University Museum at Texas Southern Permanent Collection
Title
University Museum at Texas Southern Permanent Collection
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This sculpture features a small bird placed in the lap of a larger abstract figure, perhaps suggesting the larger figure is the small bird’s mother. The body of this sculpture has a smooth surface finished with a thin rim around the edges. The act of nurturing and providing shelter is reflected in the placement of the smaller bird. Mother-child relationships are frequently showcased in TSU student terracottas.
This sculpture’s form resembles a sphinx, with its humanlike face and animal body parts. The body is covered in ornamental embellishments, especially spirals. These decorations are a key characteristic of the terracotta sculptures created by the students of Professor Carroll Harris Simms, with spirals as a key motif.
This drawing by Prinston Nnanna shows a Black baby sitting on a pile of books. Behind the baby, there is a collection of various political newspaper clippings and headlines, which may be provoking the child's saddened disposition.
This small ceramic plate created by Carroll Harris Simms is made from red clay with a white, bubbling glaze. It has slightly raised, curved edges. Simms worked alongside Dr. John T. Biggers to build Texas Southern's art department from the ground up. Simms' decorative artworks remain in high demand by collectors.
Askia’s drawing is a side portrait of a man looking into the distance. There is no background and only a sliver of his shirt is visible, implying the man is not confined to a specific time or setting. Many of Askia’s pieces are similar - drawn with pastel on paper, and placing the subjects outside of time and space.
Like his other sculptures, Vital's maquette highlights hybridism, animal forms, and sexuality. Overall, the sculpture's form resembles a person sitting on a throne. On both sides of the top, a reptile creature sits above the shape of an open eye or breast. Towards the bottom, a phallic form is decorated with swirls, while a single claw-like structure supports the sculpture. The sculpture makes use of negative space in multiple sections.
Vital's maquette appears to portray an intersex human-chicken hybrid, which displays both male and female sex organs. The artist adorned the sculpture with swirl embellishments, a common motif in TSU terracottas. Vital would go on to make a full-scale version of this sculpture.
“Shrine #2,” by Harry Vital, features an intersex bird with both male and female features. This is a common theme found in Dogon sculptures originating from West Africa; these types of statues play a role in fertility rituals. The body has a smooth surface, while the wings and head are embellished with spiral designs.
Williams' drawing is of a Senufo female carving. Texas Southern art students would often use the African Art collection on campus to create drawings like this. Dr. Biggers, the founder of the art department, would bring artwork from his travels to Africa back to Houston. This practice allowed students to get a glimpse of African customs and art, which was a key part of the Afrocentrist curriculum that Biggers worked to develop.
This unknown student’s bust was created during their time as an art student at TSU. Under the instruction of Professor Carroll Harris Simms, artists would create self-portraits embellished with decorations like spirals and accentuated crown pieces, like in this sculpture, which features a tortoise, a common symbol of longevity. These busts are inspired by Nok terracotta sculptures and Ife busts, which Simms saw during his travels to Western Africa.
This unknown student’s bust was created during their time as an art student at TSU. Under the instruction of Professor Carroll Harris Simms, artists would create self-portraits embellished with decorations like spirals and accentuated crown pieces, like in this sculpture. These busts are inspired by Nok terracotta sculptures and Ife busts, which Simms saw during his travels to Western Africa.
Elizabeth Montgomery Shelton’s “Self-portrait” is a bust of the artist herself, carrying her child on her back. Embellishments, including spirals, adorn her head in a faithful execution of Professor Carroll Harris Simms’ instruction. The artist had previously created a different self-portrait sculpture and was encouraged to create this piece by Biggers and Simms after the birth of her child.
This maquette is a largely realistic depiction of a sea lion. The sea lion is adorned with swirls, the most common visual motif used by Simms' students in their sculptures. The final, full-size version of the sculpture contains even more embellishments that the maquette lacks.
Rison-Isom’s print depicts a woman kneeling to clean wooden floors with a scrubber and bucket. The room appears worn and cracked, indicating age and heavy use. This work highlights the importance of Black women’s labor, which has too often been neglected. In the 19th and 20th centuries, huge numbers of Black women worked as domestic laborers.
Perkins’ landscape painting displays a rural scene featuring barns, farmhouses, and a sleeping cow. The landscape is divided with lush greenery and dry, brown land. The fence shows its age in its bent and leaning posts. Dr. John Biggers encouraged Texas Southern student artists to create art based on what they saw – perhaps this instruction inspired Perkins, who may have grown up in a rural environment similar to this one.
