|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on the Arts has announced the |
|
2018 appointments for the positions of State Poet Laureate, State |
|
Musician, State Two-Dimensional Artist, and State |
|
Three-Dimensional Artist; and |
|
WHEREAS, The state's highest accolade for excellence in the |
|
arts, designation as a Texas State Artist is conferred on those |
|
individuals who represent the best of our rich and diverse artistic |
|
community and who inspire others through their unique creative |
|
expression; the nominations process for the awards is overseen by |
|
the TCA, and the final selections are made by a committee whose |
|
members are appointed by the governor, the lieutenant governor, and |
|
the speaker of the house of representatives; and |
|
WHEREAS, Carol Coffee Reposa has been named the 2018 State |
|
Poet Laureate; she is the author of four books of poetry, and her |
|
poems, reviews, and essays have appeared in such publications as |
|
the Atlanta Review, the Evansville Review, the Texas Observer, |
|
Southwestern American Literature, and the Valparaiso Poetry |
|
Review; repeatedly recognized for her work, she has been a finalist |
|
for the Malahat Review Long Poem Prize and a winner of the Guadalupe |
|
Cultural Arts Center poetry contest; she has also garnered an Arts |
|
and Letters Award from the Friends of the San Antonio Public |
|
Library, received several Pushcart Prize nominations, and been |
|
inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters; a professor emerita |
|
of English at San Antonio College, she serves today as poetry editor |
|
of Voices de la Luna; and |
|
WHEREAS, The 2018 State Musician is pianist, songwriter, and |
|
vocalist Marcia Ball, whose soulful ballads and rhythmic blues |
|
numbers, inspired by her upbringing in Texas and Louisiana, have |
|
earned her international acclaim; she is an inductee of the Museum |
|
of the Gulf Coast Music Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Music Hall of |
|
Fame, as well as the recipient of 10 Blues Music Awards, 8 Living |
|
Blues Awards, and 5 Grammy Award nominations; over the years, she |
|
has traveled around the globe, performing for fans at countless |
|
festivals, concert halls, and clubs; and |
|
WHEREAS, Fort Worth native Sedrick Huckaby has been selected |
|
as the State Two-Dimensional Artist; an assistant professor at The |
|
University of Texas at Arlington, where he has taught since 2009, he |
|
holds a bachelor's degree from Boston University and a master's |
|
degree from Yale University; Mr. Huckaby draws his inspiration from |
|
African American domestic life, and his impressive works have been |
|
displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Minneapolis |
|
Institute of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art; since |
|
embarking on his career in 1999, he has received many distinctions, |
|
including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Provincetown Fellowship, and a |
|
Joan Mitchell Foundation grant; among his most recent awards has |
|
been a 2016 prize in the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, |
|
hosted by the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian |
|
Institution; and |
|
WHEREAS, Named the 2018 State Three-Dimensional Artist, |
|
Beili Liu uses common materials and elements to create |
|
installations that explore complex cultural issues; her work has |
|
been exhibited throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States by |
|
such institutions as the National Museum for Women in the Arts, the |
|
Chinese Cultural Foundation, and the Norwegian National Art and |
|
Cultural Center; she has been honored with a 2016 Joan Mitchell |
|
Painters & Sculptors Grant, a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation |
|
Artistic Innovation and Collaboration Grant, and a San Francisco |
|
Mayor's Award for her contributions to cultural exchange; a native |
|
of Jilin, China, she holds a master's degree from the University of |
|
Michigan and is currently a professor of art at The University of |
|
Texas at Austin; and |
|
WHEREAS, The artists who have been selected to these |
|
prestigious posts have all greatly contributed to the vibrant |
|
cultural life of the Lone Star State, and Texas is indeed fortunate |
|
to be home to these talented individuals; now, therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
|
Legislature hereby congratulate the 2018 Texas State Artist |
|
honorees and extend to them sincere best wishes for continued |
|
fulfillment in their creative endeavors. |