Topically Yours - Sacred Art Painter Laura James

Deardra Shuler talks with artist & painter Bronxite Laura James.  As a child, Laura spent time at the Brooklyn Public Library where she explored her passion for literature, photography,& later painting. Her African and Caribbean-American heritage & love of stories, design, & color, are all elements in her work. Painting in sacred & secular styles, James exposes the sacrosanct and the ordinary. Her work is timeless.  She has created a diverse body of work of secular and sacred work; icons that expand the collection of stories traditionally painted in this style. James is pleased to help black people see themselves in their sacred texts of  African religions and Christianity, a place where racialized people have curiously been excluded in the west. James illustrated The Book of the Gospels lectionary, published by Liturgy Training Publications in 2001,  In its 2nd edition, the book is used worldwide by numerous Christian denominations. Her religious art is at the forefront of a more inclusive representation of Biblical figures. Ms. James has recently expanded her repertoire to include sacred images from other traditions including the veneration of the Divine Feminine, Yoruba, Buddhism, ancient Islam and Egyptian themes.  A Director of BX200: Bronx Visual Artists Directory, an online database featuring some of the Bronx’s best visual artists. This project is a collaboration with over 200 Bronx artists and organizations. Ms. James has curated numerous exhibitions over the past 30 years. Laura has worked for years on paintings dealing with race & class in America & the Caribbean. Currently she is working on a series of 10  paintings she hopes will show how the past is still being realized in the present https://yale.app.box.com/s/ulqdw7jbckkr7m7a36d1ypt40nmemzfc