1 € MAU RICE STRI DER- Artist, Teacher I
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Maurice Strider earned his A.B. degree from Fisk University in Afro-American aft is his special interest. “AS I learned ’
Tennessee, and his M.A. degree in 1960 from the University of about the accomplishments Of African Apt and began to
Kentucky. At present, heiis an associate professor in art education appreciate it mom, I began to lean toward the African
at M°r°h°ad stm Umvmltw cubistic type of art. And now I get a load of appreciation A
  Q.   out’of combining some of the African motifs with realistic I
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        · -, V `V ‘’‘“   v''’a i Strider believes that an artist should express himself as
    i N ' .L'i,_};\   { he wishes. He pointed out that some artists express them-
    “   _ `    i li g selves in a political way, some in a sociological way, and
  i   ,     n •.· some historically. For him the beauty of expression lies in
      T  ¤ i  yli y the fact that we’re all Americans.
   Q _       Z Each of Strider’s paintings, usually in acrylic—oil, make  
‘ ·,  ;  ‘ V,   @5,, V ’ various statements of this fact. "Afro—American Fantasy"
i'•   ~·’   ’  " _  ___ ~’ _, A   combines an African mask with a city skyline. "What l’m I
g i V    gr ," 1   ’ doing there is attempting to show the increasing apprecia-
, _ \ \. "* if A , — it V.   4 ~‘  I tion of the African Art accomplishments on American Iife."
\ ` \\ `~ r l l\ I { ti ·    Mask art, Strider explained, is primarily a functional
\ r     / _ g 4- `   type of art that was done simply to explain and illustrate
QQ   .  “   j _ the spiritual side of African life. Some scholars have con- `
_ = i 2 ‘-‘i`‘ `   K? if   S , cluded that what we call abstract art was actually African
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