Renowned contemporary artist Michael Ray Charles is returning to UH this fall as a Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of Painting and a senior College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences faculty member, 21 years after completing his MFA at the School of Art in 1993. Through caricature, satire and social criticism his work has questioned the American visual culture and its reign over racial stereotyping.
Charles was deemed one of the “100 of the most iconic artists of our time” in season one of the award-winning television series, Art in the Twenty-First Century, or Art21, which aired in 2001 on PBS. His work has been featured in the Museum of Modern Art in New York and other museums in the states and abroad. His first career exhibition was held at UH’s Blaffer Art Museum, known at the time as the Blaffer Art Gallery. The Michael Ray Charles, 1989 – 1997: An American Artist’s Work exhibition was written about in the New York Times, Texas Monthly magazine and was a respectable start to his career. His work has been shown worldwide, from Belgium and Spain to New York.
Upon completing his MFA at the School of Art, Charles moved to Austin to teach at the University of Texas. Charles recently spoke with The Cougar about his decision to return to his alma mater.
The Cougar: You are set to return to UH this fall as a Professor of Painting at the School of Art. Why did you decide to return to Houston?
Michael Ray Charles: It’s a number of things that factor in, but I would say at this particular point in my career in academia I feel like the University of Houston has made significant strides in becoming a Tier One institution. And it was very difficult to pass on an opportunity to continue in its growth in that particular area.
TC: How do you feel knowing that, as a graduate of UH’s MFA program, you will be teaching graduate students who are in the same program you once were in?
MRC: I’m excited about it. It’s just a feeling that you want to contribute and give something back. And you know, 22 years later it’s exciting. My expectations are high. I’m looking forward to it. I visited earlier this spring, and I saw that there were some very wonderful graduate students, and I just can’t wait to share my experience and knowledge with them.
TC: You are known for work that challenges American visual culture through racial stereotypes that once were considered popular art. Will your classes center around this theme, or will they be removed from your previous works?
MRC: None of my courses center around my specific creative production. However, my interaction with the students will center around cultivating creativity, teaching them various strategies and ideas about art and encouraging them and mentoring them to explore their own creativity to its fullest. It may manifest itself in a different way, but my objectives are simple — to try and inform the next generation of artists.
TC: In your episode of Art 21, you said people accuse you of perpetuating stereotypes and that “there is a fine line between perpetuating stereotypes and questioning them, and I’d like to get as close to it as possible.” Are you any closer to that line? Do you think your future at UH as a professor of painting may help you get there?
MRC: I think UH, like any institution, provides an atmosphere or a context for exploration. I’ve come to realize my work has been about difference. It centered specifically on issues about identity, specifically as it relates to African Americans in America. However, my research has taken me in many directions and I’ve explored representations of African Americans and what contributed to sustaining certain ideas and certain representations as well as what are the systems that allow us to move beyond certain representations. Will my work continue to center around specific issues of racial stereotypes? Yes — to a certain degree, but ultimately my work is about difference.
TC: Would you say your experiences you’re going to have at UH might help you grow towards that line?
MRC: Absolutely. I think the city of Houston right now is still the fourth-largest if not close to being the third-largest city in the country. Texas is perhaps one of the most influential states in the nation. And I think UH is in an interesting position right now, and I want to be a part of that. I feel it will definitely influence my work for whatever amount of time I’m here. The University is the second most diverse campus I think in the country right now. It’s a different space than one where I’m coming from currently and in most places in the country. So I would imagine the influences would be great.
TC: What is your goal as a new professor at the School of Art? Or rather, what do you hope your students will ultimately learn from you?
MRC: My ultimate goal is a personal goal: it’s to be the best at what I’m capable of doing. And it’s not in competition with anybody else — you have good days and you have bad days, it’s being the best when you have those bad days, and putting forth your best effort. As a professional, my objectives are simple and that is to continue to strive to be the best that I can be. In terms of my dealing with students, I like to keep things simple. I call it “simplexity.” I intend to encourage creativity and I intend to mentor and inspire. But none of that comes without discipline. I intend to create a context with rigor and discipline with regards to focused efforts in one’s creative practice.
