Black Artists Matter: a selection of influential African American artists from Texas A&M University Collections
Dr. Clarence Talley Sr.
(Image Source: www.clarencetalley.com)
Artist Biography
Dr. and Reverend Clarence Talley Sr. is well known to Prairie View and Texas A&M University. Originally from Alexandria, LA, Dr. Talley was interested in art from an early age. As a young man he drew pictures of his favorite superheroes from comic books. His teachers encouraged him to create backdrops for bulletin boards and sets for school plays. In high school he won district and state competitions for his artistic projects.
His academic and artistic achievements earned him a four year scholarship to Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA where he studied under the renowned sculptor Frank Hayden and modern artist Jean Paul Hubbard, who was the Department Chair at the time. Dr. Talley completed his BFA in 1973, then went on to earn an MFA from Louisiana State University in 1975, another MA from Houston Graduate School of Theology, and a DBS from Master’s International School of Divinity. In 1979 he participated in the Carribbean-American Exchange program sponsored by the Phelps-Stoke Fellowship. He is a Fulbright-Hays Scholar to Africa where he has traveled extensively in East and West Africa.
Working in a variety of media, including watercolor, photography, acrylic, and collage, Talley infuses his art with color, texture, and movement. In the examples on display in Black Artist Matter, Talley depicts the Black experience as one marked by birth and rebirth, where continuity is built through family. His tendency to show human forms surrounded by abstract shapes suggests the idea of humanity set within the scope of a timeless and shapeless universe. His compositions are informed by his faith and morality while his subjects are diverse, and his influences and styles range from contemporary to traditional. His passion and unrestrained approach captures the African American experience and the human condition. In the case of Dr. Clarence Talley Sr. that experience is one where the individual is connected and flows within the universal oneness of a spiritual humanity.
Today Dr. Clarence Talley Sr. is a Professor of Art at Prairie View A&M University, and he is an ordained minister at Mount Corinth Missionary Baptist Church in Hempstead, Texas, the World Christianship Ministries, and the United Christian Faith Ministries. He writes a widely read inspirational column for the Waller County News Citizen. Dr. Talley is listed in “250 Years of Afro American Art,” “Who’s Who in the South and South West,” “Who’s Who Among African Americans,” “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and Who’s Who in Black Houston.” In 2020 he had pieces on display at the Delta Art Center’s Invitational in Winston-Salem, NC and with the National Alliance of Artists from Historically Black Colleges at the each Institute for African American Culture, in Savannah, GA. His works have been featured in numerous international solo and group exhibitions. He has authored several books on the subject of faith, religious wisdom, and inspiration.