Editorial
Front Page - Friday, July 16, 2010
‘Novel art at novel prices’ offered by hometown student
Erica Tuggle
Studying art and first amendment law at the University of Texas has allowed Josiah Golson to realize and expand his artistic path, he says. He uses a variety of mediums, from charcoal to acrylic paint, to create images about many subjects to appeal to as many people as possible.
- Photo provided
Even though Josiah Golson is thousands of miles from his hometown, he says he wants to connect with his city and share the work he is doing alongside the growth Chattanooga is enjoying. The work Golson is immersed in is two fold: developing his artistic skill and attending law school at the University of Texas.
Golson grew up in Chatta-nooga, attended Central High School and then graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a degree in Communications. He began to take interest in art at a young age, although not pursing it as frequently as he could have in the early years, he says. He
dabbled in art over the years, from illustrating homemade comic books in middle school, to taking an art class in high school and doodling throughout college.
“I had this special fascination with it and it really felt like I was creating something I really enjoyed,” he says.
When he graduated, he says he made the decision to go to law school even though he didn’t see himself practicing law in the long run. Though he says, “I did want that education and experience of the world and society that you get from a legal degree. Being in law school, so much of your time is taken up in studies that it helped me realize the things I really do hold as important.”
Golson began to sketch pieces for himself while listening to music in a practice he calls “free-handing” until images took shape on paper. He says after this effort he began pursuing more specific ideas springing from imagination and inspiration.
“I am extremely curious, so I try to use my art as a mechanism for exploring and making something out of my curiosity,” he says.
He does this by using mediums of all kinds to explore the ideas of his studies and their artistic nature. Golson is now about to begin his last year at the University of Texas, where he chose to study because the distance from home would allow him to broaden his scope intellectually and artistically, he says. There he has focused his studies of first amendment and art law. The conflicts that arise with museums, artists and their works on display fascinate him, and it’s a good balance of two of his interests, he says.
“Law and art are two very different entities. Art relies on subjectivity and you don’t know who will like what, but with law, it is ideally consistent and supposed to make sense.”
Currently, Golson is entrenched in a multi-layered exhibition of his work called, “Josiah Golson Works.” With this series of artwork, he is trying to speak to as many different people and subjects as possible, he says, and does so by churning out piece after piece, all at a low selling price and with varied themes and mediums.
Golson says he keeps the price of his art low, because the first to buy from him were his fellow students, and he wants as many people as possible to get a hold of his work. He says he wants his art to be like buying music since the works can similarly be accessed easily, enjoyed repeatedly and don’t come as an extreme expense.
He says, “If I am one day so fortunate to actually be established where my artwork can accumulate a demand for high cost then that’s good, but for this project, I want to cover the cost of my art tools, my Web site and bigger pieces but at the same time I want as many as possible to have access to this and enjoy it.”
One of his most recent pieces features nine blindfolded justices on a court bench, drawn in black and white. He says this illustrates the difficulty of decision making for justices in striving to remain blind to prejudice and bias while keeping everything as black and white as possible, things he has learned the difficulty of in his time at law school.
Golson credits law school for allowing him to realize and further the direction of his art.
“I am very thankful for being in law school, because, really, I am not sure if I would have had these concepts and inspiration had I not gone,” he says. “Some see the legal profession as being a narrow thing, which means you fail to appreciate that lawyers are human beings, too, and have interests and passions. I hope to illustrate that.”
Golson can be contacted for commissioned work by email or phone through his Facebook site, “Josiah Golson Works.” Examples of his work, including pieces he has been commissioned for, are there as well.
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