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Texas student uses visual art to inspire social change


College is a time of growth and self-discovery. For most, your undergraduate years are a chance to find your true interests and passions.

For senior studio art major at The University of Texas at Austin, Lakeem Wilson, however, his passion for visual art was solidified at an early age. Since then, his heart has been set on creating visually appealing pictures that address societal issues and attempt to create social change.

As president of UT’s registered organization, The Association of Black Fine Arts Students, Wilson works diligently to create pieces that play on metaphors and respond to current social events.

“I see visual art as a language in a sense…As far as visual art making social change, you can say different things in art that you wouldn’t be allowed to say in person to somebody,” Wilson said. “You can create a piece about civil rights and say something metaphorically through images without having to state it in words and writing…I feel like art just has its own language that serves as [a form of] activism itself.”

Wilson has received numerous praise for his works and recently published an online book on Red Throat House to document some of his art. He hopes to one day have a print version of his book available.

Besides studio art, Wilson said he also uses other mediums — photography, video editing, illustrating, painting and drawing — to communicate creatively.

According to Wilson, he finds it especially important to network and collaborate with other likeminded individuals. He said his experiences as a minority artist have helped shaped him and make his works stand out.

“Since I’m black, my art reflects my views on black culture and what it means to be black in America…I’m not like a Malcolm X extremist or anything like that, but I do notice a lot of flaws or things that could be better in black communities and in the way that society depicts blackness,” Wilson said. “Culture is one thing [I like to focus on] and I guess as far as personal things…I like trying to understand the world in a more spiritual or peaceful way. I explore topics like chakras or different religious views on things and see how they all tie together.”

Wilson also said that his living circumstances largely impacted his inspiration for a lot of his pieces.

“A big part in my artist’s statement was how my background also influences a lot of work I create. It influences the cultural part of my work in a way that I came from a background that wasn’t necessarily the wealthiest,” Wilson said. “My community provided me with a story and experience that makes me and my artwork kind of unique in itself. Coming from a rough background…I have a lot of experience and things that kind of shape my story and influence how I want to inspire others in my future endeavors.

According to Wilson, he pulls inspiration from artists such as Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. Wilson hopes to one day inspire other young artists like himself.

“One day I’ll give back and just make sure I get a chance to speak to young people who want to do the same and want to follow the same path and use art as their main way of expression and creating,” Wilson said.

To see more of Wilson’s work, visit his website at NaturalBornStar.org.

Alexandra Samuels is a student at the University of Texas at Austin.

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This story originally appeared on the Paste BN College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.