Artist Evelyn Patricia Terry on American Ethnicity

The beautiful four-story ThriveOn King Building, formerly Gimbels Department Store, recently opened in Bronzeville.

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The beautiful four-story ThriveOn King Building, formerly Gimbels Department Store, recently opened in Bronzeville. It houses some noted institutions including the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Medical College of Wisconsin, and Versiti Blood Center. Artworks by 20 Milwaukee-based artists are displayed among the halls and foyer. 

Dominating the creative landscape is the art installation in the capacious front window. It took African American artist Evelyn Patricia Terry a year to complete this eccentric exhibition, which runs 16 feet long and has two sides, one facing the inside foyer, the other facing the busy Martin Luther King Drive. The front inside is titled: AMERICA’S FAVOR, and the other side: AMERICA: GUESTS WHO CAME TO DINNER AND STAYED.

Dinner is the theme of Terry’s elaborate artwork, the dinner shared between all the American ethnic groups represented by 70 dolls dressed in native costumes. And it’s a healthy dinner, featuring 26 white dinner plates, each holding a single raw vegetable, and each plate lettered with a sage statement.

I had intended to write a review couched in the traditional elitist language with the flair of an Eastern art critic, but then I changed my mind and met Terry at her exhibition. Standing inside the foyer, we talked about her process.

Terry told me, “This side of my table, called America’s Favor, offers another perspective on America's relationship with African Americans. Through adversity, many are forced to strive and grow. Adversity seems to be a part of life, and many must keep their minds on success in any area of life to have even a chance to attain it. I’m always working on how people feel about being in America. The sometimes accepted view is that America did nothing for African Americans and did very little for anyone except the super-rich people. I do not like that view.”

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The Table 

One of the interesting features of the art installation is the 16-foot long table that supports the display. I asked Terry about the table construction.

“I designed that table but hired the builder,” she said. “The front window here at ThriveOn King is narrow and long, meaning I needed a long table. At first, I thought I’d make the table from Sam’s Club’s stock of tables, and use a draping tablecloth, but I was told that it might be a fire hazard. Then, I realized I needed to reveal the table legs as part of the art presentation. So I bought table legs from thrift shops and second-hand stores. The center of the display had once been a lamp leg that came from Goodwill. 

“The attached spiral wood pieces were former Pfister Hotel curtain rods from ReStore. The outside table legs came from Value Village. The other legs, cut from bed headboards and footboards, came from ReStore.” 

“What about the top of the table that the legs support?” I asked.

“The table top is divided into three parts and made of plywood,” Terry explained. “We laid a metal top over the wood and put magnets on the bottom of the 70 dolls to hold them in place.”

She added, “With this table, I tried to explore aesthetic concerns, spotlight ethnic differences, and explore immigration results to understand universal issues.”

The Dinner Plates

On each side of the installation there is a lineup of 13 white dinner plates, each plate holding a representation of a raw vegetable made of clay, 26 plates in all.

“The vegetables represent actual vegetables I’ve eaten to stay well,” she said. “Sea kelp, kale, carrots, cherries, pistachios. There are also messages on each of the 13 plates. Each message has a word with 13 letters because I want to counter the superstition about the number 13 as unlucky.”

I read two of the messages displayed in black typeface. “America creates opportunities that successful African-Americans proactively embrace” and “America obliges revolutionary African Americans to rebuff tyrannical behavior.”

Terry went on, “All those statements are meant to be positive. In my life, I strive to use healthy words, which helps me stay positive. Not degradation or segregation. Not dwelling on how bad people are. My son, Fondé Bridges, introduced me to the concept of Healthy Words. But all cultures have at least some citizens who do bad things to other citizens.” 

I was thinking, that’s the side of human behavior we wish would go away.

Running along the entire installation are about 70 dolls dressed in various ethnic costumes from different countries around the world. Asian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, American, Anglo, European, African. The largest dolls of Barack and Michelle Obama hold center stage. I asked Terry about the meaning of the dolls.

“The dolls reflect the theme of the exhibition, America’s Favor, in beckoning groups of people,” she said.

“Among the dolls and between the plates are wine glasses and stemware,” I said.

“It’s a formal dinner scene,” she explained. “I made it a dinner party because we all started out talking about Thanksgiving, which influenced my idea. I was also influenced by the movie, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. The other side of the table is titled “America: Guests Who Came to Dinner and Stayed.”

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On one side of the table is a gold plate, reading, 13 Favors African Americans earn through adversity by attending America’s ongoing dinner party.

Outside View from the Street

Evelyn Patricia Terry and I walked outside to view the other half of the installation that faces MLK Drive. Traffic hurried past. Pedestrians passed. The day was sunny, and Terry’s message was sunnier.

She explained, “The theme on this side of the table notes how and why various ethnic groups arrived in America. The Sankofa bird centerpiece, sculpted from metal, represents what historians have written that Africa is the cradle of civilization or where all nations and ethnic groups originated. My partner, the artist George Ray McCormick Sr, created the Sankofa Bird. He died in 2009.”

 The Sankofa bird is an important symbol in African American and African Diaspora contexts. The Sankofa is a mythical bird that represents the importance of learning from the past to move forward in the present and future.

She went on, “There are 13 plates on each side of the of the table, 26 plates in all. The entire installation illustrates how America came to be. All people came from somewhere else. And now we’re all here, and we have to work together. There is a small doll for most of the many worldwide ethnic cultures. I got these dolls at second hand stores.” 

The theme on this side of the art installation is titled, “America, Guests Who Came to Dinner and Stayed.” It emphasizes how multitudes of ethnic people came to America, each plate highlighting the reason they came. Examples include: 

America,“Land of Opportunity” beckoned and they came. Many came because of religious persecution. Some fell in love and came. Some came from concentration camps. Some were kidnapped or traded. Others flew in, sailed in, swam in, walked in. Some came after treacherous wars or political strife. Some came for a better education. Some were seeking fame and fortune. Some came from prisons. 

“And there are more vegetables and produce on these plates,” she added. “These vegetables make you well: Celery, red onion, watermelon, strawberries, cucumbers, avocado, beet, walnut, grapes, snap peas, garlic, and ginger.”

Healthy foods, healthy words. After I left ThriveOn King, I kept thinking - wouldn’t it be interesting if Terry’s art installation could be taught in schools.  

The Evelyn Patricia Terry art installation will be displayed at ThriveOn King for the next three years.

Credits:

  • Table construction by Shear Winston, 
  • Sankofa Bird created by George Ray McCormick Sr   
  • Healthy Raw Produce sculptures by Fondé Bridges. The vegetables are made of ai- dried clay with gauze, gesso and acrylic paint.