Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 12, 1994 TAG: 9405120146
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By ALMENA HUGHES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Her paintings, on view Friday through Aug.19 at Roanoke's Harrison Museum of African American Culture, are likely to prompt among viewers much discussion, speculation, admiration and emotion. Plus, Camp hopes, one more thing:
"The one thing I hope people do when they look at my work is to realize the need to get back to recognizing simple relationships," the artist said recently by phone from Detroit.
Indeed, Camp's 17 acrylic, watercolor and mixed-media paintings in the Harrison show are filled with depictions of simple relationships and love. There's "Naima," the mother figure, rife with symbols and ghostly ancestors. There's a joyous woman dressed all in white - perhaps a bride. There's "Uncle Jack" in his soldier uniform; two somber-faced children in "Toys for Xmas"; a Sunday-best-dressed family in "Family Affair," a self-portrait of the artist. A man cuddles on his knee a boy who looks a lot like him; a young couple - maybe newlywed or engaged - hold hands and smile.
Camp said she pays homage to her ancestors through each body of work, which can be divided into three parts. The "Spiritual/Dream Guardians" segments are images of those who watch over and guide her. "Those Who Came Before Me" are images of family members and personal ancestors' ancestors. "Heroes and Heroines" recognize the continuum.
"What I've seen of Camp's art is colorful and bold. It's representative of family and ancestral ties and about passing down love. It's somewhat spiritual and very emotional," said Harrison curator Aletha Cherry, busy on a recent weekday cataloging and preparing the exhibit for presentation.
Camp, 37, started painting when she was 11 and held her first show - a clothesline exhibit - at age 12. She has a bachelor of arts degree with majors in art history and studio art from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's degree in arts administration from Drexel University.
The native of Camden, N.J., is the recipient of numerous awards, including the most recent Award of Distinction from the Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation. And her various works have been featured in Essence magazine, National Geographic World, The New York Times, Horizons and Artspeak magazine, as well as on several television shows. Last fall, Camp's fabric figures were among an exhibit at Roanoke's Art Museum of Western Virginia.
But Camp frankly admits that it was not awards and prestige, but tight times a few years ago that pushed her to expand her artistic expression.
"My interest in doll-making actually evolved out of greed," Camp said. "I was working in publishing as a graphic designer and technical illustrator and trying to make ends meet. I decided to make some dolls to sell at a Kwanzaa festival so I could make some extra money."
From her beginnings making commercial, consumer-oriented children's dolls, Camp expanded her craft to artistic, one-of-a-kind creations. She said she thinks it's ironic that the doll-making, which she started in 1982, has almost achieved the same level of renown as her paintings.
"Dolls are different because they're in human form, they're more endearing," Camp said. "People can relate to them. They're cathartic, symbolic. People get involved with them."
While most of Camp's dolls are tied up in the several shows in which her works are being exhibited, the artist will on Saturday show slides of and discuss doll-making, as well as show a few samples of her dolls.
A third dimension that Camp brings to her artistic expertise, which she said increases her sensitivity to the artist/exhibitor relationship, is that of museum administrator. She was the founding director of the controversial Experimental Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington - a position that also made her the first black woman gallery director in the Smithsonian Institution's 147-year history, she proudly points out.
After holding that job for nearly five years, Camp became executive director of the Museum of African American History in Detroit at the beginning of 1994. When that 28-year-old institution's new 110,000-square-feet facilities are completed, it will be the largest museum of African American culture in the United States.
"Honoring African Ancestors" A solo exhibition by painter and doll-maker Kimberly Camp, Friday through Aug.19. Meet-the-artist reception Friday at 6 p.m. Free doll-making demonstration Saturday, noon-2:30 p.m. Harrison Museum of African American Culture 523 Harrison Ave. N.W., Roanoke. 345-4818.
by CNB