- Coming up next on Curate.

- It took me a long time to appreciate abstract or modernist movements.

And so I think there is where art really becomes powerful when you step onto something that's unexpected.

- We standing upon the shoulders of generations of people who laid it all on the line and so therefore it's so important for us to remember those people and what they did.

- Thanks for tuning in.

I'm Jason Kypros.

- And I'm Heather Mazzoni.

Welcome to another episode of Curate.

- There aren't many people who have lived a life more full than our featured artists.

- Gus Gusentine loves people and believes good art can create connection through shared experiences, - An Illinois native and now retired Navy Seal Gus credits the knowledge he's gained from artists during his travels around the globe as the reason he now acts as a vessel for creativity in his community and home.

- We're all searching for this mysterious connection that replenishes our souls or replenishes our attitudes, our sense of purpose.

And I think art does that for us.

I'm from Illinois, the Midwest, a business major in college.

I wasn't too keen on joining the cubicle world, so I joined the Navy right away.

I was stationed in Japan on a frigate.

We toured around much of the, of Southeast Asia during that time and it got introduced to a lot of things.

Of course, that young guys from Midwestern, you know, I was gonna be new to them, spent a couple years in the fleet and then joined the SEAL teams here on the East coast and spent another 26 years working in and out of here.

We did move to Germany, we moved to dc, we moved to Hawaii During that career, retired in 2014.

I'd always been kind of a doodler, so I kept sketching.

I was coming back from deployment or some trip or something one time and my wife got a six week class gift certificate and my first class was watercolors.

I took a sketching classes and it was a great place to learn and it was local and accessible to me.

I got interested in oil painting and I took the first class with Charles Ello and Kenneth Bain.

They taught me, basically taught me how to paint the techniques and, and and how to express yourself and, and mixing colors and all those things.

And then I was able to paint with some other people internationally painted while I was in the Philippines, in Kenya and in Nairobi.

I've had those kinds of experiences overseas, engaging with artists that I think had an influence on how I, how I view things.

Other inspirations come from, from reading or from art history, that sort of thing.

I read a couple books on the Bauhaus movement in Germany that became a source of inspiration.

I have a couple paintings in progress from just those notions and those images about representing human emotion, representing human thought in abstract ways, days.

And it took me a long time to get not just acquainted with abstract or modernist movements, but also to dep appreciate what they were trying to do.

And so I think there is where art really becomes powerful when you, when you step onto something or look into something or experience something that's unexpected.

Art has its very practical uses in both education and, and I think just in a daily experience of making our brains work differently.

After I retired, I started teaching a course for the Department of Defense, senior military officers and diplomats and then government officials.

And in that course we draw from artistic experiences to kind of move us from one spot to another.

When you engage something that's unexpected, your brain lights up, your brain starts to go, I've gotta search for ideas or memories or something or knowledge that allows me to deal with this.

And it's often stuff they haven't dealt with much, certainly not in their military training.

And so I think the use of that stuff is very, very powerful in moving them into a place where they're better prepared for new ideas, better prepared to think about the work that they do in new ways.

And the military.

Even in in special operations, you, you find fantastic artists, a lot of great writers, a lot of great thinkers.

And so it's, I think lost on the public sometimes the creative talent that's resident in the military, 'cause it's common on outside the military, it's common inside the military.

You probably what age?

- Four, - Three - Or four?

- Yeah.

My earliest memory of her painting with me was jumping right into easel canvas, oil paint.

- I definitely take on like his realism and getting details right and proportions and that kind of stuff in my art.

But I think my passion for it really started in high school and that's when I realized, hey, I kind of have some skills and talent in art and also I just, the connection that I had with my dad, you know, like painting when I was growing up with him.

And that just really, I think made it a lot stronger.

My dad taught me, well probably when I was in middle school I had to make origami cranes and that kind of inspired me to make one of my art pieces.

In high school - I was deployed in Southeast Asia, we'd gone to Korea and then in Pusan I went to a furniture store to buy a futon and there was a group of seven or eight South Koreans.

All they were doing was was folding cranes and they were handing me squares of paper and were pretty insistent about me sitting and learn how to, to fold a crane.

And so I, I walked out of there with a nice futon and ability to fold cranes.

Folding the cranes was especially satisfying for me because we as a family, we almost all of us can do it.

