Dennis RedMoon Darkeem, "Thanksgiving," mixed media photography, collage on canvas, 40 x 36 in, $9,696.69
Artist Statement
I am inspired to create artwork based on the familiar objects that I view through my daily travels. I discover elements in existing architecture and among everyday items found within the home. I ultimately set out to express a meaningful story about events in my life and those found with the communities I work. I utilize different media in the creation of my work. This allows for great versatility and a rich viewer experience as the eye uncovers the multiple layers that often characterize mixed media art.
Bio
Mr. Dennis RedMoon Darkeem is Bronx born and raised. He is of Yamassee Creek-Seminole Native American and African American descent. Darkeem has been an Artist and Art educator for over ten years working in the DOE, Private and Charter schools in the South Bronx and Harlem. He has been the head Art teacher at South Bronx Early College Academy for 4 years, and received his Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and his Master’s in Art Direction from Pratt Institute. Over the years, Darkeem has become a prominent contemporary artist and art educator in the Bronx. He’s been an Artist in Residence with many art organizations like Wave Hill, the Laundromat Project, The Point, Bronx Children’s Museum, I.C.P, and Jamaica Arts Center. Dennis has exhibited his work at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Brooklyn Museum of the Arts, La Mama Theater, The MoMA, Bronx Art Space, Rush Gallery, The Judaic Museum of Art, and Smack Mellon, and has received fellowships and scholarships from the NYSFA, NYC Teachers Foundation, Marko Roth scholarship, and Price Waterhouse Fellowship award. Dennis is also the creator and founder of Bronx Artist Day, RedMoon Bronx Soaps and Teas, and The RedMoon Arts Movement Inc, an organization that brings Art and Art resources to young people of the South Bronx and the tri-state area, and supplies young people with the skills necessary to be their own boss. Dennis believes in the philosophy “Art is Power”. Art is a tool, used to inform, engage, inspire, educate, embrace and celebrate one’s uniqueness. When one is open to Arts one is open to the world.