>> JARED BOWEN: I'm Jared Bowen.

Coming up on Open Studio, artist Titus Kaphar's Midas touch.

How he uses gold and tar to tell the stories of incarcerated men.

>> Our neighborhood was devastated by the influx of drugs into that community at that time.

My father was impacted by that.

And then the plague of mass incarceration also impacted almost everyone in my community in that neighborhood.

>> BOWEN: Then, artist Rose B. Simpson's creations are also her dreams.

>> These are my hope for the future.

I take our clay bodies and I turn them into beings that are in service to, you know, the intention that I want for the world.

>> BOWEN: And artist Dathan Kane may paint everything in black and white, but it's far from how he sees the world.

That's all now on Open Studio.

♪ ♪ First up, I recently spoke with artist Titus Kaphar about The Jerome Project, his exhibition at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

With the show wrapping up on January 16, we're revisiting the conversation we had about race, incarceration, and how his art compels us to see it all in a new way.

Titus Kaphar, thank you so much for being with us.

>> Of course.

>> BOWEN: Well, just to start, tell me about the genesis of The Jerome Project.

>> It didn't start too much as a project.

It started as me trying to figure out my relationship to my father.

I think a lot of times, when people see this work, it's really easy to think of it within the social and political context of this moment.

But fundamentally, it was an attempt to find a way through my process to heal my relationship with my father.

When I started doing the research... (chuckles): Research-- when I looked my father up on Google, I found his mug shot and 97 or so other Black men with exactly the same first and last name and their mug shots.

And that's how it all began.

>> BOWEN: And has it always been natural for you to process things and respond to things through art?

>> If I can figure out a way to get it into the studio, get it onto canvas, I feel like I have more control over the process of absorbing that information.

So if it's on canvas, I can look at it, I can turn it upside down, I can look behind it.

In some ways, I guess, it's about controlling the problem.

>> BOWEN: Do you know why that is?

>> Because I'm a control freak, I mean.

(Bowen laughs) It seems pretty obvious to me.

Dealing with the situation that felt so unmanageable on an emotional level, I think there was something about the size at first that really appealed to me.

These are works that I made in my hand, different from the rest of my process, where I work on the wall.

Hold it in my hand with a small brush.

And, you know, your orientation to that object is very different when you're cradling it.

>> BOWEN: So you're thinking about your father, and where did this interest in empathy and the other men come into play?

>> I realized that my father was a part of a larger structural problem.

It was difficult for me to find the emotional space to include him in all of that, and at the same time, address my particular problems with our relationship.

>> BOWEN: And where do-- I'll ask each, tar and gold, and where each come in?

>> So... (chuckles): Where to begin?

I grew up in Michigan and my father and I worked.

There was not a lot of leisure, baseball, football, play, there was not a lot of that.

We worked.

And one of the ways that we made money is, we picked up people's trash in the neighborhood.

The neighborhood I grew up in Michigan didn't have trash pickup.

Folks burned their trash in the back yard.

And so we would take those burning barrels and throw them in the back of the truck and take them to the dump.

The other thing that we would do for money is any kind of handyman repair stuff that we could do.

So tar was a material that I knew as one from work.

But for me, it was evoking my relationship with my father specifically.

>> BOWEN: As you're working with that, is he with you?

Are you thinking about him?

What's happening in that moment?

>> I mean, in that moment, I'm remembering being on a woman's roof at the age of ten years old, and in the middle of the winter in Michigan, and patching a hole in her roof, that's what I'm remembering.

Using tar and shingles to, to make sure this woman can, uh, can keep her home dry.

As complicated as my relationship is with him... (chuckles): And it is very complicated, he gave me the work ethic that I have.

Those are the kinds of things that are going through my mind as I'm, as I'm contemplating, as I'm thinking about my father in relationship to that work.

And then also just recognizing that, my mother and my father were very young when I was born.

My mother was 14, my father was 15.

They were children.

And our neighborhood was devastated by the influx of drugs into that community at that time.

My father was impacted by that.

And then the plague of mass incarceration also impacted almost everyone in my community in that neighborhood, along with the drugs that were there.

>> BOWEN: So now, the gold.

>> Yeah.

Along with work, church was the other thing.

My father, before his challenges, was a minister.

And if you asked him today, he would still say that's his calling.

And so the religious connotation came from a conversation I had with him where I asked him, "How did you get the name Jerome?"

And he said his father, my grandfather, who was also a minister, gave it to him because-- these are his words-- "Because Jerome is the one who translated the Bible."