And certainly the kids have appreciated I think learning to do it.

And, and Kate's been probably the most active over over time of, of folding cranes.

- If I'm sitting in my dorm or in my room, I'll just kind of bored, want little activity to do.

I'll just fold some birds and just kinda have them laying around or give them as presents to people.

- For me it's not art until it's shared.

Once people see it, that's when it's doing the job for which it was intended.

As I always say, that's the point they have to see.

It certainly values in museums and galleries, that's a whole universe in itself, but there's also fantastic value in just having the art out there where people are working and living every day.

So I've enjoyed that.

Yeah, there's this idea that we feel this incredible urge to connect and to belong somewhere.

And I think that plays out in, in, in very positive ways and sometimes in very negative ways in, in society.

This painting here of wild geese and then the painting over at Taste called We the People directly inspired by this poem by Mary Oliver called Wild Geese.

- You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

Tell me about despair yours and I'll tell you mine, meanwhile, the world goes on, meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile, the wild geese high in the clean blue air are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese.

Harsh and exciting over and over announcing your place in the family of things.

- These paintings were around this idea of community and this idea of of belonging and our desire to connect with each other.

And I think that's a not only a healthy thing for us to, to recognize that that's important, but it's something we should work toward 'cause that's a very satisfying and very fulfilling thing for us to do.

And I think a very healthy thing for us to do is, is to, is to pursue that notion of connection of belonging and community.

- Listen to Senate in session Monday through Thursday, 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM and Sundays one to 5:00 PM on 89 5 W RV as well as online at w.org/senate In session - Williamsburg artist Steve Prince is no stranger to curate featured in season four for his immaculate printmaking abilities, which often depict African American history and culture.

He recently teamed up with his partner and dance choreographer, Leah Glenn, to bring the monumental story of the Little Rock nine to Life on stage.

- We are helping society to remember to remember, but we as artists also I believe have to be truthsayers.

And those are critical things that I believe that becomes part of our role and that's how I see this intersection in this work that we're doing.

- Nine is a multimedia production and it's a commemorative piece honoring the Little Rock Nine and their triumphs as they desegregated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

In 1957, I was inspired by Carlotta Wall's Lanier story 'cause she was 14, what she went through and whether or not I would have stepped up to the plate, I mean I like to have thought that I would have, but I'm not sure.

And then I reached out to Steve and asked him if I could use his print called Nine Little Indians.

- 1954 was Brown versus Board of Education, but many of the schools all across the nation held their ground and refused to change until it was a presidential order to make that happen.

And at that moment we were a nation divided.

So I created this piece that showcased all those subtleties and those nuances and then Leah called upon me to use that image as a projection as part of the first piece that she did.

- When I sent him the video, he was like, oh, I wanna paint a costume.

I'm like, sure, that'd be great.

Yeah.

And then that grew into, we need to tell the story of all mine.

I really focused on those stories that I didn't read about in the history books.

I didn't see as many photos of the everyday trauma that they went through.

You'll see that I use this idea of kinesthetic empathy, how we gain a greater understanding of another person's experience by observing their movement.

And so I use this as a tool that speaks to audiences and allows the stories to be told in such a way that it resonates physically.

- I'm not a stage craft person, but I'm an artist and I looked at it through the lens of design and I would say, oh, how wonderful would it be if I were to take some the vocabulary from nine Little Indians and I would basically put it onto the dress.

And then once I saw the piece and painted the dress and I thought of another wrinkle, you can see that she's being beaten down by the system.

And then by the end of that cycle of that dance, you literally see her stand strong and proud.

And I believe she just basically took on that armor of God and she put it onto her body.

We standing upon the shoulders of generations of people who laid it all on the line.

And so therefore it's so important for us to tell these stories to make some works that remember those people and what they did, but also it is also pushing us into the space that we need to understand how many of these things are being repeated.

How many things are being rolled back right now?

So a piece like nine, you said, well that was about 1957.

What is the relevance does it have for us today?

Has every bit of relevance because the fights that our parents fought that we thought we won, we're fighting them all over again.

- It touches on both the Little Rock nine's point of view as well as the point of view of the white students.

