by Winter Music

At the Reese Bullen Gallery, you can see Margins in Red, an art exhibit by acclaimed artist Kirk Maynard. Maynard’s work has been shown at universities such as Princeton University and Queens College, as well as museums like The Newark Museum of Art, Montclair Art Museum and the Springfield Museum of Art. Until Oct. 18, Maynard’s work is being displayed right here at Cal Poly Humboldt.

Margins in Red combines two series —Periphery, created mostly with oil pastels — and Red — featuring mixed media with photography, sculpture and collage elements. While both are visually distinct, the exhibit mingles them in a way that allows viewers to appreciate each piece while also seeing the connecting themes between each piece and series.

Periphery focuses on themes of identity and mental health. The use of oil pastels and lighting reflects emotional vulnerability and internal conflict that can be brought on by experiencing racism.

Red has imagery directly pertaining to systemic racism — most notably redlining. Redlining is the discriminatory practice of only allowing African Americans to live in specific communities with few financial services available. This has led to communities of minorities living in areas with underfunded schools, unavailable hospitals and little to no infrastructure maintenance. The series features photos shaded red, sculptures of communities divided by red paint and collages. 

The gallery’s reading area included The legacy of structural racism: Associations between historic redlining, current mortgage lending, and health, a scientific article published by Elsevier detailing the health effects of those forced to grow up in historically redlined districts. It also included the Humboldt Geographic article California’s Former Sundown Towns Face Up to Racist Legacies by Michael Christmas, which explains some of the historical and contemporary racism in Humboldt County.

Winter Music is a junior English major and copy editor for the Lumberjack. You can reach her at wlm38@humboldt.edu.