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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on the Arts has announced the |
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2023 appointments for State Poet Laureate, State Musician, State |
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Two-Dimensional Artist, and State Three-Dimensional Artist; and |
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WHEREAS, The state's highest accolade for excellence in the |
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arts, designation as a Texas State Artist is conferred on those |
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individuals who represent the best of our rich and diverse artistic |
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community and who inspire others through their unique creative |
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expression; and |
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WHEREAS, The 2023 State Poet Laureate is ire'ne Lara Silva; |
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she is the author of two full-length poetry collections, furia and |
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Blood Sugar Canto, that were both finalists for the International |
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Latino Book Award in Poetry; her most recent poetry collection, |
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CUICACALLI/House of Song, was a finalist for the Texas Institute of |
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Letters Poetry Prize, and she has also published three chapbooks |
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and a short story collection, flesh to bone, that won the 2013 |
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Premio Aztlan and was named a runner-up for the 2014 NACCS Tejas |
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Foco Award in Fiction; the recipient of a number of grants and |
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literary awards, she had the distinction of being inducted as a |
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member of the Texas Institute of Letters in 2020; her poetry, short |
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stories, and essays have appeared in more than 70 journals and |
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anthologies, and she currently serves as a writer at large for Texas |
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Highways magazine; and |
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WHEREAS, Gary Clark Jr., the 2023 State Musician, achieved |
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critical acclaim with his debut album Blak and Blu, where he |
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introduced his brand of blues rock that would gradually transform |
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into a fusion of contemporary funk, rock, and hip hop; the |
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Austin-born singer-songwriter won a Grammy Award for his top-10 hit |
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"Please Come Home," and he later scored three more Grammy wins, |
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including Best Contemporary Blues Album, for his politically |
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charged fifth studio album This Land and its title track; he has |
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earned a reputation as a soulful live performer, and in addition to |
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touring with the Rolling Stones and the Foo Fighters and |
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collaborating with recording artists like Alicia Keys and Childish |
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Gambino, he has played alongside Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, and other |
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well-known musicians for tributes to Stevie Wonder and the Beatles; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Painter Gaspar Enriquez is the 2023 State |
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Two-Dimensional Artist; after growing up in El Paso's Segundo |
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Barrio, he made his living as an art educator while developing a |
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body of work primarily composed of acrylic, air-brushed portraits |
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of individuals who typify the Chicano community in which he was |
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raised; his paintings have been featured at the El Paso Museum of |
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Art, the Tucson Museum of Art, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, |
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the de Young Museum in San Francisco, and the San Antonio Convention |
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Center, where he was commissioned to paint a 24-foot-tall piece |
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titled cholos; he has had a profound impact on many students |
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throughout his career as an educator, and he has been an inspiration |
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for nationally recognized artists such as Vincent Valdez and Alex |
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Rubio; and |
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WHEREAS, James C. Watkins, who has been exhibiting his work |
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as a ceramic artist for over four decades, has been named the 2023 |
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State Three-Dimensional Artist; best known for his large, |
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double-walled stoneware vessels, he has experimented with |
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alternative firing techniques to craft black pottery with varying |
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tones and depth; his work is represented in a number of notable |
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collections, including the White House Collection of American |
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Crafts at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in |
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Little Rock, Arkansas, the Shigaraki Institute of Ceramic Studies |
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in Japan, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; he |
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was named a Horn Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Texas Tech |
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University, and he has received the Texas Tech President's |
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Excellence in Teaching Award; and |
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WHEREAS, The artists who have been selected to hold these |
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prestigious posts have all greatly contributed to the vibrant |
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cultural life of the Lone Star State, and Texas is indeed fortunate |
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to be home to these talented individuals; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate the 2023 Texas Commission on the |
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Arts honorees and extend to them sincere best wishes for continued |
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fulfillment in their creative endeavors. |