And what we're hoping that will do is provide art that forces us to be mindful but also provide an opportunity for us to build community, to see my work through his eyes and then for me to say, oh, well this is what I see in a piece of visual art is exciting to have that exchange.

- We as artists, when we create something, we are the recipients of the first fruit of whatever comes out.

We shed the first tears of the work and that's another beautiful thing that's so cathartic and transformative.

- We have so much respect for each other and so much respect for each other's work.

And so we're constantly learning from each other and constantly pushing each other.

- Can we use art as a tool to help people grapple with these deeper things that are embedded in us?

Can the artwork be a balm for healing and restoration?

- The hope is that the art will always be a catalyst for authentic conversations around difficult terrain.

Yeah.

- To see Steve Prince's curate segment from season four as well as many other incredible stories featuring Hampton Road's, very best artists, go to w.org/curate - Hip hop.

My love for it is historic.

It went from 12 inch cassettes compact disc to downloading it's generational.

I've seen it change, but it's the same.

I remember every day coming home from school Corner Place Elementary, the listen to the rap attack on W-R-E-P-A radio, HJ Ellison was a dj.

See my boombox was on record, but pause and off.

But soon as I got home, I turned it on and it was on Unpaused.

Yes y'all.

Who's battling who?

What's the hot new song?

I sat in front of my radio like an altar listening to God with posters of deities on my wall.

Chuck D ris, one big daddy, Kane Rock, him Allah, my Mount Rushmore hip hop.

I had such a cold crush on you making my heart go boom.

B boom boom.

Bap.

Ah.

Now I, I know what my tribe is called De la my soul.

I'm only love this.

See we jungle brothers.

What our own native tongues with this is where you at now, where you from and where I'm from is this dispensation in my streets a sphere of activity.

Graph writers, B DJs the MCs with word wizardry.

See I went from just hearing it to actually seeing it on movies and tv.

I remember the first rap video I seen, it was Rock Box by run DMC, then it was MTV raps with five five Freddy, then it was Chris Thomas, the mayor of rap city BET.

I'm giving you history.

My people would battle with videotapes of the greats.

Pete Rock and CL Smooth Chuck Rock.

Don't Stop My Life in the Sunshine with a black moon of the backdrop lick off a buckshot.

But these Ralph Sampson, Puma and Fat laces got footprints on the sneak the paths and travels of rhythm.

Can I kick it?

Dumb question.

I am going to kick it.

It's my prerogative.

I don't need your permission.

I shall continue and proceed to rock the mic without intermission.

I got that smack Bonita Apple bomber her booty to this jingling baby intentions.

I got that I wanna rock right now.

Light as a rock chief rocker to your head rocks back and forth in submission.

Slave to the rhythm.

I got that.

I let my tape rock to my tape pop and I could fix it.

All I needed was a number two pencil, some masking tape and a screwdriver.

I'm a gava, a certified TDK technician.

I'm not just a fan man, I'm a participant.

But just envision this little boy sitting in front of his radio tunnel vision, bobbing his head uncontrollably like nothing else existed because of hip hop.

It really didn't.

- Welcome back to Curate Presents.

I am K plus and I'm here with Mike Bibbo and Kevin Craigsville.

You guys have been working together for a really long time.

- Too long - It feels like forever sometimes.

Yeah.

- How long?

- So we met in like 94, so like over 30 years we've been working together.

We started off in local TV news and - I did some television shows for kids that were syndicated and, and Kevin came and calling and said, Hey, we want to do something similar over at NASA for adults.

Can you bring some ideas over here to do that?

And started there in 2000, 2001.

- Yeah.

We spent nearly almost 25 years at NASA producing.

Yeah.

Television around, you know, around the world on NASA TV and a lot of other Hulu Discovery.

Lot of other places.

Direct tv.

Yeah.

- Okay.

So what's the secret to the comradery?

- Separate rooms Just been extremely fortunate to find someone who enjoys the passion of filmmaking and television that propels you forward to do new things, you know, keeps things fresh.

- We have different skill sets too.

You know, Mike's the best shooter, the best editor.

I do most of the producing, but he's doing like the hands-on work that makes it look and feel the way that it feels.

- Okay, so you two are longtime allies of WHRO, right?

- Yeah, so in the late nineties I worked here producing television for NASA on some space station content and since that time we've been in collaboration with WHRO, from radio to television to producing documentaries.

