{"id":28605,"date":"2020-03-27T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T13:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=28605"},"modified":"2020-03-27T00:49:22","modified_gmt":"2020-03-27T05:49:22","slug":"apsu-alumni-artist-khari-turner-creating-as-much-as-i-can-at-columbia-during-coronavirus-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2020\/03\/27\/apsu-alumni-artist-khari-turner-creating-as-much-as-i-can-at-columbia-during-coronavirus-outbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"APSU alumni artist Khari Turner \u2018creating as much as I can\u2019 at Columbia during Coronavirus Outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – Emerging artist Khari Turner \u2013 who graduated from Austin Peay State University (APSU) last spring \u2013 is in his first year of graduate school at Columbia University.<\/p>\n

\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay State University alumni artist Khari Turner. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

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Like Austin Peay State University\u2019s students, Turner is adjusting to online learning because of the coronavirus pandemic; Columbia\u2019s virtual instruction began Thursday, March 26th.<\/p>\n

We checked in with Turner to ask him how he\u2019s evolving and coping in New York City while pursuing a Master of Fine Art. We also asked him about his painting that graces the Zone 3 literary journal\u2019s spring 2020 cover<\/a>. <\/p>\n

What are you up to at Columbia? <\/h3>\n

I\u2019m focused on learning as much as possible and meeting new and creative people. Being in New York, there are so many people and resources, that I\u2019m actively trying to place myself in conversations with these people to make art my full-time job. I have come a long way to get there, and Columbia has helped me develop my visual language to prepare me for the opportunities it can bring me later.<\/p>\n

How has the coronavirus pandemic affected your studies and work? <\/h3>\n

With the pandemic going on now, though, the biggest thing I am working on at Columbia is my teaching, I am a teaching assistant for a Painting I class now and being a teacher during times like this have come with its own problems, but we can overcome these problems for sure. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m really just trying to work through all of this mess and continue creating as much as I can. I want people to hold their heads up and remember that though life is going to test you and are going to come and try to slow you down, that you can never give up. <\/p>\n

What does the piece on the cover of Zone 3 mean to you?<\/h3>\n
\"Zone<\/a>

Zone 3 Cover Art. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

The cover art is important to me. This image was from a series of paintings exploring a new way of communicating I have been working on. I started working a little on this theme at Austin Peay State University, but it didn\u2019t quite work out. I feel like it is coming together now.<\/p>\n

It is all about past trauma being a part of a person, specifically black people, and the conquering of those traumas and tribulations and presenting this person to the world. <\/p>\n

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[470center]<\/p>\n

When you create art, what is the reaction you hope to get from viewers?<\/h3>\n

When I create work, I want people to get the reaction I get when I finish the piece. It\u2019s funny, but often I never plan how or when a piece will be finished, but when it is done and I look at it, I want to feel inspired to make something else, but to feel the energy of the piece.<\/p>\n

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