This is the second of two drawings I created to celebrate reaching the midpoint of this project. I create at least one new drawing every day, based on the African American men I’ve encountered around Oakland and other Bay Area cities. When I travel to other cities, I draw the African American men I see there. I don’t draw from models. Instead, when I get home in the evening, or when I have a quiet moment between classes or appointments (which is not all that often), I think back to the people I encountered that day and I draw the men who really stood out in my mind. Part of the benefit of drawing from memory (a preference shared by Love and Rockets co-creator Jamie Hernandez, by the way) is that it has enabled me to really focus on and consider the limits of my own gaze on the Black male subject. It’s been edifying, as I have shared at various points during the first 500 drawings.

Many people have asked me why I’ve chosen to do 1001 drawings. More interesting than the reasons why I have chosen this number of drawings are the benefits of doing such a large volume of drawings on the same subject. The greatest benefit is that it has given me a chance to understand the limits of my own vision. This takes time and, in some very real ways, it took me around 300 drawings to figure out exactly how it was that see Black men. Over the course of my most recent 200 drawings, I’ve been working on understanding the different ways I can use the particularity of my gaze to challenge and expand my own and (by extrapolation) others’ conceptions of the Black male subject.

More later,

Ajuan Mance

My original goal for this art project was to complete 1001 drawings of Black men in 1001 days. Today, I finally reached the halfway point. My goal is to complete the project by the end of December 2013.

For drawings #500 and #501, I’ve created images that speak to my goal of depict the diversity of the Black men, with a particular interest in depicting those African American demographics who popular media representations of tend to overlook.

It’s been a real pleasure creating these images, and I’ve learned a lot from the process. I have some ideas about where I’d like to go with my second 500 drawings, and I’ll speak about that more in the coming days.

For now, though, I thank you for looking at my site and I hope you’ll return again and again. I’ll be posting several new drawings each week and I welcome your feedback and suggestions.

Ajuan Mance

The lobby of the Hotel Abrego, Monterey, CA.

Ajuan Mance

Here’s a drawing of a guy I saw outside the Fruitvale Avenue Farmer Joe’s Market. I, of course, loved his suit. Who doesn’t love the khaki two-button  suit? With the burgundy vest and the repp stripe tie, he epitomized Black 21st-century prep. That his pose is a variation on Iggy Pop’s pose from the cover of his album The Idiot makes for a fun contrast.

Ajuan Mance

Safeway, Fruitvale Ave, Oakland, CA.

Ajuan Mance

Last Thursday, this guy and a female companion was at the next table at Zócalo Cafe. I was trying hard not to listen to his conversation. I had a lot of proofreading and writing to do, and I left my noise canceling headphones at home. Consequently, I heard snippets of their chat about the history of Oakland and San Leandro. I don’t really know what the thread of the conversation was about, because I was intermittently successful at blocking them out, but I heard enough to want to use a vintage map of Oakland as the table top in this drawing.

Ajuan Mance

Due to our unseasonably warm weather, people have been sporting summer-weight clothes all over the Bay Area. Even down in Monterey, where I spent my last weekend, there was a group of teens dressed in shorts (for the guys) and sundresses (for the women). I, on the other hand, was wearing a t-shirt, a button-down shirt, and a v-neck sweater … and I was still cold. Back here in Oakland, where I arrived just before sundown, young brothers were still hanging out in their over-sized white t-shirts. An hour later, they were probably pulling on hoodies and such, but 60 or so degrees in the Bay Area and the Central Coast means summer for many Californians.

I am actually from a part of the country that gets really cold and, ironically enough, I’ve been freezing all month.

Ajuan Mance

It’s nice being back at Zocalo. It’s one of my go-to cafes when I have serious writing and editing to do. It’s airy and bright, the staff is really friendly, and there are always plenty of places to plug in your laptop. Also, I enjoy the diversity of people I see there. It’s not just that there are lots of people of different ethnicities. It’s also that there are a lot of different occupations, ages, sexualities, genders, and classes represented within each of the many ethnicities I’ve observed there. This slim, young guy in this drawing was waiting patiently (more patiently than I was), while the person ahead of us was getting some sort of fancy coffee drink made. Since I don’t drink coffee, anything that takes more than a simple pour from pot to cup seems pretty fancy. I, by contrast, tend to stick with the basics—a bottle of sparkling water or a hot tea. When it was his turn, the man in this drawing didn’t really seem to care what he ordered. “I’ll take a cup of the regular,” he said. When the woman at the counter asked if he meant coffee, this guy said, “sure, if that’s what you’ve got.” I’m not sure if the man in this picture really wanted a beverage. Perhaps he just needed it to justify the three pastries he was purchasing. Personally, I think he had nothing to be ashamed of. Within any luck, they’ll put a little weight on him. It wouldn’t hurt.

Ajuan Mance

PS: Was that a bad thing to say? Was I “body policing”? I’d never heard it quite phrased that way until last night, and now I’m wondering if that’s what I’m doing here. It would be really rude of me to say that someone needed to lose weight, but is it equally problematic for me to suggest that someone could stand to gain a little? What if it was a woman? Would that be worse? This is definitely a case of projecting my body standards onto the subject of my drawing … but, then again, isn’t it only really a problem when I let my ideas about what’s beautiful and what isn’t limit the types of people I draw?

494 drawings down, and I think I’m becoming a little neurotic …

Ajuan

I passed this man as I was entering my current gym, 24-Hour Fitness near High Street. An imposing figure at well over six feet tall, he was really hard to miss. I tried to make eye contact with him, but he was focused on getting out the door and on to whatever he was going to do with the rest of his day. I’ve noticed that there are a lot of very tall men at 24-Hour Fitness. I initially thought it was because of their indoor basketball court, but that makes no sense. You don’t have to be tall to play pick-up ball. Also of interest is the number of middle-aged Black men who are exceptionally tall. I really want to ask one of them to tell me his story. Many of these guys are really buff for their age (they look to be in their 40s or 50s), and I am curious about how they’ve stayed so fit. The rapper Nelly once said that a great body is a gift you give to yourself (and last I looked, he was in amazing condition). I am very curious about why some of the guys at the gym have decided to prioritize their health and wellness in this way. Despite the widespread reports of Black people’s lack of interest in fitness and preventive lifestyle changes, these guys have chosen to gift themselves with health and athleticism well past the age of 40. Their efforts are inspiring, and I hope to follow in their footsteps (to whatever degree is possible for a very average height woman professor).

Ajuan Mance

Dear Zocalo Cafe,

I’m baaaaaack!

Ajuan Mance