And that was his father's relationship to the Word of God, was so esteemed, it was an honor to be given that name.

>> BOWEN: I'm thinking of you holding these small pieces, and especially the eyes; is there something special that happens there?

Is there something different that happens there?

I guess I'm basing this on my own response to them.

>> We are always compelled by eyes.

It's how we take in the world.

So I think in that way, it's special.

Dwayne, behind me, my buddy.

He has intense eyes, he's an intense person.

He has intense eyes.

>> BOWEN: Is there a role that you see?

I mean, you've kind of talked about this, but I think about NXTHVN, as well, and the conversations you've started with your art and, and how people carry them now.

Do you see yourself as having a bigger role in society?

>> Uh, no.

(chuckles): No.

Um, I don't think about it like that.

>> BOWEN: We'll talk about your TV work in a couple of years.

But you already are entering film.

How does that play into it?

>> As a mom, and just... >> I found myself moving into film because it feels like a more democratically accessible medium.

I have, I have a painting at the Metropolitan Museum.

I have a painting at MoMA.

Friends I grew up with never have seen that.

Will probably never see that.

But damn if my cousins haven't, like, posted, tweeted my TED talk a million times, right?

Like, that is accessible to them.

It's there, it's manageable.

(in film): Painting is a visual language, Where everything in the painting is meaningful, is important, it's coded.

(in interview): In some ways, it's really about just trying to talk to my folks.

The more success I was getting, the more away I felt from the community, separated, I felt, from the community that I grew up in and communities like that.

I have a tendency to move into work as the work asks me to.

I didn't sit down and go, "You know what I want to do?

I think I want to make films."

It really wasn't like that.

It was first just filming a couple of things in the studio, and then realizing that over time, that was developing into something and following it.

>> BOWEN: And finally, to circle back to your father, what is the relationship with him?

>> I, in fact, wrote an entire film... (chuckles): ...based on our relationship.

The film is called Exhibiting Forgiveness.

And it really is about an attempt at healing that relationship for...

Frankly, for the purpose of my two sons-- I felt really strongly that I did not want to pass on the kind of frustration and anger that I had towards my father.

I didn't want my, my children to adopt that.

>> BOWEN: Well, Titus Kaphar, it has been such a great pleasure to speak with you today, thank you.

>> No problem, nice talking to you, too.

♪ ♪ >> BOWEN: Artist Rose B. Simpson works with her hands, using clay and metal to tell her story and the stories of Indigenous people.

Before her exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art closes at the end of the month, here again a conversation we first brought you last fall.

Rose B. Simpson, so nice to meet you.

Thank you for being with us.

>> Nice to see you.

(laughing): Be here with you.

>> BOWEN: Who are these sculptures?

I say "are" rather than "what."

Do you, are they... What are they to you?

>> (exhales): These are my prayers.

These are my hope for the future.

These are my process for our human condition that I, that I manifest into.

I take our clay bodies and I turn them into beings that are in service to, you know, the intention that I want for the world.

>> BOWEN: And born out of, born out of what?

To... What are you taking the hope from?

>> Deep experiences of frustration and challenge around our human condition, my experience as a multicultural person in a post-apocalyptic world.

And so, you know, I conjure inspiration for myself to transform and change and grow as a person.

>> BOWEN: I know this piece is titled "Storyteller."

What is the story here?

>> This was based on a tradition of storytellers from my community, a Pueblo, a sort of larger Pueblo community, where ceramic figures were made that were actually teaching the young ones and telling the story of Creation.

And there're so many levels of that you can look at.

From the metaphor of parent and child, the metaphor of culture and, and participant.

The metaphor of, of a larger source.

The beings of the world, right?

And that this piece itself was a take on that idea of storyteller.

>> BOWEN: What about the eyes?

>> (laughs) They are like masks.

I think often about that vacant space that opens up to...

These are hollow clay forms that I coil-build, or slab, slab-build, where I build with slabs of thin clay.

And so they have a vacant space inside, which I don't believe is vacant, right?

And so the way that the eyes are hollow... >> BOWEN: Well, before you go, what is in...

If it's not vacant, what is there?

>> There's, there's someone in there, right?

There's...

So the idea is that so often we objectify the inanimate, and we don't believe that something is watching us, that we're being seen, right, by all the things around us.

And these pieces act as examples of how the inanimate is also alive.

>> BOWEN: And I, and I interrupted you just as you were talking about the eyes and what, what happens there.

>> The, I have left them open because from the idea of masks and leaving space for, for that vision.

So we witness these pieces.

They are also witnessing us.

>> BOWEN: You've titled this piece "The Remembering."

