ArtPrize 2012 Spotlight – Grandpa Morgan Tuskegee Airmen

Just a few nights ago, Faith and I walked around ArtPrize and saw some amazing art.

But the one piece that is *still* my favorite is one I've been seeing since before ArtPrize began last week.   The drawing is phenomenal and moving, not only in its difficulty but its sentiment as well.

It's done by a seemingly humble and understated man named Richard Mitchell.  Last year, he did an all-ballpoint-pen drawing of an Indian Chief for ArtPrize 2011.

For ArtPrize 2012, Richard's entry is called "Grandpa Morgan Tuskegee Airmen" and it's located in the lobby of the Huntington Bank building downtown (the building with TGI Friday's in the front).

From the ArtPrize website, he writes:

My work for this year is a commemorative piece about my grandfather who was a Tuskegee airmen in WWII. I have researched his war record, images of the P-51 Mustang airplane he flew and even located an audio recording he made of his "memorable experiences in WWII." (link below).  From this research I created a large ink-on-fabric drawing of him in uniform next to his airplane the P-51 Mustang. It is 9ft x 5ft.  Completed entirely freehand this is a ballpoint pen drawing on stretched cotton.  I hope to celebrate his memory and tell his story through the exhibition of this piece in the ArtPrize event.

VOTE: 52330

If you'd like to hear the recollections of his Grandpa, the video is here: