Fine Art Exhibit - Bring That Beat Back

by Jeremy Barr

The Southside Gallery on the Oxford Square always has different exhibits by great artists week after week. One of the artists exhibiting there right now is Vitus Shell, an Ole Miss graduate art student and great artist whose works will be there for about 2 weeks. The name of his collection is “Bring That Beat Back: the Sound of the Heart, the Streets, and the Drums.” The first thing about these paintings that caught my eye was that these were all black people and I wasn’t aware that Vitus was black. The second eye-catcher was that the works were very well painted - they were glossy and looked oil painted. The subject matter was basically about black youth; in one piece, the subject matter seemed to be gang related, and the people in them were being very unique and throwing up different signs. The paintings are trying to tell a story about how he lives, and perhaps what Shell grew up around. He may have been raised around a lot of gangs, but at the same time, he just wants to express himself.

The bright colors really made me want to look more into the picture. Something about the warm colors really made me feel home-like and safe, like everything is all good. Some of the pictures really show a kind of freedom, especially in the ones in which he included some white, because I believe that white expresses freedom; in fact, I think the most interesting part about these paintings is the presence of white in the paintings, as it really stands out. The main images of all the pictures are in the middle of the painting and are very detailed. Being centered makes images bolder because it puts them as the first image you see. I really like all of these paintings because it is really kind of telling his life story - maybe he went through some things and painting is the way he can express them. The images are really something that I can relate to because it reminds me of some people I know.

This is a great collection of pictures because it shows a lot of diversity, from gang signs being thrown up to a nice-looking young lady. This exhibit should appeal to the whole community. Even those with different tastes in art could still consider Shell’s work as really intriguing because it makes you want to look. I am very interested in this artist and I would love to see more of his work. Come and check out Vitus Shell’s exhibit – it will be going on until Thursday, April 31, 2008.