What is it conjuring?

>> This piece was made when they were first finding the bodies of Indigenous children around the boarding schools and started bringing up some of that heavy history around those lost children.

And it's something, you know, colonization and, and genocide is something that you kind of, in a post-apocalyptic world, you sort of live with, you know?

>> BOWEN: When you say "post-apocalyptic world," how do you mean?

>> The Indigenous people of the "New World," the Americas, and I think around the world, who have been victims of colonization and genocide, we're living in a post-apocalypse.

So the world that we see now that we consider modern is, is an apocalypse for many cultures and peoples.

>> BOWEN: You give your beings signs that we see here.

>> Yeah.

>> BOWEN: What are those?

And I see them on your fingers.

>> (laughs) They're intentions.

And oftentimes, when I put my prayers, my, my work out into the world, I need it to stay protected, you know, and I need them to, to do their work safely.

And oftentimes those are the markings.

Um, this, these are stars and these are for protection.

>> BOWEN: Is it significant to you that you can...

I, I can see your hand here, literally.

Well, pretty much... >> (laughs) >> BOWEN: ...in the, in the texture.

>> So when I'm making these, I am leaving the marks of my process in the surface of the clay intentionally to honor the making of ourselves.

I want to be seen as a person who's working on building myself.

I'm not there yet-- I'm not there yet.

>> BOWEN: There is an immense physicality to your work.

Working in construction, doing automotive work-- you build cars; very physical work.

I would assume that's very important to you.

So, as I think about this, and I think metal to me is cold and unforgiving in terms of shaping.

You have to work with it.

It's not like clay.

So how do you balance those two?

>> Metal is actually incredibly satisfying after dealing with clay.

(laughing) 'Cause there's...

Working with clay, there are so many moments where it can go wrong, and it's very fragile, and vulnerable, and very intimate, and records your intentions very immediately, right?

There's an immediacy and a vulnerability in it.

And with metal, it's so forgiving.

Like welding, it's strong, it's easy.

From...

It's a lot easier.

>> BOWEN: I'm so curious about this stage in your life, and now being a mom, how that has... Has it changed how you create?

>> (laughing): Yes, very much so.

Becoming a parent has invested my time... (laughs): ...so differently.

I also care more than I ever cared.

>> BOWEN: Yeah.

>> You know?

So when I begin to work, I have less time and I am way more invested in the moment.

And I have more change to make because I have this beautiful, small human that I need the world to be a better place for.

And so all of a sudden, the stakes are way higher in all the ways.

>> BOWEN: Is this piece a reflection of your hopes for her at all?

>> I would say so.

I want her to be empowered and graceful.

And I want her to have a world that nurtures her very distinct gift, right?

Whatever that is, whatever she chooses to make that, I want her to feel safe.

I want her to feel nurtured.

I want her to feel honored, you know?

>> BOWEN: And that's what we see here.

>> Yeah.

And it's hard, you know.

We're find, we're digging up these graves of all these Indigenous children, and our missing, and our women, and girls, and, and Indigenous people are going missing and murdered.

And so the stakes of having an Indigenous daughter is really, is high-- it's scary, you know, and we are currently endangered species in a way.

And I want to protect her and make her powerful enough that the world she walks through is going to be protected and, and transformed from what we've known.

>> BOWEN: To go back to what you said at the beginning of this interview, and, and how these beings help you with your own healing, how far have they taken you with the healing?

>> I don't think I would be here if I didn't have my creative process.

I think that's as, as simple as it gets is, they are, are me existing, and persisting, and surviving.

And this is that, like...

I know it's, like, you know, like, crawling through the dirt, you know.

It's, like, we're going to make it, we're going to make it, and I'm crawling through the dirt with these.

Each one is a step of survival.

And hopefully that step in survival turns from survival into absolute thriving and creating a world that's beautiful for everyone.

>> BOWEN: Well, Rose B. Simpson, thank you.

It's such a privilege to be with you.

Thank you so much.

>> Yeah, it's nice to hang out, thank you.

♪ ♪ >> BOWEN: Next, Dathan Kane, a contemporary abstract painter based in Hampton, Virginia, paints bold black and white murals that capture life's complexities and the human struggle to navigate them.

♪ ♪ >> When you think of art, you tend to think of color.

But black and white to me represents the basis of this form of expression.

What can I do with pencil?

What can I do with pen?

What can I do with charcoal?

♪ ♪ This is something that really speaks to me and I wanna see how I can push that forward.

♪ ♪ I've always known I wanted to be an artist.