And Kevin actually has a history as well, - Right over here at ODUI came over here and worked for WHRO for a little bit.

Having this type of facility so close to campus for, for a young kid was just an amazing opportunity for me.

- You guys went from shooting documentaries and things like that with NASA to shooting tribal documentaries.

Tell me about that.

- Yeah, so I grew up on and around the PAMA reservation and so often tribal communities don't have a voice.

So these videos that talk about things that are important to tribal citizens get our story out into the public a little more.

- It's a DPS dream to have this incredible canvas imagery to shoot with drones and with cameras and I mean every step you take on the reservation is incredibly beautiful.

It's all on the Poon River.

So a lot of the shots we did, we were on a boat, you just couldn't pick a bad backdrop for all the documentaries out there.

- Yeah, the cool thing about the reservation is only poon I've ever lived out there.

So you know, Pocahontas was turning Handsprings out there and her father wa Sonica was walking around out there.

So it's, it's a really cool piece of history.

History.

But also because I'm my family as well, I love the opportunity to bring their stories forward.

- Okay, so where can we see some of these documentaries?

- WHO plus they'll be airing there for everyone to enjoy, - To have this opportunity to get the stories out to the wider public.

So many of the tribes are very interested in having that kind of opportunity.

- Speaking of the wider audience, can you tell me about Hurrah players?

- The Hurrah players, which has been performing Arts staple in Hampton Roads for 40 years, called and said, Hey we're we're thinking about trying to build a TV and film academy if that's something you'd be interested in.

And I said absolutely.

Fast forward, we re debated a building.

We have classes in the evenings for a student's 12 to 18 in filmmaking, script writing, post-production, animation, photography and studio production.

So the kind of place that growing up, I wish I would've had - You two have done a lot.

So is there anything that you wanna do that you haven't done yet?

- As long as you have the desire to tell really compelling stories, there's always something to do.

- I've always wanted to be on curate.

Here we are.

- Yeah, - So - See what I mean?

It's not too much that you guys haven't done.

Alright, Mike and Kevin, thank you guys so much for coming and I would say keep doing great things in the community, but I don't think I have to.

- Thank you.

Thanks.

Thanks for having us.

Thanks.

Of course.

It's great.

It's awesome.

- Filmmakers, are you looking for a platform to present your next documentary feature or short film?

Check out wro.org/public lens to find out more info on how you can get your project featured on WHRO plus.

- What a wonderful episode.

- I totally agree, Heather.

It was so much fun catching back up with Steve Prince, - With collaborators Mike Bibo and Kevin k Craig's Fault.

- And with Godchild the Omen.

- It seems like just yesterday that we were filming godchild on the rooftop of Fawn Street Studios.

- Ah, so many memories.

Yeah, I can't wait to do it for another 10 seasons - And more.

- Hey, we'll see you next time on Cure eight.

- What happens to a dream deferred?

I don't know because my dream, it constantly occurs.

I woke up on the mic in front of a crowd feature artist of the night and the only sound was my poem, but I don't remember it.

It's like I'm always here a reoccurring dream, blissful yet maddening.

Like I can hear everyone who wants to hear what I have for their ears.

I've been having this dream for years.

The crowd is deafening with silence, with fake whispers of compliance.

Have you ever got a stand in ovation for what you did while you was asleep, unconscious to your own heartbeat?

I've gotten bedsores on stage at the pen kiss page that had intercourse with my brain.

But this is not pillow talk.

This is actually living thought when you can't tell reality from reality.

Like if I woke up and did exactly what I dreamt it's creation in a sense on some being it is type like from nothing to something to everything from nowhere to now here in an instance is vague like, like defining existence, but just as deliberate is showing you my dream and how I did it.

So don't sleep on your dream for a minute.

That way you can't wake up and live it.

I mean, God forbid if you snooze ball on your own Allah, I feel sorry for the wider wake who forsake this subconscious when they hear that autobiography being read by another author.

And now I know what happens to a dream deferred.

It dries up like a raisin in the sun.

It festers like a so than runs.

Stinks worse than rotten meat.

Tastes nothing like sugar.

It is bittersweet.

It sags like a heavy load than explodes in the face of the person it originally chose.

When they see someone out living out the dream, the day once on.