The Visual Arts Program at Morgan State University Presents Visual Artist Paul Goodnight

Paul Goodnight, celebrated Visual Artist and Founder of a Boston-based art publishing and distribution company, Color Circle Art Publishing, Inc., will conduct a lecture /workshop, on October 17, 2007, for the students in the Visual Arts Department at Morgan State University.  Later that day, he will be the special guest at a Meet and Greet Reception in the James E. Lewis Museum of Art.  At the reception, approximately ten of his works of art will be on display and the public will have the opportunity to purchase, Mother’s Day Gifts, one of his limited edition reproductions.  Mr. Goodnight generously donated the prints to benefit the Visual Arts Program of Morgan State University; all of the proceeds will support the department.

Mr. Goodnight is a phenomenal artist who has received numerous awards and commissions for his amazing work.  One of his most recent commissions is to create a commemorative piece for the 2008 Olympics; Goodnight is one of 15 artists from around the world commissioned for this project.  Millions, through the sets of popular television series, have subtly view his colorful, sensuous, and vibrant creations.  When creating, he allows his extensive travels to places like Africa, Russia, China, Nicaragua, Brazil and the people to inspire him and inform his work, as it is masterfully executed evoking movement, heart, and a mystical quality.

Edmund Barry Gaither, Director, Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists says of Goodnight’s work,. . .“Coltrane blows. We hear the plaintive sounds--and more. Billie Holiday sings, we hear the melancholy wail--and more.  Paul Goodnight paints. We see the animated figures—and more.  Between the horn, and the man, there is confession.  Between the voice and the woman, there is truth. Between the paints and the painter there are revelations.  Revelations of his consummate skill as a draughtsman, of his sensuous colors and often reveling forms, of his ability to see between the figures, melding them into an environment of endless nuances where his own passions infuse the picture with human resonance.”

Art creates an avenue for me, an avenue I would like to travel. I want to play a part in helping build the road, but in reality, it's helping to build me. I'm starting to believe in things that I've always heard about, but never paid any attention to. Things like God; "being human" as opposed to the human being; prejudice; paranoia and abstinence.
Paul Goodnight’s artist statement

Goodnight joins a list of other artists who have been a part of Morgan State University’s Visual Arts Department’s Artist Lecture Series.  This series was initiated to help transition the students from the technical side of what they are learning into “real world” practical application.  Another goal of the series is to bridge the divide between the fine and commercial implementations in art.  Other artists who have shared their talents and knowledge with the students are Synthia Saint James, Larry Poncho Brown, Sylvia L. Walker, and Charles A. Bibbs; and each has donated prints that were sold to support the Visual Arts Department at Morgan.