Скачать или смотреть John and Jim Biggers: Gaston County Artists

At a time when many Black artists were being ignored by the arts community, Gastonia native John Thomas Biggers rose to national recognition as a painter, muralist and sculptor. He was born April 23, 1924, to Paul and Cora Biggers. John was the youngest of their seven children. As a young man, he attended Lincoln Academy, a black boarding school, in Kings Mountain. After graduating, he applied and was accepted to Hampton Institute. There he studied art under Dr. Viktor Lowenfeld, an Austrian Jew who had fled Nazi persecution in Europe. Dr. Lowenfeld encouraged his students to find inspiration in their ethnic heritage. He became an important mentor and friend to John.
In May of 1943, John was drafted into the Navy. He became demoralized by the segregation and unequal treatment of black and white men in military service. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1945. John then followed Dr. Lowenfeld to Penn State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree and Masters in Art education in 1948. On December 27, John married Hazel Hales, whom he had met while they were both students at Hampton Institute. In 1949, he was hired to start an Art Department at Texas State College for Negroes (later Texas Southern University) in Houston. In 1954, John was awarded a PhD from Penn State University. While in Texas, John created several murals including one for the office of the first Black veterinarian in Houston.
In 1957, John was awarded a UNESCO Fellowship that allowed him to study art and culture in West Africa. John and his wife spent six months visiting Ghana, Togo, Dahomey (now the republic of Benin), and Nigeria. He used the experience to grow closer to his African roots. The published the book, ANANSE: THE WEB OF LIFE IN AFRICA made up of drawings and writings from his time there.
Another Gastonia Painter and Muralist came from the same family. James ‘Jim’ Converse Biggers, Jr. was born October 30, 1948, the firstborn child of John Converse Biggers, Sr. and Larnell Frances Gallimore Biggers. He is also the nephew of John Biggers. Jim’s father died when he was 10 and his uncle stepped in as a father figure in his life. Jim graduated from Highland High School in 1966. He earned a bachelor’s degree in art education from North Carolina Central University in 1970. He then earned a Master of Arts degree from Appalachian State University. Jim spent his career as an art teacher and as the art education supervisor for Gaston County Schools.
Jim became interested in murals through his uncle. John Biggers was commissioned to create murals for Winston-Salem State University and for the Harvey Library at Hampton University. He asked Jim to assist him with these works. ORIGINS and ASCENSION, the Winston-Salem State University murals, were John’s first murals to be displayed in his home state. The Hampton University murals were entitled HOUSE OF THE TURTLE and TREE HOUSE.
Jim Biggers has also created his own murals including NORTH CAROLINA BELONGS TO CHILDREN which is at the North Carolina Legislative Building. The mural incorporates several official state symbols like the dogwood, the cardinal and the Plott Hound. The mural earned an NAACP Image Award. His mural CELEBRATION can be seen at the Charlotte Convention Center.
John Biggers died on January 25, 2001. Before his death plans were underway for him to create a mural for the city of Gastonia, but that vision was never realized. Instead work began on the John Biggers Commemorative Mural project. It was decided to recreate one of John’s murals “THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE” as a mosaic which would be displayed at the Schiele Museum of Natural History.
For more information about John Biggers you can check out the following books from the Gaston County Public Library:

The Art of John Biggers: View from the Upper Room by Alvia J. Wardlaw

A Life on Paper: The Drawings and Lithographs of John Thomas Biggers by Olive Jenson Theisen

Walls That Speak: The Murals of John Thomas Biggers by Olive Jenson Theisen