We recently connected with Angelo Hopson and have shared our conversation below.
Angelo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
As far as learning the craft three things are true; you learn the craft but you also never stop learning the craft. The creation and understanding of art, of any genre is not finite. And thirdly, life experience is an intricate part of learning the craft. It’s like a bottomless pot of soup that the more experience that goes into it the better it tastes. Usually the artists who are hypersensitive, have unique life experiences and have experienced a plethora of cultures are the best at what they do, even if they are not conscious of it. I grew up in a single parent home, poor, and was thrown into special education for a learning disability that I did not have. Art was like an escape for me because I could create my own world. And as I became older and I started to grow as a man, as a human being, so did my art grow. I began to create what I saw, what I wanted to see, what I experienced and what I wanted to experience. Just recently this year I published my first book, “Flesh of My Flesh, Thoughts of My Thoughts: Insights from the MUSE Exhibition” which is a memoir of certain parts of my life translated through canvas and then translated through literature. Once I became great at art I realized I was great at other things as well like working in the community, speaking for the unheard, educating the youth, and expressing my thoughts through words. When I was a kid I thought the only thing I was good at was art but once I developed a knowledge of self, a knowledge of history, a knowledge of the world around me I developed a supreme sense of self confidence. And that supreme confidence changed my life and impacted my art in ways that I dreamed about as a child.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I was born January 30th, 1986, in Long Beach, California. Shortly after I moved to a small city, Slidell, Louisiana where I was raised. At the age of two years old I developed a fondness for drawing and at the age of six I decided I wanted to be an artist. After winning my first art competition in Kindergarten at Alton Elementary I was selected by St. Tammany Parish to be a part of the Talented Arts Program (TAP). I remained in the program until my senior year of high school. This led to me being exposed to various forms, various styles of visual art, and my works being displayed in local galleries. Since then, my art has been published by Harvard University’s 115th issue of “Transition” magazine in 2014 and his painting of “George Stinney Jr., Unsung Martyr” is a permanent fixture of Atlanta’s most historic library, the Robert W. Woodruff Library after winning “Best of Show” during the First Annual AUC Arts Festival in November 2018. .
While being highly gifted in one area of my life, academically I was subjected to Special Education. Like many Black boys in America, my self-confidence and self-development was crushed, but fortunately for me it was not beyond repair. After years of underachieving in public school and college I decided to go into the workforce during the worst time possible, the Great Recession. During this period of tribulation, I became a father, a community organizer, an activist, and I acquired a newfound love for myself. In 2017, after coming back from an eleven day trip in Europe, I decided my life needed a drastic change so I registered at a local community college, San Bernardino Valley College to study business administration. I took advantage of an opportunity to go on a Black College Tour and was accepted into Clark Atlanta University on April 2nd, 2018. I left California on faith with no other plan to pay my tuition except by applying for scholarships. Over the course of two years, I won over $200,000 worth of academic scholarships and graduated with Latin Honors. I am the first male in my immediate family with a Bachelor’s Degree.
Before I started the next chapter in my life, I deemed it necessary to tell my story and become a beacon of light for those who have been both miseducated and misunderstood. I now reside in Dayton, Ohio and have made my mark already by having my work purchased and displayed at Wright State University, The Dayton Metro Library, and a local upscale restaurant in Downtown Dayton. I was also featured in two exhibits at the Dayton Art Institute (Black Heritage Through Visual Rhythms and The Paul Laurence Dunbar 150th Celebration in 2022) and the “Black Love” juried exhibition at the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in 2023. I work in education for Dayton Public School District as a life coach at David H. Ponitz Career Tech High School. I recently had my first solo art exhibit in Dayton (M.U.S.E.) at the Edward A. Dixon Gallery. Seven pieces were displayed, and each has its own story which were told within the pages of my first published book “Flesh of My Flesh, Thoughts of My Thoughts: Insights from the MUSE Exhibit. MUSE is an acronym for “Models of Untapped Self-Discovery and Expression.” I encourage everyone to purchase a copy. It can be purchased on Amazon in both digital and paperback format. “Flesh of My Flesh, Thoughts of My Thoughts” is a cult classic and the literary world’s biggest kept secret, for now, but It is definitely a must read, especially for creatives and those who have a fascination with urban philosophy.
