by Elizabeth Stanard

ADA: Tell me about the visual art you create.

Michael Ray Charles: I think my work has been to me an exploration of black and African American representation by African Americans or by others. And it's taken me to many points, in particular, to the 19th Century, looking at minstrelsy and its influence on 20th century pop culture. [It has also taken me to] a critical point of advertising and its use of caricature, representations of blacks or African Americans in the 19th Century, and how those images or concepts remain in the present, in terms of their place in 20th and 21st century advertising.

ADA: What are you currently working on?

Michael Ray Charles

MRC: What I'm working on now is more or less an extension of those ideas in the last couple of years. I've managed to get further underneath the surface of the minstrel mask or the caricatured mask to explore the issues surrounding why certain images were constructed, why there was a humorous aspect, and how certain images were used in advertising. What is the significance of the power that the "Other" or any other gains by constructing caricatured, often exaggerated representations, whether it's gender or ethnic based? [I'm] just getting beyond and getting into some ideas that are not so humorous: issues about gender, sexuality, masculinity.

ADA: Where are you currently showing your work?

MRC: There are several traveling exhibitions that my work is a part of. One group exhibition opens in Berlin on November 17th. It's a sculpture piece that's being manufactured in Spain. It's more or less in line with much of what my work has been about. But this particular piece focuses on representations of Ethiopians in the 14th Century Hellenistic Period.

ADA: How does your identity as a black male inform and or manifest in your work?

MRC: This is a very important question because I think much of the world will sees me as a black male when I see myself as an African American, someone of African descent who is American, American born. black denies all connections to "Africa." black denies a place of origin. black designates, because of its relationship to color, the emphasis of one's color first and foremost. So, it's definitely something that I can use to influence my work.

ADA: Does Austin have a community of black or African American artists? And if so, what is your impression of this community?

MRC: I'm bothered by the term community. Must there be a community? In what sense? Is it the East Austin community, the North Austin community? There are artists out there who happen to be African American who make their art. The problems extend from how the term is generally used. I travel and lecture and I hear the same term: What's your responsibility to the black community or the African American community? Well, what's their responsibility to me as an artist? Some African American artists have support. But do they have large amounts of support by African American patrons? Probably not. You get involved with economics. Who has expendable money? Middle class, upper middle class, and the wealthy. Most African Americans who are in that upper tier are entertainers or athletes. They're not college professors or in upper managerial positions in corporations. Some purchase art and support artists. The majority of them don't. The majority of them find other ways to secure or to nurture their investments. They don't find that art is worth an investment.

ADA: But some would argue that individual artists have a need to identify themselves with and reap support from a group who shares similar experiences, especially those artists from "oppressed populations."

MRC: This is an old argument that is grounded in much of what was being discussed in the turn of the 20th Century by people like Dubois during the Harlem Renaissance. I understand the issues and problems at the forefront of living in the 21st Century, occupying both the black and African American designations. I don't want to run away from this notion of belonging to this larger group of people who are like me in physical appearance, who are like me because they grew up lower middle class and poor. So I understand there is a need to have support. What I'm saying is that, I think in many examples, the designation hinders and it only further pushes African American artists away and into this little group that is always outside and never in. And it does the same thing when you put the lens on Latino artists or gay and lesbian artists. My artwork has moved people young and old, Asian, Hispanic, Irish, Catholic, Protestant, Christian, gay, lesbian. Some have cried. Some have complained. Why should I be bound to an African American designation? I think I see it as a trap.

ADA: What about galleries like MexicArte and Women & Their Work who strive to create communities that address needs specific to Latino and women artists?

MRC: Don't get me wrong. I don't disapprove of what's being done. I don't dispute that that is not appropriate. In fact, I think it is. I'm saying that those places and what they do are valid. What I'm also saying is by putting a lens on this African American community is just segregating them. I'm sure there's a lot of people who would like to see, I, for one, would like to see an African American gallery, more African American galleries here. I, for one, would like to see more African American patrons of the arts. But there are other issues that are at the forefront here. It's an art community issue. It's not just an African American issue.

ADA: What changes would you like to see in the Austin visual arts scene, if any?

MRC: Well, you know, I don't get out much. I think if I had a choice, I still wouldn't. I'm really busy with working and family. I'm probably not the best person to ask that question. But I do try to know what's going on in Austin in terms of exhibiting and what not, to show my support when I'm able. I think what's most important is a museum and the maintenance of quality exhibition spaces that embrace aspects of making art that are of the quality and content and technique and sophistication that this growing diverse Austin community and surrounding area deserves because people come from all walks of life, all kinds of experiences. So I'd like to see institutions maintain a level of commitment to presenting diverse ideas and perspectives with a quality that is reflective of people that make up 21st Century Austin, Texas.

[For more info on Michael Ray Charles, go to www.utexas.edu/cofa/a_ah/.]