About the Artist...
Marlon Howard Banks is an artist and author from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a retired public school teacher. During his career as an educator, he maintained his ambitions as an artist, by earning an MFA from the University of Wisconsin Madison, participating and or competing in a multitude of art shows, and becoming the author of the Permanent Light of Black, a collection of short stories and poems, accompanied by his original artwork.
For Banks, the writing process increases agency, by replacing negative tropes, often carelessly associated with blackness, with better words like growth, confidence, relationships, and joy.
He has used participation in juried art shows to also increase agency, including The Wisconsin Biennial, The Black Romantics, at the Studio Museum of Harlem, The Wisconsin 30 at the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Annual Northern National Art Competition(NNAC) where he took home the prize for best of show. Marlon has been steadfast, in a self determined manner, which he calls being Forward and Black, his self-penned style which emphasizes the light of black.
Art and Decision
Marlon Banks
If and when asked to exclude black or brown figures, or to assimilate for universal appeal, Banks said he’ll continue his decision to always sing, dance, write, pray, paint, and love in a way that creates his own definition of art, just as he creates his own definition of black.
Clearly, a number of his works have found cross-cultural appeal, which he enjoys. And while that type of appeal is welcome, it’s not the intended goal. All works are available as Giclee prints and or greeting cards.
