Fraser art teacher’s intriguing chalk drawing wins MEA Art Show
By Brenda Ortega
MEA Voice Editor
A compelling charcoal drawing titled “Eyedentity,” selected as Best in Show at this year’s 62nd MEA/MAEA Art Acquisitions Purchase Exhibition, was inspired by a Social Security application, says the Fraser art teacher who won the top award.
MEA member Andrew Monroe said he created the artwork after filling out a form to get his newborn baby a Social Security card more than 20 years ago. Although his son is biracial, the form required one selection from a list of racial categories as identification, Monroe said.
“I was blown away — even in 2005 — that the federal government still had such an antiquated idea of racial identity,” Monroe said. “In my personal work, I want to communicate things that conceptually have meaning. I would consider my artwork like social realism, drawing attention to issues of identity.”
The winning piece depicts a Black woman with a captivating gaze and a label across her forehead against a backdrop of columns alternating between blurred images of numbered cards with magnetic strips and various eyes and fingerprints.
The piece considers “assigned identities and what box we are put into, but also the connotations of those and how we’re viewed by others. Then there’s the personal identities within us that have nothing to do with what we look like or our name, skin color, religion — any of that.
“Our individual identity is more of who we are and who we decide to be versus what we’re told about who we are and who we’re assigned to be.”
Frank Juárez, the award-winning Wisconsin artist, art educator, and art curator who juried this year’s exhibition, said he chose “Eyedentity” for the top honor because the provocative imagery and the subject’s powerful gaze prompt reflection about identity and humanity.
“This charcoal drawing is a reminder that we still have a lot of work to do as a society to not judge a book by its cover and to continue to be empathetic, understanding, and hopeful for a better tomorrow,” Juárez said.
The pieces selected for the exhibition feature a variety of processes, genres and subject matter and represent unique voices, narratives and ideas, the juror noted. View accepted entries in this online gallery and at a reception on July 28, 4:30-6 p.m., at MEA Headquarters.
An organizing committee of member-educators volunteer to plan the show each year. “We commend all artists for their creativity, dedication, and vision,” the committee said in a statement. “Your work continues to inspire and elevate the role of the arts in education.”
This was the first year entering for Monroe, the Best in Show winner, who’s been teaching art for 20 years — currently at three elementary schools in Fraser. He aspired to teach art ever since he experienced a life-changing art educator as a third grader in Charlotte Public Schools.
“When Mr. Jury came in on his little art cart fresh out of Michigan State University, my whole world changed,” Monroe said. “I wasn’t very good at math or anything like that, but I was really good at art, and he recognized that in me and encouraged me, and I just knew that was my calling.”
His teaching philosophy is all about the process, he said. Monroe focuses on getting to know his students, finding points of connection, and using humor to build rapport that aids in learning. He rewards effort and creativity over finished products.
“Everybody is born with the capacity to create art in some way. Of course, there are different levels of that, and my job isn’t to try to force people to love art. But I want to provide an experience that people enjoy, not just in the creation of things, but our experience together.”
Monroe holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fine arts from Eastern Michigan University with K-12 art teaching certification.
The art exhibition, co-sponsored by MEA and the Michigan Art Education Association, recognized artists in several award categories including Best in Show, Honorable Mention, Juror’s Choice, and Purchase Awards.
Artwork purchased over the years is displayed in MEA offices across the state. This year’s winners — which can be viewed online here along with other entries — include:
Best in Show
- Andrew Monroe — Eyedentity
Honorable Mention
- John Albert Murphy — “Grid: Global Risk Information Databases”
- Leeann McMichael — Pop HeART
- Sally Giroux — What I Meant to Say
- Victoria Hussey — Birch Grove
- Sarah Sundberg — Floral Reverie
- Catherine Hetherington — Welcome To My World
- Gail Bohner — Tri-Color Bird
- Liz Costello — Sweet Gravy
- Marie Honicker — Unheard
- Sarah Crabtree — Somewhere We Lied
Juror’s Choice Awards
- Catherine Hetherington — WHY?
- Katlyn Almer — Not Ready
- Craig M. Linderman — Left and Right
- Jim Banas — An Afternoon with Seurat
- Sharon Fielder — In the Midst
- Caroline Bell — Fluidity
- Darla J. Wolak — Snuggle
- Keith Beale — Rosie
- Marie Honicker — Translucent
- Pat Miller Coy — Frosty Hayden Creek
MAEA Purchase Award
- Victoria Hussey — BROOKIE
MEA Purchase Awards
- Andrew Monroe — Eyedentity
- Keith Beale — Rosie
- Dan Slagter — Flame
- Victoria Hussey — Birch Grove
- Katlyn Almer — Not Ready
- Jennifer Allore — An Afternoon with Jacob
- Craig M. Linderman — Up and Down