Scott’s sculpture depicts a large rooster crowing. The artist uses multiple colors of clay in his piece. Like other sculptures created for classes that Professor Simms taught, “Rooster” features numerous embellishments throughout the work, including various nodules and swirls. Creating sculptures of this style requires multiple firings in the kiln.
Moe's work displays a joyous religious gathering, featuring a preacher, dancers, musicians, and others. The group appears to be performing a ring shout, or praise break, a characteristic tradition of some Black churches in the Southern US involving dancing, stomping, and singing.
Simms’ ceramic vessel is hollow, with an opening at the top, and has a red and gray glaze. Carroll Harris Simms worked alongside Dr. John T. Biggers to establish the Texas Southern University Art Department. Simms taught sculpture, ceramics, and jewelry-making classes.
This work by Raheem Bellard is a self-portrait of the artist, with his face illuminated by the sun, wearing a green scarf. Cool colors are used throughout the piece, which enhances the tranquility of the composition.
“Queen Rabbit,” by Earl Jones, features a mythical female rabbit. The center of the body includes an oval-like opening with identical circular holes on the legs and feet, creating balance. The rabbit’s ears are constructed with a removable crown piece; the same technique is used in several busts created by other Texas Southern artists.
Pruitt’s painting is based on a photo he took of the preacher of his childhood church. At the time this piece was painted, the artist was exploring different faiths and struggling with his religious beliefs. Pruitt cites Basquiat and Rauschenberg as stylistic inspirations that influenced this painting. The muddied brushstrokes used to create this piece reflect the internal struggle of the artist.
Morris’ painting is a golden, close-up portrait of singer and performer Prince; his head is slightly bowed and his eyes are closed. The painting is inspired by Prince 3, a photograph of the singer taken by Herb Ritts in 1991. Before his death, Prince became one of the best-selling musicians of all time, celebrated for his soaring vocals, multi-instrumental skills, and pioneering aesthetics and sounds.
Obey’s sculpture, “Primeval Couple,” features a prehistoric male and female couple fused within the arms of one another. The heads of the figures are decorated with embellished swirls, often featured in the terracottas made by students of Carroll Harris Simms. Simms related Obey’s design to those he had seen in the mountains of northern Nigeria.
Toussaint's painting, "Prickled," pushes back against the notion that women's role is limited to being nurturers. In her own words, her "creative perspective is rooted in a sensitive and feminine lens—one that challenges the common reduction of femininity to gentleness and passivity." After graduating from Texas Southern University, Toussaint started teaching art in a Houston-area middle school.
Oliver's painting depicts vanguard Black politicians from the Reconstruction period following emancipation. Radical Reconstruction saw the election of dozens of Black lawmakers in former slave states like Texas. After 1897, Texas didn't elect another Black legislator until 1966.
Fax’s painting is a portrait of a young man sitting with his hands in his lap. Yearbook photos suggest the subject may be George Latson, who was an art student at TSU at this time. During his career, Fax taught and held residencies at a variety of institutions, including Texas Southern University. He became internationally acclaimed for his work as a cartoonist, illustrator, and writer.
Settles' painting tackles the ongoing issue of police brutality against and harassment of Black Americans. The fluid swirls on the men's clothing, the anxious onlookers, and the white officer's drawn baton illustrate the high intensity and precarious emotion of the piece.
Hinojos' painting, "Pescador de Hombres," draws on Christian themes. The painting references the story of Jesus' miraculous feeding of the multiple with bread and fish, but also a symbolic representation of Christ as the "Bread of Life," a source of spiritual sustenance. Hinojos is a graduate of Texas Southern, accomplished airbrush artist, and founder of the Houston Art Center, an organization that aims to support artists in the Hobby area of Houston.
Morris's sculpture depicts a stylized version of the artist's own head and neck. As was required by Professor Simms, the artist adorned her self-portrait with swirls on the neck and rear of the scalp. The bust's blue hue is unique within the Texas Southern terracotta collection.
Hall’s painting is a surreal landscape of water flowing through a creek with various items along the path. There is also a faint inscription that reads “Jesus Saves” on a boulder to the far left. A mango, fossil, and butterfly are all pictured in the foreground. The loose and fluid paint strokes are reminiscent of impressionist paintings and characteristic of Hall’s style, particularly his more recent works.
