Willis "Bing" Davis (born June 30, 1937) is a

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

artist and an educator. Bing Davis 2023

Life

Willis "Bing" Davis is an African American Artist and teacher, born in

Greer, South Carolina Greer is a city in Greenville and Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 35,308 as of the 2020 census Greer is part of the Greenville–Anderson– Mauldin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is additi ...

, whose artwork portrays his feelings for life and appreciation for African history and culture.. Davis has studied, lived, and taught in both

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

and

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. He attended from

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...

, graduating in 1959, and obtained a masters degree from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 1 ...

in 1967. He studied at the

Dayton Art Institute The Dayton Art Institute (DAI) is a museum of fine arts in Dayton, Ohio, United States. The Dayton Art Institute has been rated one of the top 10 best art museums in the United States for children. The museum also ranks in the top 3% of all art mus ...

, and

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

from 1975 to 1976. "and was also a ceramic and graphic artist who taught a ceramics class at Central State University for 20 years." Though he was also busy teaching during that time, he would always find time to work on his own projects. He retired from teaching in 1988, and created the Willis Bing Davis Art Studio & EbonNia Gallery in Dayton, Ohio, working on international art projects in Russia, Bermuda, China, and Ghana. He was made the President of the board of directors of the National Conference of Artists. Davis makes art from found objects and often includes mixed media. He has also worked in photography, drawing, painting,

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelai ...

s and sculpture but accounts clay as is his most expressive medium of art due to its direct physical influence from it. He feels that there's a disconnect when a tool separates him from the work such as a brush or a lens. Art to Davis "is a wonderful way to understand self and to understand others." In his works he would tend to have a strong influence in African and African American textiles. "There's a triangle motif that's common in his art that's borrowed from the patterns found in African Quilts and architecture found in Guana, Africa." "Among Davis's works many have been featured in public and private collections alike from the U.S.A. Europe and China to Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria with exhibits featured in the Museum of Harlem, the African Craft Museum, the Renwick gallery and many more." Being an African American and growing up in the civil rights movement has influenced Davis. He likes to use found objects such as nuts and bolts to create pieces of art influenced by what his ancestors in Africa might have made, such as African masks or an installation of an African shrine. This included the mixed-media triptych "The Struggle as Viewed from the Base of the Wall" which was inspired by the Attica Prison riots. He was inducted in the DePauw University sports hall of fame. In 2001, he showed at the

Indianapolis Art Center The Indianapolis Art Center is an art center located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The Center, founded in 1934 by the Works Project Administration during the Great Depression as the Indianapolis Art League, is located along the White ...

. In 2010,

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 uni ...

held a celebration exhibition.

References

External links

Bing's Gallery
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Willis 'Bing' Davis: On the Shoulders of Those Who Came Before
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Bing 1937 births Artists from Dayton, Ohio Living people People from South Carolina