Michael Ray Charles

Michael Ray Charles

Born in 1967, Michael Ray Charles spent most of his time growing up in the state of Louisiana. Charles attended McNeese State University where he obtained his Bachelors of Fine Arts degree. He continued on to get his Masters degree from the University of Houston, where he remained local and began teaching at the University of Texas at Austin. Michael Ray Charles’ work mainly revolves around the depiction of historic racial stereotypes of African Americans. His work examines how the African American culture has been viewed by American history and how they have come to view themselves as a result of that. Paint being his medium of choice, Charles creates colorful and graphic depictions of black caricatures portrayed through various racial stereotypes. His painting have a rustic appeal to them as they are meant to resemble old commercial art and the historic connections that he wants to make evident. Charles’ artwork has caused some level of controversy and the reception of the general African American public has not always been accepting. However, Michael Ray Charles has received a great deal of recognition for his work and he has certainly been recognized for his courage and his freedom to express his personal struggles. To this day, Michael Ray Charles continues to exhibit his artworks nationally and internationally and continues to gain recognition for his efforts.

      

Students at the middle school level are continuously struggling with their own perceptions of how they think they are being viewed. Issues regarding popularity, socio-economic status, body image, and so on are a daily concern for many students. Artistic influences such as Michael Ray Charles shows students how a message can be communicated to a targeted audience and what that message can do once it has spread. To apply these influences to an art lesson, students could be asked to create a collage of images that depict something that they are concerned with in regards to how they think they are being viewed by others. Students would be given the opportunity to select through images in magazines and newspapers and arrange them onto a blank piece of paper. The juxtaposition of these images can communicate how that student feels about themselves and what they think about other people’s perceptions of them. In addition to the collage, students could add a text component to the work of art as well to help support their idea. Communicating these ideas through a collage can help students cope with their internal struggles and perhaps help them discover who they really are in comparison to who they think they want to be.

The Leaning standards used in this lesson would include communication and problem solving. Students will learn to communicate ideas through the use of juxtaposing images in a collage. Incorporating a text element can enhance the communicative aspect of the assignment and encourage students to express themselves through their art. Problem solving takes place as the students learn to discover how certain images can be combined or altered to convey different meanings.

Source: http://www.utexas.edu/finearts/aah/about/people/michael-ray-charles