Jameela F. Dallis. 2020. 4x5 Large Format Camera.
Jemella F. Dallis is writer, artist and educator with a Ph.D. in English. Jamella’s publications range from love poems and dance reviews to scholarly book chapters on Gothic literature.
"Our interconnectedness—we should not be thinking about art or creativity in a one dimensional way, think of it as footnotes. We should always be referencing all different points that made us who we are, or who made the work be what it is, because it does take a village."
—Legacy Russell
—Legacy Russell
Transforming the dark into light is the plumb line of Artists and Americans (2016 - ongoing).
It was the dawn of cancel culture, North Carolina was “the new thing to hate.”
The Creative State* had just passed the countrys first bathroom bill, a law saying “people have to use the bathroom matching the sex on their birth certificate.”
Artists and Americans † is a documentation project of artists' interconnectivity in North Carolina. It is surrealism captured through portraiture. Film stills in color negative film. These portraits are in conversation with my lived & interpreted experiences of "sociological footnotes" presented as: sculpture, on-site installation, wall based text, video, painting, stop-motion, and illustration. Artists and Americans is homage to artists practicing in The Creative State. Artists are the unseen roots in eroding soil, weaving interconnectivity—their existence makes our world a better place.
Thank you for your time & energy to further Artists and Americans. ‡
“Create the art world you want to be part of. ”
—Nayland Blake (they/them)
ArtLife
Yesterday
Today
Tomorrow
with gratitude,
Joseph Rafferty
NOTES
1. Legacy Russell, quoted in Gem Fletcher's podcast The Messy Truth: Conversations On Photography, Campbell Addy - On Growth, April, 2022.
2. Nayland Blake (former Chair of the ICP-Bard Program), quoted by numerous professors during Joseph's Creative Practices program, the International Center of Photography, NY, NY. 2020 - 21.
3. Susan Magsamen & Ivy Ross (authors), Your Brain On Art: How The Arts Transforms Us, Chapter 2: Cultivating Well-Being, NY, NY. 2023.
* North Carolina transitioned from the nickname "The Tobacco State" to "The Creative State" in 1987. This change was part of a broader effort to rebrand the state's image, moving away from its agricultural and tobacco-centric identity toward one that emphasized innovation, culture, and creativity. The new slogan was intended to reflect North Carolina’s growing focus on education, research, and the arts—especially with the rise of institutions like the Research Triangle Park.
† Historic Significance. In 2022 Artists & Americans (2016 - ongoing) was first ever documentation of North Carolina creatives presented in exhibition form. Barton Art Galleries, Wilson, North Carolina, United States.
‡ After viewing this body of work, Darin Mickey, Department Chair of Creative Practices Program, invited Joseph to attend the one-year Creative Practices program. While there Joseph held consecutive ICP Director's Fellowship (said grant funded by Arnold and Augusta Newman Foundation), the International Center of Photography, NY, NY. 2020 - 21.
Louis St. Lewis (mixed media artist). 2020. 4x5 Large Format Camera.
James Marshall aka DALEK (artist, street artist, designer). 2020. 4x5 Large Format Camera.
Ira Lupu (photographer). 2021. 4x5 Large Format Camera.
Thomas Sayre (earth artist). 2020. 6x7 Medium Format Camera.
The Mothership Founders (pictured: Megan Bowser, Katie DeConto, Krista Anne Nordgren). 2020. 6x7 Medium Format Camera.
Civil Disobedience: An Homage to Stacey Kirby (performance artist). 2020. 6x7 Medium Format Camera.
William Paul Thomas (painter). 2021. 4x5 Large Format Camera.