Senate Concurrent Resolution 538

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION EXTENDING THE RECOGNITION OF THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE TO ABSTRACT ARTIST AND ARTS EDUCATOR MARY LOVELACE O'NEAL AS THE RECIPIENT OF THE 2022 GOVERNOR'S ARTS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN VISUAL ART.

WHEREAS, the Governor's Arts Awards Program has announced its 2022 recipients, which include Mary Lovelace O'Neal for Excellence in Visual Art; and

WHEREAS, established in 1988, Governor's Arts Awards are given to individuals and organizations to recognize outstanding work in the artistic disciplines, as well as arts-based community development and arts patronage in Mississippi. The awards are presented in partnership with the Governor's Office and signify the important relationship between government and the arts; and

WHEREAS, Mary Lovelace O'Neal is a celebrated contemporary Abstract Artist and Arts Educator. Her work in mixed media, painting, and printmaking explores personal narratives, as well as themes of social justice and contemporary debates; and

WHEREAS, O'Neal grew up in Jackson in the 20th Century, where her creative talents and strong spirit were nurtured, especially by her creative father, a Professor of Music at Tougaloo College. Mary developed her interest in art, education and social issues while growing up in Mississippi and Arkansas. This was the beginning of a journey that has taken Mary around the world and made her one of the leading women in the Black Arts Movement; and

WHEREAS, as a young art student at Howard University, Mary studied under David Driskell, who became her lifelong mentor and friend. In 1963, Mary Lovelace O'Neal was awarded a scholarship for a summer program at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, where she studied painting. While at Howard, she became active in Civil Rights and student movements; and

WHEREAS, while working on a Master of Fine Arts Degree from Columbia University, O'Neal developed her breakthrough Lamp Black series. Using a material she was first introduced to at Skowhegan, O'Neal applied layers of very dark powdered pigment to unstretched canvases to create these striking works; and

WHEREAS, Mary went on to teach at the University of California, Berkeley, where she was the first African American in the Department of Art Practice to earn tenure and the first African American to chair the department; and

WHEREAS, O'Neal has exhibited nationally and internationally, including a recent exhibit at the Mnuchin Gallery in New York City titled Chasing Down the Image. She is a recipient of the Artist En France Award and was selected to represent Mississippi in the Committees Exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Mary is Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley. She and her husband, Patricio Moreno Toro, also a painter, reside in Oakland, California, and maintain a studio in Merida, Mexico; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we pay tribute and express appreciation for the talent of a World-Class Mississippi Abstract Artist and Arts Educator who has made Mississippi a better place and exemplifies the artistic traditions of our great state:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby extend the recognition of the Mississippi Legislature to Mary Lovelace O'Neal, the recipient of the 2022 Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Visual Art, and extend our congratulations to an important Mississippi Artist on this auspicious occasion.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Mary Lovelace O'Neal as part of the Governor's Arts Awards presentation and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.