My primary artistic skill set is acrylic painting with a specialty in portraits. However, from time to time I step out of my comfort zone and create wonderful pieces that range from abstract to pop art and surrealism. My favorite artist of All-Time is Salvador Dali and I draw inspiration from him when I do out-of-the-box pieces. I also do commissions for clients as well but regardless if a collector owns a commissioned piece or a personal piece, it brings a sense of culture and prestige to any establishment whether home or abroad. I write my signature on my pieces as “Angelo Hopson” but I go by Angelo Pierro and you can find me on Instagram as angelo.pierro.arts.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Well this is an easy question to answer because I’ve discussed it so much with my peers and people in general when I talk about art. The first step society must do to best support artists is to educate themselves about art so they can have a higher appreciation for the craft and the work that goes into it. That way they’ll have a realistic value for art and those who create the art itself. For some reason, well, for the reason I already stated, a large group of people (not race specific) have this idea that artwork should be sold for next to nothing in order to convenience the culturally uneducated. In their heads they disregard the amount of time, cost of materials and mental strain it takes to create art because they have never been invested in creating art themselves. Yet these same individuals will look in awe at lavish items that add no cultural significance to their lives. For instance, I have a painting priced at $2,500, three by four foot canvas, custom framed, and 100 hours of work to create it. A person will say, “It is too expensive and out of my budget” but the same individual will have Gucci, Birkin, or Luis Vitton bags priced at $1,500 and higher. And these items will not increase in value but artwork does. America is more ignorant and less sophisticated than what it used to be. We wait until an artist becomes popular to support them but by that time their work is truly unaffordable by the average person. Artists need the support while they are up and coming, not when they have blown up already. Artists like myself are using the craft to create creative communities and give something beautiful to the world. However, it is an uphill battle because art is not a part of most peoples’ value system. So as artists we are left to have our value assessed and butchered by gatekeepers (art critics) who are not artists and have no experience creating art, yet they feel as though they know everything about art, including what they believe is valuable. Artists and the people who are a part of the culture should dictate the value of art. But again, this goes back to the people gaining an understanding of art, the process and the purpose of art. Right now vultures are running the art world and it’s been like that for a while.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Some of the worst advice I ever heard was, “Never change.” The best advice I ever heard was, “A wise man changes, a foolish man stays the same.” The world is constantly evolving and changing, as well as information. If one does not adapt they are left behind. I had to learn that I can keep my core values and adjust to what works or what is most efficient. Sometimes we have an innate nature of thinking we are right all the time. Nobody likes to be wrong but true intelligence is acknowledging your own ignorance. I had to learn how to change my opinion based on new information. A know-it-all knows nothing. Once I mastered being comfortable with being wrong the world became my oyster and I was able to learn things that some people will never grasp or understand in their lifetime, like the importance of your obligation you have to your ancestors who paved the way for the opportunities you have today. I have a debt to pay and that debt is a part of my purpose while I’m here on Earth. I know people who are my age but still have the same way of thinking they had during their adolescent years, Adult children. I believe the clinical term for that is arrested development. Muhammad Ali said it best, “If a man is 40 years old and he thinks the same way he did when he was 20 years old he has wasted 20 years of his life.” And this is why the world is in it’s current condition, the people who are really about change are carrying too much of the weight on their own. The average person my age has already given up on life, settled on a life of mediocrity where one lives for the weekend, pays bills, and then die.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @angelo.pierro.arts
- Other: Link to my book on Amazon “Flesh of My Flesh, Thoughts of My Thoughts: Insights from the MUSE Exhibit” https://tinyurl.com/253mjbsc