OkEq features Trace Logan in July
Philadelphia native Trace Logan will be the featured artist for the July Oklahomans for Equality (OkEq) showcase and exhibit of local artists. The event will be July 11, the second Thursday of July, due to the July 4th holiday.
The exhibit will begin with a reception on Thursday, July 11, from 6-9 p.m. The work will be displayed throughout the month.
This Philadelphian has lived in Oklahoma City for several years. From a young age, he drew extensively. This means of self-expression helped him to understand the outside world better. That, along with a background in graphic design has led to a preference for a bold style with well-defined lines and borders - more typically found in commercial art applications.
He is currently working on a form of collage that contains separate and distinct elements of photography, painting, drawing, and digital work melded into one piece which addresses various social issues. Also, Logan is creating multi-layered, abstract, acrylic paintings.
The abstract paintings he calls digital composites are intended to convey the impression that there is more to the scenes pictured than meets the eye. This creativity promotes the concept that everyone's interactions with others are affected by their perceptions, preconceptions and misconceptions.
Ultimately, Logan believes art is about the human experience with an emphasis on emotion and perception and the multifaceted inter-connectivity between living entities, places, and objects.
RELATED: OkEq Muskogee announces inaugural Pride Picnic
His digital composites are old photographs from famous photographers, forgotten photographers, or from amateur photographers in my family. He also uses more recent photographs he takes, merged with my drawings, digital art, and abstract paintings.
The pieces are cut, layered, altered, and reworked both manually and with art software to unify the various images into one. Each digital composite exists as one of a kind pieces; only one is printed, signed and framed.
“My digital composite body of work originated in 2014 as an attempt to present the experiences of individuals from minority groups to a larger more homogeneous group,” said Logan. “They are presented in a way that is non-confrontational but created cognitive dissonance to spur awareness and empathy.”
While the pieces have become more aesthetically motivated over time, they still frequently contain personal observations and ideas about current issues in American society and culture.
“My interest in topics such as identity, perception, and biases are reflected in the work,” he added. “The inevitable conflicts between the private and public personas represented by layers of elements, some mostly hidden, fully visible, and partially obscured within the pieces.
“Maintaining a level of ambiguity in the work is important to me because I want viewers to be able to project their experiences and perceptions onto the piece while leaving enough unresolved to suggest other interpretations may exist.”
The work of Trace Logan will begin with a reception on Thursday, July 11, from 6-9 p.m. at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, located at 621 E. 4th Street in Downtown Tulsa. There will be a door prize at the reception with the winner receiving a piece of work from the artist. The show continues throughout July.
Oklahomans for Equality (OkEq) seeks equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) individuals and families through advocacy, education, programs, alliances and the operation of the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center. www.okeq.org.
Copyright The Gayly 7/6/2019 @ 10:20 a.m.