The art form that I Marcellous Lovelace practice is painting in mixed media with found materials. I paint from my experience living on the South Side of Chicago and living in poverty-stricken America. I use found objects throughout the world as references to my surroundings in my work. Not only that, but I work on everything from old found pieces of paper, garbage cans, tires, and mattresses to used construction material found from torn-down buildings. My travels and growing up in Chicago, a diversely segregated environment, influence struggle and pain. I learned to call myself an African Liberation Folk Artist, a term that reflects both ancestral memory and contemporary survival. The tragedies that occur in my city help me reinterpret the oppression on all surfaces. I was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago in a community called Roseland. This segregated, oppressive poverty-stricken environment helped me to develop over 400 images a year over the last 35 years of my life. My environment is so negative it helps me to create beauty from this struggle. I paint because it’s the only thing that feels good after feeling like I’m trapped in a world that has no hope. This process reflects the tradition of Black creative resistance, where art functions as both survival and testimony similar to the role of spirituals, blues, Hip Hop, muralism, and quilt-making in Black history. Like the Gee’s Bend quilters, who transformed scraps into visual language, my work reclaims what society discards and turns it into evidence of presence, intelligence, and humanity. I also write books, teach, make films, do graphic design and traditional 2d animation.

How did you get your Artist name?

My real name is Marcellous Lovelace. My Music Artist name is INFINITO 2017, this music name came from my Hip Hop group Unorthodox Poets Society (UPS). Dj Waht gave me that name because of my ability to endlessly freestyle.

How did you get into creating?

Chicago taught me to be about African Liberation in life. The imperfect design of segregation and marginalizing communities opens the eye to know that this world we live in is corrupt. But from this corruption, I developed a deep, rich historical knowledge base of Black Awareness. This Awareness is rooted in self love and development for my people who suffer from pathological aggression from a unified colonial oppression. Chicago taught me to persevere and create regardless of all circumstances.

Where are you from?

The South Side of Chicago, IL

How did growing up in your neighborhood/city affect you?

Chicago taught me to be African Liberation in life. The imperfect design of segregation and marginalize communities. The South Side of Chicago taught me self awareness and perseverance.

What did you do to advance your skills/knowledge?

To advance my skills and knowledge, I studied independently minus any system or rulership to maintain my balance in life. Got various University degrees. If through the Arts, Education, and/or all things in life that develop proper awareness, those tools are properly utilized. Teachers range from Dr. Amos Wilson, Dr. Bobby E. Wright, John Henrick Clark, and Dr. Frances Cress Welsing. This depth crafts a better foundation, even with the ability to attend SFAI, SCAI, and The University of Memphis to gain degrees. Education is endless, and the less you know, the worse you will function through all of the distorted static. This imperfect design opens the eye to know that this world we live in is corrupt. But from this corruption, I developed a deep, rich historical knowledge base of Black Awareness. This Awareness is rooted in self love and development for my people who suffer from pathological aggression from a unified colonial oppression. Chicago taught me to persevere and create regardless of all circumstances. Also artist like Sun Ra, Elizabeth Catlett, Africobra, Charles White, John Biggers, Hale Woodruff, Margaret Burroughs and Diego Rivera teach me through their own creative realities. Black Art and Culture are always a part of my study.

What does your current setup look like?

My current set up looks like I can function from a multifaceted Art Maker’s perspective. I place myself in warm locations with the ability to paint, create music, and design 2D animation in a traditional sense. I also create textile fabrics and make films while developing lesson plans for K–12 and adjunct teaching for all ages.

Who inspires you?

My inspiration is my grandmother, who passed away, who taught me to never be concerned about what other people think. She taught me self love, dignity, and unification of our people (family) without reward or acknowledgement. This inspiration spreads to have me embrace my family fully and embrace kindred with similar sincerity. This motivates confidence and high self esteem to be inspired regardless of the question.

What is your goal when you create?

I create to liberate African minds and dismantle oppression from society. Self love is greater.Creating is my part in African Black Liberation. We are supposed to be expressive.

Why do you create?

I create to liberate African minds and dismantle oppression from society. Self love is greater. Inspire the un inspired to be more for the world.

How has choosing your creative path affected your life?

My creative path improves life for me. My creative path allows my life to be of awareness and consideration for my community and my thinking patterns. My creative path has made my life more forward thinking and liberating over everything else. Because my creative path allows me to see everything with clairvoyance and clear understanding, regardless of the obstacles and confusion that could be in the way, I allow myself to be in the correct state of mind with positive thinking and always progressively liberating the African and Black mind through my creative thoughts.

Did you have to overcome any obstacles along the way?

I wouldn’t necessarily say things are an obstacle. They’re just part of colonial oppression. Colonial oppression is literally the distortion of reality for all people that don’t compromise inside of capitalism. So once upon a time, when I went to Memphis College of Art, I was told by one of my instructors that Black art was not art, and from that logic, from this pathological maniac, I learned that I don’t have to listen to foolery in my progression of development. So I don’t necessarily look at stupidity as an obstacle. I just look at stupidity as something you have to knock over and move out of the way and keep going inside of anything in life. You can check and find in your research on me. You will find this consistent progression of developing regardless of whatever confusion or stupidity or nonsensical things that can exist inside of a capitalist society.

What's your go-to song right now and why is it important to you?

Raekwon ft. Nas and Ghostface Killa – Verbal Intercourse, or LTD – Love Ballad (but it’s a wealth of Black soul music and Black music that works).

What is your dream as an artist and what steps are you taking to reach your dream?

I wouldn’t necessarily say there is an absolute dream, or that I’m willing to share an absolute dream on any artificial intelligence programming system, because what I know is that from these ideas we can shape and redirect any concept of life. So what I will tell you is I constantly create, and from those creations I’m leaving a basic understanding for a layman to comprehend what progression and thought look like. Life is a constant ongoing movement upwards, and from these upward movements, that’s how visions and those ideas of what we call dreams come to fruition.

What would you tell someone else with a dream?

I would tell someone with humility to always develop for the betterment of society. Give back and be of service. Serve a purpose and be productive in the overall ecology. Keep the earth clean and positive.

Tell us about your most recent release

Always New Art Shows and New albums on my websites IG @infinito2017 www.infinito2017.com youtube.com/infinito2017

Share a link to your most recent release

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6QNw2vfb3let8bmXgx6NGJ

Instagram

http://www.instagram.com/marcellouslovelace

Twitter

http://www.twitter.com/infinito2017

Facebook.com

http://www.facebook.com/marcellouslovelaceart

Website

http://www.marcellouslovelace.com