Grew up as the only child, so started doing a lot of drawing, like a form of entertainment.

My folks recognized the hidden talent, and they decided to put me in programs to further develop my skills.

My love for art began to be something I could not ignore anymore.

Virginia State was just a different world.

My major was art and design and my concentration was in illustration.

So, there was always that constant thread of black and white.

Right out of school, I was having this show honoring different dignitaries and men in position throughout Virginia.

It was my first major opportunity.

And while I was working, I knew that I was done with doing something that wasn't really true to myself.

I wanted to just evoke emotion and have people respond to a feeling more so than something that's representative of something else.

So, I started sketching out shapes in a sketchbook and seeing where that could take me.

♪ ♪ And been doing it ever since.

♪ ♪ While creating, I'm in this place of peace.

I'm not thinking about anything besides painting.

And it allows me to break free from the world for a second.

♪ ♪ It's therapeutic, expressing myself in that way, and I'm able to find this balance of the negative and positive.

These shapes translate what I'm going through, but then it's also something that people can form their own relationship with.

There's circles representing this continuous thing, something that's, like, ongoing.

Even with reading from left to right, going larger, it represents moving forward in life and not looking back.

People see all types of things within the work.

"Oh, I see a panda," or, "A teacup."

Then each time you look at it, you see something different, and that's the fun of exploring different shapes.

If it does impact your audience, that means you're doing your job as an artist.

So, it's definitely something on my end that I wanna continue with as best as I can, with the tools that I have.

♪ ♪ >> (echoing): ♪ Make it hot ♪ >> With working on murals, it's the small areas that make the difference.

♪ ♪ Muralists have a different mindset.

It can be challenging at times, but then that's why we're doing it.

I want it to appear flat as possible.

You have bolts and curves, some different things.

So this is the surface telling me what to do.

Projects like this, it's extremely important, because it's bringing art directly to the public.

So having that exposure, something that can encourage or inspire the next artist.

What way can I put my work out there and have it be seen over and over and over?

Katherine Johnson is my great-aunt.

She never really spoke on things she'd accomplished with NASA.

After seeing the movie and realizing the impact that she left, how can I honor that legacy?

What can I do?

I recently completed the mural in downtown Hampton.

I titled it "Next Door," it being close by to the air and space center.

I was, like, "Oh, I have to do this."

Like, "I have no choice."

♪ ♪ I've always wanted to hit different markets so people are able to see you being consistent.

At Canvas Coffees, I did two wall murals and then a full installation of paintings, works on paper, works on canvas.

And then I also designed one of their bean bags.

♪ ♪ I have an installation in Dollar Tree headquarters at Summit Pointe.

There's a total of six works that were sold to their collection and you can see them on display.

♪ ♪ And I'm also super-grateful for all of the work I've been able to accomplish with my peers at the Contemporary Arts Network.

♪ ♪ The show is titled "World of...

Shapes!"

Really to represent this visual theme park that you can fully be immersed soon as you step foot into the space.

I also look at it as the summary of the mural work that I've been doing for the last couple of years.

I can now bring this inside, where it can be viewed on the ceiling, on the floor, on the walls.

For them to really just be inside of my world.

♪ ♪ It allows me to see that things are possible, be able to get into spaces that may not think that you could.

The gift that I have is for people to enjoy and is not just for me to hold on to.

Thankful for collectors and to the different companies who wanna be a part of that story, so... That's something I never take for granted.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> BOWEN: And that is all for this edition of Open Studio.

Next week, Napoleon Jones-Henderson, a man who refuses to separate art from life.

As always, you can visit us online at GBH.org/OpenStudio.

And you can see us first on youtube.com/gbhnews.

Remember to follow us on Instagram and Twitter, @OpenStudioGBH.

I'm @TheJaredBowen.

Well, every Friday, Jim Braude and Margery Eagan offer up live performances on Boston Public Radio.

So we leave you now with the Metropolitan Chorale of Brookline, performing an excerpt from Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert, featuring tap dancer Ian Berg.

(tapping rhythmically) (band joins in) ♪ David up and danced ♪ ♪ David danced before the Lord ♪ ♪ He danced before the Lord ♪ ♪ With all his might ♪ ♪ Psalteries, timbrels, harps, and cymbals ♪ ♪ Rang out loud and clear ♪ ♪ Shouting, singing ♪ ♪ Trumpets bringing love to every ear ♪ ♪ David up and danced ♪ ♪ David danced before the Lord ♪ ♪ He danced before the Lord ♪ ♪ With all his might ♪ (band and tapping continue) (band continues)