Artist Karl Wilkes begins Legacy Tour in Hughes Springs

 Toni Walker

Editor

news@steelcountrybee.com

The last week has had historical importance for the city of Hughes Springs. Internationally renowned artist, Karl W. Wilkes, began his Legacy Tour with a week-long artist residency at The Legacy Center in Hughes Springs.

The journey that led to Wilkes’ Hughes Springs residency began at the beginning of the year, when local frame shop owner Sandy Lanier was clearing out her father’s frame shop. “I bought out my dad’s shop,” said Lanier, “all of his inventory and everything. There were hundreds of prints that Lanier was going through, when she found one that caught her eye.

“I found this one, and there was something about it. Dad and I made a frame for it, and I was just going to display it at the Underground Railroad Quilt display, then donate it to the high school,” said Lanier. She could tell the print detailed several famous African Americans, and began to think there may more to the print than just paper and ink. Lanier’s father had actually had two of the prints, but had sold one several years ago. He had told her, when she found it, to “Just put a frame on it and donate it somewhere.” Although he could not remember specifics, he knew he had purchased the print in Fort Polk, Louisiana.

The print, which is numbered 167/2500 and signed by the artist, Karl Wilkes, is entitled “History Lesson #5,” and features a slave ship, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Fredrick Douglas, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Lanier contacted the Karl Wilkes Gallery, and left a message requesting information regarding the print. Several days later, the day before she was to display the piece at the Quilt display, she received a phone call, asking for specifics about the print.

It was that phone call which set in motion the preparations for Wilkes’ visit to Hughes Springs. Upon receiving Lanier’s message, Wilkes began trying to recall who in Texas he may have sold this lithograph to. Upon speaking to Lanier, and without divulging his identity, Wilkes asked her to check for multiple items that would determine whether or not the piece was authentic. “When she confirmed to me the piece was real, I told her she had something special, for two reasons: one, it is the real thing, and two, that I was the artist,” recalled Wilkes.

Lanier and Wilkes kept in contact, as he told her that he would love to come to Hughes Springs and do an art residency with some of his pieces. Lanier began talking to the City of Hughes Springs to secure a venue and the proper funding in order for Wilkes to come.

Wilkes’ work ranges from sculpture, painting, and photography to being a playwright, filmmaker, and author. He has won numerous awards, including the American Art Award in Europe and the International Arts Festival in Korea. The works on display at The Legacy were the same pieces used during his exhibit at Carnegie Hall. Wilkes has done presentations at the United Nations, and Congress, and was the recipient of “Karl Wilkes Day” in Las Vegas.

“History Lesson #5,” the piece that set his Hughes Springs connection into motion, is a part of the National Black Archive, and hangs in over a dozen museums. It is recognized within the art community as a Masterpiece, and allowed Wilkes to become the first African American visual artist to produce a full-featured film and a short film for PBS.

Wilkes has been referred to as the “Last Renaissance Man,” as the number of artists who excel in multiple genres is dwindling. “You can do anything with computers,” said Wilkes, “but a mark, made by man, is valuable.” Wilkes’ works take perspectives on history and historical figures. He most recently developed a Black History Month program for the Burger King Corporation, and has served as a Keynote and Motivational Speaker for Fortune 500 Companies. Wilkes’ second stop on his Legacy Tour will be Washington D.C.

Numerous area businesses and individuals assisted in making Wilkes’ residency a reality. Those sponsors included: Southwestern Electric Company (SWEPCO), Wildflower Inn and Restaurant, First National Bank of Hughes Springs, Humphrey Electric, Northeast Texas Credit Union, McKinney Food Service, Tooter’s, Scott Pollan, The Bea-Hive, Ms. Carol Hodges, Shelli and Billy Fickling, Rick Nelson, James Lewis, Norma Harris with Thrive, Shane Pennington, Daingerfield Flower Mill, Reeder-Davis Funeral Home, and Al Gunkel.