Chaz Guest | |
|---|---|
 Chaz Guest in his studio | |
| Born | May 2, 1961 Niagara Falls, New York, United States |
| Years active | 1985 – Present |
| Children | Two sons |
| Parent(s) | Algirtha Guest Rev. Theodore James Guest |
| Website | www |
Chaz Guest (born May 2, 1961 [1] in Niagara Falls, New York [2] ) is an American artist who works in the mediums of painting and sculpting. He is described by the Huffington Post as "an American artist of profound inventiveness." [3]
Guest's parents are Algirtha Guest (born 1933) and Rev. Theodore James Guest (born 1922 - 2006). Guest's father - Rev. T. J. Guest, is a World War II Purple Heart recipient. [4] Guest is the 7th of nine brothers and sisters. [4] Guest graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design from Southern Connecticut State University in 1985. [5] Guest grew up in a quiet community in Niagara Falls, New York with his family. His parents divorced when he was ten years old. After the divorce, he moved with his mother and siblings to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Guest has two sons, one born 1994 and one born 2003. [6]
Guest received a Gymnastic scholarship to go to the Southern Connecticut State University (S.C.S.U.), to study Kinesiology and pursue a degree in Graphic Arts. He subsequently competed successfully in the U.S. Olympic program. After graduating from S.C.S.U., Guest moved to New York City, where he enrolled in a fashion design curriculum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. It was during this period that he honed his formal skills in drawing. [7] While at the Fashion Institute, Guest made the acquaintance of Antonio Lopez. Lopez inspired and influenced his decision to seek work as an illustrator. Guest studied at the Fashion Institute for nine months.
In 1986, Guest moved to Paris, France, to work as a freelance fashion illustrator. Guest joined Joyce Magazine as an illustrator for their magazine covers and was responsible for the illustrations of the JOYCE magazine covers for the 1987/1988 season. It was while working at Joyce Magazine that Guest met Christian Lacroix. Lacroix encouraged him to apply his illustrator skills to painting after Lacroix saw one of Guest's illustrations of couture designs done for Joyce Magazine. After the 1987/1988 season, Guest left Joyce magazine and moved to Dax, France, where he started painting. [5]
After leaving the Fashion Institute of Technology, Guest began studying the paintings of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Guest also studied the paintings of Balthus. In 1991, Guest sold his first painting to a passerby outside his Soho apartment. [8]
Guest's first museum exhibit was a group show, "Decoding Identity: I Do it for My People" (January 23, 2009 – March 22, 2009) [9] [10] at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco (MOAD). His works are primarily made with Sumi ink. [11]
In 2004, while at the home of Mattie and Michael Lawson in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, Guest was struck by the presence of Barack Obama, then running for Senate, while interacting with the guests. This image stuck with him, and he created a painting of The President based on that mental image. [12] The President saw the painting of himself at a fundraiser at the home of Oprah Winfrey in 2008.
Guest's painting of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall hung in President Barack Obama's Oval Office at the White House. [13] [14] On October 11, 2005, then-Senator Obama sent a note to a Guest thanking him for the painting. [15] A guest has also authored a serigraph series of President Obama. Subsequently, the Guest was invited by Kouji Matsuzaki San, Mayor of Obama, Fukui prefecture, to present the serigraphs. [16] [17] [18]
On February 24, 2010, Chaz Guest presented the President of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh [19] a portrait of the Gambian President. During his visit to the Gambia, Guest discussed with the Gambian leader the renaming of James Island and Juffereh in the North Bank Region. Guest proposed to the Gambian leader that the Island be renamed 'Kunta Kinte' Island. On February 6, 2011, James Island, the former British Slave Fort used for the slave trade of Africans in the River Gambia in the North Bank Region, was renamed by the Gambian President to Kunta Kinte Island. [20] At the renaming ceremony of James Island in 2011, Guest revealed the miniature replica of his 30-foot statue of Kunta Kinte that will be displayed on Kunta Kinte Island.
Guest created two paintings to help the family of Trayvon Martin, an African-American teenager killed in an incident in Florida in 2012, to support Martin's younger brother. Guest donated the proceeds from selling the paintings to the Martin Family. [21] Mr. Guest also did a painting of Troy Davis - a man sentenced to death for the murder of a Georgia police officer in 1991, for Amnesty International, USA. [22] [23] [24]
Guest was named the Goodwill Ambassador to the Republic of Gambia, West Africa, in 2011 and the U.S. spokesperson for the 2014 International Roots Festival in Gambia. [25] [26]
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, and sometimes shortened to just Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland Africa and is surrounded by Senegal, except for its western coast on the Atlantic Ocean. The Gambia is situated on both sides of the lower reaches of the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the centre of The Gambia and empties into the Atlantic Ocean, and elucidates the long shape of the country. It has an area of 11,300 square kilometres (4,400 sq mi) with a population of 1,857,181 as of the April 2013 census. Banjul is the Gambian capital and the country's largest metropolitan area, while the largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family. ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and aired it in 1977 to a record-breaking audience of 130 million viewers. In the United States, the book and miniseries raised the public awareness of black American history and inspired a broad interest in genealogy and family history.
Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh is a Gambian politician and former military officer, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017, as well as Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council from 1994 to 1996.
Kunta Kinteh Island, formerly called James Island and St Andrew's Island, is an island in the Gambia River, 30 km (19 mi) from the river mouth and near Juffureh in the Republic of the Gambia. Fort James is located on the island. It is less than 3.2 km from Albreda on the river's northern bank. As an important historical site in the West African slave trade, it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with related sites including a ruined Portuguese chapel and a colonial warehouse in Albreda, the Maurel Frères Building in Juffureh, and Fort Bullen and Six-Gun Battery, which are located at the mouth of the Gambia River.
Kunta Kinte is a fictional character in the 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family by American author Alex Haley. Kunta Kinte was based on one of Haley's ancestors, a Gambian man who was born around 1750, enslaved, and taken to America where he died around 1822. Haley said that his account of Kunta's life in Roots is a mixture of fact and fiction.
Roots: The Saga of an American Family is a 1976 novel written by Alex Haley. It tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent, sold into slavery in Africa, and transported to North America; it follows his life and the lives of his descendants in the United States down to Haley. The release of the novel, combined with its hugely popular television adaptation, Roots (1977), led to a cultural sensation in the United States. The novel spent forty-six weeks on The New York Times Best Seller List, including twenty-two weeks at number one. The last seven chapters of the novel were later adapted in the form of a second miniseries, Roots: The Next Generations (1979). It stimulated interest in African American genealogy and an appreciation for African American history.
Islam is the major religion in the Gambia, representing 97% of the 2 million population, with the first Muslim communities in the country arriving in 11th century. Islam has therefore had an influence on the Gambia throughout history, and continues to impact its culture, society and politics. The majority of The Gambia's Muslims are Sunni belonging to the Maliki school of jurisprudence, influenced with Sufism. There is a smaller Shiite community, largely stemming from Lebanese and Arab migration. The Ahmadiyya movement is also present. Other religious societies exist in the country, including Catholics, Protestants, Hindus and Traditional African religions.
Color of Change is a progressive nonprofit civil rights advocacy organization in the United States. It was formed in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in order to use online resources to strengthen the political voice of African Americans. Color of Change is a 501(c)(4) advocacy organizing with an affiliated political action committee.
The Gambian hip hop scene is a relatively new scene in African hip hop which developed in the mid-1990s and was heavily influenced by American hip hop and Senegalese hip hop. Gambian hip-hop has been heavily influenced by international music scene including worldbeat, Senegalese wolof music, and American hip hop, as well as traditional Gambian mbalax and n'daga music. Dominican merengue and Jamaican reggae, ragga, and dancehall have also influenced the development of Gambian hip-hop.
Jason Wu is a Taiwanese-Canadian artist and fashion designer based in New York City. Born in Taiwan and raised in Vancouver, he studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design, and trained under Narciso Rodriguez before launching his own line.
George Michael Zimmerman is an American man who fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American boy, in Sanford, Florida, on February 26, 2012. On July 13, 2013, he was acquitted of second-degree murder in Florida v. George Zimmerman. After his acquittal, Zimmerman was the target of a shooting. The perpetrator was convicted of attempted murder.
Joel Gilbert is an American filmmaker, musician, and conspiracy theorist. Gilbert's political films advance right-wing conspiracy theories. He has been a frequent guest on InfoWars.
Michael D'Antuono is an American contemporary artist whose painting style focuses primarily on socio-political issues. He is best known for his controversial portrait of U.S. President Barack Obama crucified in front of the Presidential seal entitled "The Truth," which twice became a U.S. and international news story. The UK publication The American called him "one of the world's most controversial artists."
The State Intelligence Services (SIS), formerly the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), is the intelligence agency of the Gambia. It was founded following the 1994 military coup d'état by the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (APRFC), which was led by Yahya Jammeh. Its current head is Ousman Sowe.
Sheikh Omar Faye is the Gambian ambassador to Mauritania. Prior to this position, he was Gambian Minister of Defence, as well as a former diplomat who served as the Gambian Ambassador to the United States from 2015 to 2016, and an athlete who represented the Gambia in the 1984 Olympic games.
Fatoumata "Fatu" Camara is a television presenter and journalist from the West African state of The Gambia.
President Barack Obama is an oil-on-canvas portrait of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, completed by the artist Kehinde Wiley in 2018 for the National Portrait Gallery. It received a mixed response from the media and the public.
First Lady Michelle Obama, initially titled Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, is a portrait of former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama, painted by the artist Amy Sherald. Unveiled in 2018, it hangs in the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in Washington, D.C. The six-by-five-foot oil-on-linen painting shows Obama, rendered in Sherald's signature grisaille, resting her chin lightly on her hand, as a geometric print dress flows outward filling the frame against a sky-blue background.
Fatou A. "Toufah" Jallow is a Gambian beauty queen. She became known for her accusations in 2014 against Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.
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