The St. Augustine Art Association (STAAA) celebrated the opening of its newest exhibit, “When in the Course of Human Events,” on Friday, June 5, during St. Augustine’s First Friday Art Walk.
The exhibit, presented as part of the America250 celebration, invited artists to consider the Declaration of Independence as a whole and how its philosophies or grievance resolutions have evolved over the years.
The exhibit, hosted by the St. Augustine Art Association at 22 Marine St. in St. Augustine, is available online at staaa.org/when-in-the-course-of-human-events and in person now through Sunday, Aug. 2.
Jennifer Flynt, executive director of STAAA, announced the award winners at a ceremony on Friday, June 5, during the exhibit’s opening. Awards were sponsored by the Benjamin & Jean Troemel Arts Foundation, Alice Alger and Avery St. Jean Art.
The winning artists are:
Best in Show winner Ryan Weldon’s oil painting, “I Am,” was inspired by a riff on the Declaration’s opening statement that came to him while reflecting on the Civil Rights Movement, the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement, all of which have led to the current state of civil rights in the United States.
“When in the course of human events a person has to stand up against oppression and make a statement so that others acknowledge the wrongs of our society,” Weldon said in his artist statement.
The man in the painting is holding a sign with the phrase, “I AM A MAN,” which has served as a powerful declaration of dignity, equality and independence against systemic racism, police brutality and oppressive working conditions for centuries.
It began as a response to the term “boy” being used as a pejorative insult toward men of color and slaves. The phrase became a guiding theme during the Civil Rights Movement, famously used during a workers’ strike in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968.
Jenny Keyser was awarded the Alice Alger Most Creative award for her striking piece, “American Mother.” The mixed-media creation features a 1950s dress, deconstructed with sections dipped in rubber then reattached, and a broken freshwater pearl necklace hanging from the neck and scattered down the front.
“I was inspired by the internal struggle I faced when becoming a new mother — ‘How do you successfully balance being a wife and mother while having a successful full-time career?’ Before becoming a mother, I was the owner and designer of a successful high-end jewelry design firm. It was the unraveling of my dream as an American mother who could successfully ‘do it all,’” she said in her artist statement.
“When in the Course of Human Events” is sponsored in part by grants from the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council and the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.
