Daily Doses (Artist Choice Edition): Purvis Young

            Purvis Young was no ordinary artist. He didn’t have many luxuries in life. He didn’t have any formal training. Purvis Young was a self-taught artist. Though he lacked a formal education in art, he taught himself by reading and studying in libraries. He went to prison, yet turned his life around through art. He went to prison for three years, but while there we received a vision, a vision to become an artist. His art work has been shown nationwide; often depicting many problems in the African-American community.

He used a variety of art mediums, basically anything he could find. This was a type of artistic recycling.  They were materials such as discarded plywood and cardboard, refrigerator doors, table tops, scraps of fabric and metal trays. I think his choice of mediums gave a natural style to his work. Using raw materials from the neighborhood seemed to make his paintings closer to it. “His paintings are populated with angels which watch over turbulent cityscapes; faces reminiscent of an imagined Zulu past life, and symbols of freedom and escape – wild horses, trucks, and the flimsy craft that the boat people from Haiti use to journey to these shores, plowing through shark infested waters” (Daniel Aubry). One of the symbols Purvis uses recurrently is pregnancy. The impression of a pregnant woman can be found throughout his art. He uses the image of pregnancy because of what it represents: new life and rebirth. Purvis stated that he felt new generations being born were somewhat of a saving grace for mankind, a new beginning.   

            He painted what he saw, the “problems of the world”, much injustice and sadness. He lived in the ghetto Overtown, Miami. In Overtown, he painted vibrant and passionate murals, with much symbolism. At the Overtown library, he painted one of his most famous murals around the building. On the mural he painted horses, which represented freedom, with people at the bottom, who are freed and chainless. This is how Purvis portrayed most of his ideas and feelings, through symbolism. He painted other murals in places like the Miami metro station and in alley way.

            Though he did grandiose things with his artwork, he chose to live a most humble life. His artwork sold for thousands of dollars yet he spent most of his later years living in warehouses. He didn’t buy many things or any real luxuries. He seemed somewhat naïve in charging accurately for his artwork and was taken advantage of. He didn’t have much savings. It wasn’t until later that he realized the true value of his work. But all that didn’t really matter to him. To him, his art was a gift to the world. Near the end of his life, he had severe medical problems. He suffered from diabetes and later died from a heart attack. Though Purvis received rich rewards from his art work, he never lost the innocence that made him great. He will be remembered as someone who gave back to his community, helping individuals in need.