Enlarge Work from artist Antoine Williams

Posted: May 25th, 2010 Meaghan Clark

“One nation under God, indivisible..." is happening right here in the Queen City.

A group of artists in Charlotte who have come together under the name God City presented their views on culture, politics and community on May 18 at the Mint Museum.

Part of the Point 8 discussion forum series, God City's "From the Ain't Gots to the Have Nots" theme spurred discussion and challenged people to re-think their views.

The collective smartly began the program with a mash-up of their influences featuring cultural references such as images of past President Ronald Reagan (who it was concluded during the discussion, was personally responsible for the creation of hip bop… but that’s another story!), '80s musical icons such as Flavor Flav and Michael Jackson and pop cultural phenomenon such as Smurfs. The audience lapped it up.

Though they share similar interests in hip-hop music, comics, pop culture, urban themes and politics, the members of God City would argue that they aren’t exclusively hip-hop artists. “I like hip hop but I’m not a hip hop artist,” said Marcus Kiser, who is graphic designer by day. Several of his pieces referenced super heroes and early '80s pop culture.

Member Antoine Williams, on the other hand, announced he wouldn’t be an artist if it weren’t for hip hop. Williams recalled spending hours of his youth deciphering hip hop lyrics and being inspired to create stories and images of his surroundings. Using political leaders as superheroes, Williams is clearly the most political of the group and challenged the audience on the issues of race, equality and justice.

Most of the God City group brought slides of their recent work, but artist Tomika Elise Latimer chose to show images of her influences instead. Referencing Josephine Baker, Li'l Kim and Beyonce, Latimer led a very enthusiastic discussion on the African-American female form and what all the “fuss” is about it.

For photographer Mitchell Kearney, the Point 8 session was not to be missed. “I really liked the way the members of God City created an extremely comfortable forum for discussion by the racially, generational and socially diverse audience,” says Mitchell. “It would have been better to have a summation at the end of the night,” he adds. Unfortunately, time ran out and the event had to be wrapped up quickly.

In the past, Point 8 has drawn a fairly large crowd to their events and this return engagement was a strong showing of support for arts and culture in Charlotte. After a two-year absence, a larger, more diverse crowd was eager to learn which new cultural activities and events are happening, and what their leaders in the community have to say. The God City collective didn’t disappoint.

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