PUBLICATION CENTER

Chauncey Bailey brought depth to his field as a renowned journalist in Oakland. How local artists paid tribute to Bailey and brought depth to their art exhibition with a remarkable combination of Sunset Canvas, inkjet printing, oil paints, and cold wax.

Duane M. Conliffe and Shawn Weeden each bring a unique element of expertise to fine art and photography. Conliffe’s specialty is photography and Weeden’s is multi-media fine art, or transmedia, as Weeden calls it.

Conliffe and Weeden recently collaborated on a multi-media, multi-dimensional tribute piece to Chauncey Bailey, an iconic Oakland journalist who was murdered in the summer of 2007. The call went out to local African-American artists to honor Bailey’s legacy in their community with their art.

The original setting for the exhibit – the Chauncey Bailey Altar Project, Honoring the Life and Legacy of Chauncey Bailey – was the Oakland Museum in conjunction with its Dia de los Muertos exhibit. It would represent both Bailey’s work in the African-American community, as well as the universal cross-cultural aspects of it.

Putting it all Together

A collection of artists, currently headed by Conliffe and Weeden, were selected to create pyramid structures that would house artistic representations of Bailey’s life and life’s work. Other local artists who contributed to the project included Nannette Y. Harris, Lois Corrin, Karen Oyekanmi, Sara Marie Prada, and Makeda Rashidi. Former contributing artists, who are no longer with the project, included Carlos Garfias, Carla Oden, and Hershell West.

The pyramids built for the Oakland Museum were designed to be temporary. However, Conliffe and Weeden saw the importance of a more permanent display made of Masonite panels that would be displayed in other venues, providing Bailey’s tribute with a wider audience.

The more-permanent displays found a home for more than a month at the State of California Office Building in the Craft and Cultural Arts Gallery as part of an art exhibition and tour called The Art of Living Black.

A total of eight panels were created; two of the eight were painted, and the other six were printed. Two of the printed canvas panels received an additional layer of oil painting embellishments. Conliffe printed most of the eight panels on LexJet Sunset Select Matte Canvas with his Epson 9800.

Weeden – whose panel for the exhibition was painted, photographed, and then printed – came up with the idea to clear coat all of the panels with Galkyd paint from Gamblin Artists Colors and then add a layer of Gamblin’s cold wax medium.

“It gave the prints a resin look and protected them. It created a beautiful effect, and people often ask about how we achieved it. I didn’t want to use beeswax, because it’s stiffer. We also didn’t want it to be very shiny or glossy. With the cold wax medium we brought down the shine, buffed it out, and gave it depth,” says Weeden. “We spread the cold wax in a thin layer, let it sit over night, and then buff it out. Duane was very taken with the fact that you could buff it out with cotton gloves and rags. It creates a gleam and satin finish, plus it holds the color of the canvas.”

“I printed six of the eight panels, and one of the painters painted the other two panels and embellished two of the printed ones. Usually, I would use a clear coat, but with this product I was intrigued because you can control the sheen, and work it to the point where you want it. We worked it out with all eight panels so that they all had a consistent sheen,” adds Conliffe.

The pyramids were designed and constructed to maintain the assembled integrity of the panels using super-strong neodymium magnets from All Magnetics. Four magnets were used along the edge of each panel, which were countersunk in wood blocks with two bare magnets at each panel tip. All of these were epoxied onto the panel backs.

“The idea for using magnets was to make assembly and disassembly of the pyramids very quick and easy. When the panels are placed in close proximity to one another, they snap to together. To disassemble, just pull them apart,” says Conliffe.

The pyramid panels were installed on two-foot-tall custom pedestals, finished with brass edging from ProEdge Systems and gold crowns. “It might seem like a small detail, but if not handled properly, the finishing elements would detract from the presentation,” says Conliffe.

Through experimentation, determination, and sheer talent, Conliffe, Weeden, and the artists involved in the project were able to successfully mix media for an impactful and lasting exhibit that went far beyond the initial concept. “There is perfection in my imperfection when it comes to my art…. I enjoy the mistakes I make along the way, because that is where I learn to get it right,” says Weeden.