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Ask UNC Charlotte grad Antoine Williams to describe the influence of hip-hop music in American culture, and the 29-year-old can show you his paintings.
They're large, colorful and rife with political and social symbolism. The paintings also open a door on the often enigmatic urban youth point of view.
Williams also points to works by 10 colleagues, all members of the art group God City, artists who find creative inspiration in hip-hop music.
Their works, some of which are featured in an exhibit at UNCC through Dec. 19, acknowledge feelings of being powerful, powerless, conflicted, disconnected or plugged in.
The 15 works in God City's "Indie-Visual" exhibit certainly are not mainstream art, sometimes portraying comic book and movie-character figures and employing graffiti-style art techniques.
But the collection defies prevalent images of hip-hop culture, which often gets recognition for preoccupation with money, profane lyrics and unflattering portrayals of women.
That's why the exhibit is important, Williams said. These artists argue that today's hip-hop music and the international youth culture that sustains it are multidimensional and not easily categorized.
Within the culture, there are mainstream, alternative and underground movements, each with distinctive art and music. God City represents a glimpse at one part of the whole.
"Art is a way to let people see different perspectives of the world," Williams said. "We want to show the creative and intelligent aspect of hip-hop. Those are things that our community does not often get to see."
Williams graduated from UNC Charlotte with an art degree in 2003 and works as a graphic designer in city government. He and four other art-school grads formed God City in 2004 as a way to build an audience for their work through exhibitions and other projects.
They formed the first part of the group's name from letters corresponding to the local 704 area code. (G is the seventh letter in the alphabet; D is the fourth.)
As young African-American artists, their views on this era in history are largely absent from commercial galleries, Williams said.
"It was NASCAR or landscape painting," Williams said of themes in popular collections. "We didn't see many cultural events that reflected our world or our perspective on society. Rather than whine about it, we decided to bring the type of events we wanted to see to Charlotte."
The group has grown to 10 members, still mostly local art school alums. It has had exhibitions at Davidson College and Winthrop University. Williams and John Hairston Jr. have works in the permanent collection at the Mint Museum of Art.
"They're contributing to the dialogue of the art community," said UNC Charlotte art professor Jamie Franki during God City's exhibit opening reception last week at the new Student Union gallery.
About 50 students, faculty, staff and other guests attended the event, many in jeans and sneakers. At the front of the room, an image of a young woman holding a boom box took shape on Hairston's canvas. Music by alternative rapper Mos Def played as Hairston worked.
God City members Donavan Lions, Ryan Williams and Jen Woods mingled with guests.
UNC Charlotte senior Brian Barker, an illustration major, described the event as contemporary and compelling for younger audiences. That is especially important, he said, for inspiring the next generation of artists and art enthusiasts.
"A lot of people see art as stagnant and boring," said Barker, 24, as he watched Hairston's demonstration. "This turns that on its head. He's creating an atmosphere to go with the art."
