Elevation, a series by artist John Glover that depicts Black men and women with long, exaggerated necks is in town till March 10. The pieces are a commentary on a higher state of consciousness of Black people rising above their societal issues.
The series can be viewed at the Emma Darnell Aviation Museum and Conference Center which is located near Hartsfield Jackson International Airport at 3900 Aviation Cir., NW.
The centerpieces of the series are Family Durag, Blue In Her Hue, and Man With Turtleneck, the latter two being used heavily in the marketing material for the series.
“In my strategy for marketing I love new visuals, towards the end of the exhibition, I wanted to give a new visual,” said Plushette Ellis, curator for the series.
During a recent visit to the exhibition Glover was hard at work on his newest installment in the Elevation series, Don’t Look Back. The composition of the piece has the subject, a black male with an exaggerated neck with his head turned back. This piece follows the narrative that when people face a problem, we metaphorically look back.
Glover would go on to reinstate what the Elevation piece is all about. “When you hear a preacher preaching, or a speaker speaking, you are meant to believe that they are speaking on a higher plane,” Glover said. “They are being the best that they are, at that time. That is what the Elevation series is.”
Glover looks for viewers to notice the simplicity of everyday life that his surrealistic work hides. “I want people to be able to relate to some of these situations that they see,” he said.
Like a mother trying to steer you away from trouble, Glover’s newest piece is the tangible manifestation of that ideal. Glover states that the subject believes himself above the negativity that society places him with.