Senate Resolution 19

(As Adopted by Senate)

A RESOLUTION EXTENDING THE RECOGNITION OF THE MISSISSIPPI SENATE TO TUPELO MULTIMEDIA ARTIST KE FRANCIS AS THE RECIPIENT OF THE 2023 GOVERNOR'S ARTS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN VISUAL ARTS.

WHEREAS, the Governor's Arts Awards Program has announced its 2023 recipients, which include internationally known Tupelo Multimedia Artist Ke Francis as the 2023 Governor's Arts Award recipient for Excellence in Visual Arts; 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, Ke Francis of Tupelo is 40 years into a successful and prolific career as a multimedia artist, writer and publisher; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Francis has exhibited his art nationally and internationally and is known as much for his striking visual works as he is for his book imprint and his collaborations with leading figures in the art world, including William Christenberry, Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Stackhouse; and

WHEREAS, Francis was raised in Tupelo and returned there after college and opened Francis Studios. He and his wife started Hoopsnake Press in 1970. From 1969 through 1996, he worked as an independent sculptor and printmaker. During this period, he exhibited his work nationally and internationally and was represented by Arthur Roger Gallery in New Orleans, Morgan Gallery in Kansas City, Fendrick Gallery in Washington, D.C., and Bill Lowe Galleries in Atlanta and Los Angeles. In 1980, Francis began working on the "Reconstruction" series, which depicts the destruction wrought by tornadoes and the rebuilding that goes on afterward; and

WHEREAS, his idiosyncratic style-part Cubist, part "primitive" and his particular vocabulary of images, including the circular saw, combine to create quirky yet heroic paeans to the human spirit. Francis has had more than 50 one- and two-person exhibits, including a solo exhibit of 61 works at Terrace Gallery in Orlando, Florida. His books, paintings, prints, photographs and sculptures are in over 30 major public and private international collections including the Getty Museum and the National Gallery; and

WHEREAS, Francis served as a writer and regional editor for Untitled in Memphis and Atlanta Art Papers. His poetry and short stories have been published by numerous journals across the nation; and

WHEREAS, Francis also helps operate Hoopsnake Press which includes typecasting equipment, large etching and relief printing presses, and two letterpresses to handle the design, illustration, and printing of books. He runs the press in Tupelo with his wife, Mary, and daughter, Kerry; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we pay tribute and express appreciation for the talent of a Mississippi multimedia artistic leader who has made Mississippi a better place and exemplifies the artistic and literary traditions of our great state:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby extend the recognition of the Mississippi Senate to Tupelo multimedia artist Ke Francis as the recipient of the 2023 Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Visual Arts and extend our congratulations to a multimedia artistic leader on this auspicious occasion.

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