Stirring Passions
Kara Smith works with Project HOME's Employment Services program and coordinates our Arts Program. She is a full-time intern through the Servant Year program.
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Creating art is a key to healing for many people in recovery. It is a healthy way for folks to experience personal fulfillment and to express themselves imaginatively, honestly, and spontaneously. Each piece of art has a story to tell and a statement to make. The Art Program at Project HOME gives voice to many by providing participants with a creative outlet, and an opportunity to showcase their talents, build confidence, and break down barriers inside and outside of Project HOME.
James is in his element as he carefully aligns and arranges paintings on his “canvas” of a white, empty wall. It has been a delight to hear him share stories of his past - both the struggles and the triumphs – and to hear about the projects he works on in the quiet of the night when the rest of the world is sleeping, in the art studio he lovingly calls the Salt Mines.
James’s interest in art began in the 1980’s when fear of potential cancer caused his mother to suggest looking for a job to take his mind off of the daunting possibility. Instead of seeking employment, he found himself spending hours in the library immersed in the biographies of well-known writers and artists. He related to their tragic stories and instances of sickness and death and thought perhaps he too could express himself through art. Soon, he began painting and developing collages using materials that were readily accessible to him. He discovered that plywood used to board up the houses in the housing project where he lived made a wonderfully flat canvas, and so did the glass that littered the streets. Paving a way for his voice to be heard, James would strap his pieces on his back and bicycle or take the bus down to Rittenhouse Square in order to display his work. Soon, the Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, a cooperative gallery, asked him to become a member. He was the first male and the first African American artist to become a member and remained an active participant for nearly twenty years.
James works in a variety of media ranging from sculpture to photography to the medium that earned him the nickname King Kolage – collages. His artwork forcefully grabs your attention. It screams with social and cultural underpinnings and is sometimes hard to look at because of the weight of its subjects. In the Art from the Heart gallery at 535 South Street where Project HOME artists recently showed, James displayed collages including Thanks But No Thanks (Junk Food Kitchen), Extinct: (Pencil and Paper), and Cut the Crap (Sex & Violence in the Media). In addition to his visual art, James created the Kicker Magazine, a collection of essays and collages on the subjects of genetic engineering, nuclear power, money, art, politics, and food in America. He is also the producer of Barbara’s Barbie’s, a 15-minute video focused on the prevalence of violence in American media and culture and its infiltration into the lives of children.
James Webster is a phenomenal asset to Project HOME’s Art Program both as an artist and an instructor. He is a rabble-rouser and a path-paver. He stirs up the passions and prejudices of those who witness his creations. He is also just one of the many multi-talented artists at Project HOME who find power and purpose through art.
