need attention.

They need care if people are going to overcome a traumatic experience.

every single person is an artist, as far as I'm concerned.

And I've worked with so many cutely ill psychiatric patients who have, who've, become artists and showing their work in New York City.

You know, recording music.

And (sighs) it's just that journey of self discovery.

We'll like work for maybe like another five minutes.

And then, we'll like, you know maybe take a look at some of the art work.

Does that work for everybody?

(crowd agrees) - [Patient] I need two more hours - You need two more hours?

Okay.

(Geoffrey Laughs) ♪ (piano music) ♪ - Artist, Felix Semper wanted more from his sculptures.

He wanted to animate them and bring them to life.

Through exploration and his very creative mind, he figured out how to do just that.

♪ (hip hop instrumental begins) ♪ - [Felix] They can't believe that it just does this.

If you touch it, I mean, it's solid.

And then all of a sudden it becomes something else that expands it and moves and it gives you that, that idea of, of, of flexibility, of movement.

And that's what I was trying to achieve when I made this, you know.

And not just the top, it goes all the way up to the bottom.

Somehow I've been able to change the way that we perceive sculpture.

Hi, my name is Felix Semper, and I am an artist.

My first paper sculpture, I glued solid.

And I said, "How am I going to prove this is paper"?

Took me about a year to kind of come up with a whole system.

And once that happened, the first sculpture, I took it to New York and I went to Washington Square Park and just kinda messed around with people.

I just wanted to get people's feedback and reaction but it started going viral.

(paper crackling) Most of my stuff is recycled paper and I try to do that as much as I can.

So what I do is I take sheets of paper individual sheets of paper, glue them in stacks.

And then I, I cut them to about the size that I think the sculpture is going to be.

And then I start carving it.

So all this process is, is eliminating paper.

It's kind of like the original technique of sculpting but in a different method.

I'm using paper versus you know, stone or, or any other medium.

But the fun part about it is that I paint it and give it the, the original look.

So you really, a lot of times you can't really tell if it's if paper of what we're talking about.

I was invited to, to a dinner, you know, like a wine dinner.

And then I brought this bottle with me and, you know everybody brought their own bottle and stuff.

And I, so I, you know, I'll walk in like, "Oh, wow you got a nice, nice French bottle right there".

I say, "that's bordeaux man", "Here let me", when they, pour like that, - [Film Crew] Whoa!

they were freaking out and went crazy.

(paper crackling) Things that are, inspire me, are things that are around me.

I made a Lay's potato chip bags and then ASAP Rocky bought it.

And then, you know, all these celebrities started talking.

So it's just, it's just kind of exploded that way.

(paper crackling) So it involves painting and involves sculpture.

And it involves performance art because I take these pieces and I go into the public.

I open them and show him what, what it does.

So it becomes a performance art.

(paper crackling) (electric instrumental begins) This is my new series.

This is actually I finished this not long ago.

This is a flexible wood sculpture.

So I said, "I'm going to make a wood that I can twist and turn.

And it goes in any direction".

And then of course he has a hat that is flexible.

(electric instrumental continues) I went to a, to a place where it had like old junk stuff and that this old TV was just sitting around there.

When I saw the TV, it's from the 1950s.

I said, "I wonder how many people watching?"

"Like, what was the most famous show back in the day?"

"You know, the kids loved?"

So I was, you know I do, did some research and it was, you know, "Howdy Doody".

So I said, "I bet I can put Howdy Doody in there, in black and white".

And I want to just kind of bring it, you kind of mix all kinds of mediums together.

So I develop a motor and put it inside.

And Howdy Doody comes up, remote control.

And, you know, he expands (Howdy Doody creaks) (paper crackling) ♪ (electric music) ♪ - Well, that's what this art does.

It it's, it engages the viewer.

Not only to look, but to participate.

And you know, it just keeps evolving.

And that's the, that's the beauty about this art.

I think it expands your mind because you don't, you know you're looking at an object that is solid and then all of a sudden this object does something else.

I can do anything I think with paper.

♪ (electric music continues) ♪ - [Heather] You can find Curate on the web.

visit us at WHRO.ORG/curate.

- We're on social media too including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

And we always love a like.

- [Heather] Also want to give a shout out to Tidewater Community College for allowing us access to their TCC Perry Glass Wheel Art Center in Norfolk.

It has served as the backdrop for our shows this season.

- Thanks for joining us this evening.

We're going to leave you tonight with more sights and sounds produced by our 757 featured artists, Hampton Boyer.

I'm Jason Kypros.

- [Heather] and I'm Heather Mazzoni we'll see you next time on Curated.

♪ (hip hop music begins) ♪ ♪ I came a long way for this small party ♪ ♪ What ya gonna do, what ya gonna do, ♪ ♪ What ya gonna do?

♪ ♪ We gonna vibe, we gonna cry ♪ ♪ We gonna share love and all that.

♪ ♪ (hip hop music continues) ♪ - [Hampton] It just, kind of like speaks to this feeling that you have, you know, recognizing a sense of loss.

♪ What ya gonna do?

What ya gonna do?

♪ ♪ What ya gonna do?

What ya gonna do?

♪ ♪ (hip hop music continues) ♪ ♪ What ya gonna do?

♪ ♪ I came for what I worked for ♪ ♪ I came from what I slaved for ♪ ♪ Had to buy like five chains ♪ ♪ Then I realized I needed more ♪ ♪ Had to buy like five whips ♪ ♪ Have them parked off the back door ♪ ♪ Had to buy like five cribs ♪ ♪ Get them knees up off the floor ♪ ♪ I came for what I worked for ♪ ♪ I came for what I worked for ♪ ♪ I came for what I slaved for ♪ ♪ I came for what I worked for ♪ ♪ I'm coming home ♪ ♪ I'm going home ♪