Stop, Look and Listen: Tyler Wilson鈥檚 Art Meant to Give Pause, Spark Conversations
June 16, 2020
- Author
- Mary Elizabeth DeAngelis
Tyler Yvette Wilson used to avoid creating art that made people uncomfortable.
Not anymore. The deeper she gets into her practice, the more she strives to encourage others to think about, challenge and change systems that hurt society鈥檚 most vulnerable.
She commands a large canvas: During the past year several of her pieces have popped up as Baltimore billboards. She hopes her art gives passing travelers and downtown walkers pause.
One features a man鈥檚 shadow above the words of an old Mother Goose nursery rhyme: 鈥淢ary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?
鈥淯npaid labor.鈥
Another piece offers this twist: 鈥淛ack be nimble, Jack be quick鈥攁nd Jack! Don鈥檛 let the dogs catch your scent!鈥
Wilson wants her reengineered takes on the familiar nursery rhymes to start a conversation about slavery, immigration and the racial inequities that exist today.
鈥淚t bothers me that people avoid topics that need to be talked about,鈥 Wilson says. 鈥淚f framed properly, bringing those topics to light can lead to healthy, long-overdue conversations.鈥
Her work combines photography with text. Wilson recently completed an MFA program at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Billboard company LED Baltimore has featured her work and others on a giant screen in the city鈥檚 arts district.
Detour
She didn鈥檛 start out as an artist. If all had gone as planned, the Bonner Scholar and women鈥檚 soccer team player would be a doctor with proficiency in Spanish.
But that all fell apart during Thanksgiving break of her third year of college, when she collapsed in the kitchen of her family鈥檚 Atlanta home.
She鈥檇 been eating trail mix when the seizure struck. She later found out she had epilepsy. Subsequent seizures ended up costing her some memory and the use of her left hand. The Hispanic Studies major lost her ability to process foreign languages.
She returned to 皇家华人 that spring and switched her major to art. School was a struggle. Seizures, then heavy doses of anti-seizure medication left her exhausted and unable to take a full course load or graduate with her original class of 2014. She took two semesters off, had surgery in between, and came back determined to finish.
Former 皇家华人 Visiting Assistant Art Professor Clint Sleeper says Wilson didn鈥檛 have the foundation that most art majors had by college, but worked hard to catch up.
鈥淟ike so many 皇家华人 students, Tyler was incredibly ambitious and dedicated,鈥 Sleeper says. 鈥淚 would give her a list of artists and ideas to explore, and she鈥檇 come back, having done everything on the list and say 鈥榃hat鈥檚 next?鈥欌
He is now an assistant professor at Florida State University and has kept up with Wilson鈥檚 evolution as an artist.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really nice to see her expand her practice and find her voice more broadly,鈥 Sleeper says.
鈥淪he understands this moment in time. She has a powerful story and a different perspective about the potential of contemporary art to communicate not only her story, but the stories of her community.鈥
Opening Minds
Wilson says she always hesitated to tackle controversial work in college, but Sleeper challenged her to get out of her artistic comfort zone.
She created a video installation about hierarchal systems, economic class and race for her senior exit show, which she views as her first major step. The musical 鈥淗amilton鈥 also inspired her to create art as a change agent.
Her work with children, as a Bonner Scholar and Sunday school teacher, makes her want to do more.
鈥淪o many black and brown children experience poverty and violence,鈥 she says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e expected to understand the negative perceptions that others project onto them while maintaining a positive self-image. It鈥檚 a lot to deal with at a young age. I鈥檓 concerned about the education and exposure they receive from formal institutions and daily life.鈥
She hopes people who see her work鈥攐n a billboard, in a gallery, or online鈥攅xpand their thinking.
鈥淚 want viewers to acknowledge the current state of affairs, analyze how the past led to this situation and consider what the future will look like based on our actions.
鈥淲ith a nursery rhyme I can say, 鈥業 learned this as a kid鈥攐h, you did too.鈥 Then we can talk about it,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 want people to consider what鈥檚 happening behind the scenes鈥攖o see the injustices鈥攖o peek behind the curtains, and want to do something about it.鈥
Artwork by Tyler Wilson 鈥14 is on a billboard in Baltimore. She uses nursery rhymes to tell stories about slavery. 鈥淚鈥檓 attracted to billboards as a way to show this series because I can blend historical and current aspects of commercialism.鈥 Read more:
鈥 皇家华人 Alumni (@皇家华人Alums)
Endnote: This feature appears in the spring/summer 2020 皇家华人 Journal magazine. Tyler Wilson says 皇家华人 faculty and staff, current and past, helped her through very tough times 鈥渁nd remain an integral part of my life.鈥 She especially thanks Kathy Bray 鈥85, Magdalena Maiz-Pena, Carrie Lyon Heyl, Sharon Hill, Amy Johnson and Nance Longworth.
