ULYSSES MARSHALL
The art of Ulysses Marshall portrays a visual diary of his experiences in life. His grandmother, with whom he lived, was a patchwork quilt artisan and a storyteller. Through quiltmaking, she encouraged Ulysses’ interest in art, instilling in him a sense of wonder regarding the combination of patterns and colors. The grandmother’s stories and folktales of life, peace, death and the supernatural moved Ulysses in another way. He began to re-create his own fantasies through a form of dramatic play. Using cut/out paper figurines as characters, he devised plays that gave his fantasies life. Outside his home, Ulysses was inspired by his church which moved him deeply and strengthened his identity.
Later, after serving in Vietnam, he studied art in college. Judging from his work, he was influenced by Romare Bearden, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso, each of whom manipulated color, space, surface, treatment and form in free, expressive manner.
Many of Marshall’s figures have a single eye; a symbol for him, of Africans having been forced to view the world “through someone else’s perspective.”
Ulysses Marshall was born in Vienna, Georgia. He received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1978, he published a book of poems entitled “Mr. President, I Don’t Want to Live Here Anymore.” His works have been featured in numerous exhibitions throughout the country including a traveling exhibition of works by African-American artists from the esteemed Evans-Tibbs collection sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the Vietnam Veterans Group Traveling Exhibition.
EXCERPTS FROM JOHN SCHMIDT’S SAVANNAH, GEORGIA NEWSPAPER ARTICLE “MARSHALL WORKS A VISUAL DIARY”
The art of Ulysses Marshall portrays a visual diary of his experiences in life. His grandmother, with whom he lived, was a patchwork quilt artisan and a storyteller. Through quiltmaking, she encouraged Ulysses’ interest in art, instilling in him a sense of wonder regarding the combination of patterns and colors. The grandmother’s stories and folktales of life, peace, death and the supernatural moved Ulysses in another way. He began to re-create his own fantasies through a form of dramatic play. Using cut/out paper figurines as characters, he devised plays that gave his fantasies life. Outside his home, Ulysses was inspired by his church which moved him deeply and strengthened his identity.
Later, after serving in Vietnam, he studied art in college. Judging from his work, he was influenced by Romare Bearden, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso, each of whom manipulated color, space, surface, treatment and form in free, expressive manner.
Many of Marshall’s figures have a single eye; a symbol for him, of Africans having been forced to view the world “through someone else’s perspective.”
Ulysses Marshall was born in Vienna, Georgia. He received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1978, he published a book of poems entitled “Mr. President, I Don’t Want to Live Here Anymore.” His works have been featured in numerous exhibitions throughout the country including a traveling exhibition of works by African-American artists from the esteemed Evans-Tibbs collection sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the Vietnam Veterans Group Traveling Exhibition.
EXCERPTS FROM JOHN SCHMIDT’S SAVANNAH, GEORGIA NEWSPAPER ARTICLE “MARSHALL WORKS A VISUAL DIARY”