poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
and
visual artist
The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...
, whose main artistic focus is collage. Her work, which addresses race,
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...
, and class issues, combines personal, pop-cultural, and historical imagery.
Early life and education
Franklin is originally from
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...
Kent State University
Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...
, and her MFA in Interdisciplinary Book & Paper Arts from Columbia College Chicago where, in 2013, she wrote her
thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
titled ''The Two Thousand & Thirteen Narrative(s) of Naima Brown'' that brought to life a girl changeling on the precipice of young adulthood and has received recognition for her work from such prestigious programs as the Arts Incubator at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
. She is based in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, where in 2007 she was the recipient of a Chicago Artist Assistance Program Grant for her art book ''SEED (The Book of Eve)'', which she says was based upon the dystopic visions of the award-winning African-American science-fiction writer
Octavia E. Butler
Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowshi ...
.
Art
Franklin's artwork includes themes of surrealism and utopic and dystopic visions, with subtexts of black beauty, self-reflection, and the African Diaspora. She has described her approach as both Afro-Futurist and Afro-Surrealist. She has stated, "Inspiration is a myth created to feed the romantic lure around artists and artistry. Art is thinking and labor."
Her artwork has been featured in the television series ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
''. Her collages have also been used on the covers of several poetry collections, including John Murillo’s ''Up Jumps the Boogie'' (2010) and Lita Hooper’s ''Thunder in Her Voice'' (2010). She has also had her work published in ''
American Studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory.
Schol ...
'', ''
Callaloo
Callaloo (many spelling variants, such as kallaloo, calaloo, calalloo, calaloux or callalloo; ) is a popular Caribbean vegetable dish. There are many variants across the Caribbean, depending on the availability of local vegetables. The main in ...
'', and ''Ecotone''.
Regarding her talent in the art of collage, Franklin said, "I learned the art of collage through watching my family make something out of nothing," she said, "That’s really where my collage aesthetic comes from. It comes from an idea of necessity, you know, how you make something beautiful out of scraps." In one of her series exploring race and gender, particularly in the context of the grotesque, she used human hair as a main material.
Poetry
Franklin's writing was influenced by the poets of the Black Arts Movement, including
Nikki Giovanni
Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. (born June 7, 1943) is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets,Jane M. Barstow, Yolanda Williams Page (eds)"Nikki Giovanni" ''E ...
and
Sonia Sanchez
Sonia Sanchez (born Wilsonia Benita Driver; September 9, 1934) is an American poet, writer, and professor. She was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement and has written over a dozen books of poetry, as well as short stories, critical essays ...
.
Her poetry is included in the anthologies ''The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order'' (
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Lexington, Kentucky.
Exhibitions
''Dreams in Jay Z Minor'' was a collaboration with Amanda Williams (artist) and centers around utilizing male figures as muses. It incorporated rap lyrics, bible quotations, and, at first glance, ostentatious visuals. The exhibition was held at Blanc Gallery in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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from October 5 to December 29, 2012.
''Library of Love'' was an interactive exhibition, described as a “visual love letter to Chicago”, created in collaboration with Stephen Flemister, Norman Teague, and Raub Welch. It featured a mix-tape made for the event by Perpetual Rebel. It was on view at the Arts Incubator in Washington Park in Chicago, 2014.
''Like Water'' was an exhibition at the Center for Race, Politics, and Culture (CSRPC), curated by Dara Epison, and ran from October–December 2015. The exhibition featured a fictional character who is a shape shifter and black woman, named Naima Brown. The character sheds her hair with each transformation. Franklin was inspired to create the character by Octavia Butler’s novel ''Wildseed''. Additional collages were shown. Franklin gave an associated artist talk on October 23, 2015. .
Franklin was Creative Lead for the ''FEAR'' installation in White Box Gallery at the
University of Dayton
The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...
. It ran from November 10, 2015 – December 17, 2015. She transformed the prior installation, titled ''Consumption'', into the new ''FEAR'' iteration. In conjunction, Franklin also hosted a free workshop called “Altering Fear: An Altered Book Workshop” on Saturday, November 7, 2015 from 2-4.
From February 12, 2016 until March 4, 2016, Franklin’s exhibition ''Heavy Rotation'' was held at Lacuna Artist Lofts in Chicago. The show was comprised, in part, of paper works made from pulped album covers.
''to take root among the stars'' was held at the Poetry Foundation from September 27, 2018 - January 24, 2019 and coincided with the publication of ''Under the Knife''
''Speculative Retrievals'' at the Salina Art Center is a group exhibition which runs from June 7-July 28, 2019 and also features the work of Julia Goodman and Sahar Khoury, who are also paper artists. Franklin gave an artist’s talk at the opening. Franklin is also the artist-in-residence at the Salina Art Center Warehouse through June 23, 2019. In addition to other activities, Franklin plans to continue work on her “Heavy Rotation” series
Books
*''Study of Love & Black Body'' (poetry)
*''SEED (The Book of Eve)'' (art)
*''Under the Knife'' is an artist book which is the third in a trilogy about the body, published by Candor Arts in Chicago
Awards and fellowships
*
Cave Canem Foundation
Cave Canem Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1996 by poets Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady to remedy the underrepresentation and isolation of African-American poets in Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programs and writing work ...