Owens Daniels: Brown Paper Bag

On view through December 29

Owens Daniels is a visual artist/photographer, educator and the face behind ODP Art+Design. His photographic career started at the U.S. Army Photographic School of Cartography, learning the basics of photography and photo printing. He worked for several years as a freelance photographer and extended his photographic career by fine-turning the art of visual storytelling and developing a distinctive, decisive and intimate photojournalistic signature style. His awards include a 2019 Duke Energy Grant and the Z Smith Reynolds Lead Artist award, in addition to Artist in Residences, Public Art Installations, and a variety of other commissions.

Brown Paper Bag is a project depicting African American culture masked within the value of worth based on skin tones, a concept known as colorism. This work deals with everyday people and their struggle with self-acceptance and societal values. It provides a safe space for the viewer and subject to challenge one another's perceptions about race, class, and power. The project is based around the brown paper bag test, a form of discrimination within the African American community where skin color was compared to the shade of a brown paper bag. The test often determined who was allowed into certain venues and organizations. Daniels was inspired to create this body of work and interactive exhibition through exposure to a combination of issues in the media and how they manipulated African American culture.

Owens Daniels' artwork will be available for purchase during the run of the exhibition.

About Southern Idiom

Located in SECCA's Preview Gallery, Southern Idiom is a new series that explores local artists and the variety of forms they produce. Past artists include Frank Campion, Kevin Calhoun, Eric Juth, Laura Lashley, Travis Philips, and Cindy Taplin. Artwork in the series is for sale, and proceeds benefit both the artist and SECCA's exhibition fund.