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| Al Bright photographed January 20, 2013 at the Cleveland Museum of Art. BlackArtistNews photo. All rights reserved. |
Pioneer Award Given to Youngstown, Ohio Artist
Text | Denise Dick for The Vindicator
Published | September 20, 2014
Renowned
artist Alfred L. Bright, the first African-American full-service Youngstown
State University faculty member, is the latest recipient of the William Holmes
McGuffey Historical Society Pioneer Award.
Bright, a
professor emeritus at YSU who was the founding director of the university’s
black studies program, accepted the award [on September 19th] during a ceremony at William
Holmes McGuffey Elementary School.
Society
President Richard S. Scarsella said Bright truly is a pioneer.
Harry
Meshel, a past recipient of the award and a retired state senator, called
Bright “one of the most important people to grow up in this town.”
“He’s an
extraordinary artist, recognized throughout country and throughout the world,
really,” Meshel said. “He’s one of the greatest artists and musicians in our
community.”
Bright a
city native, graduate of the city schools and Youngstown University who earned
his master’s degree at Kent State University, urged the McGuffey Elementary
students to find what makes them special and to pursue it.
He started
drawing at a young age and never stopped.
“I never
stopped following the thing inside of me that was my special thing,” he said.
Bright
also plays jazz flute but says art is his mistress. He’s been married for
nearly 22 years to Dr. Virginia Banks-Bright. The two met after she bought a
painting he donated to a Jewish Community Center fundraising auction for $5.
It was a
good transaction for both of them.
“I got my
painting back, and it’s been a lovely experience,” Bright said.
Bright,
who creates abstract oil paintings while listening to jazz or classical pieces,
brought prints of a few of his works to the school. Abstract Jazz Works lined
the school library. One of those, “Homage to Nab,” was inspired by his
seventh-grade art teacher at the former Covington Elementary School, Jon
Naberezny. Naberezny, who died in 2013, encouraged Bright as a young artist and
helped him secure the faculty post at YSU.
Bright
knew he was an artist but didn’t know how he could make a living doing it. He
spent his first two years in college majoring in psychology and philosophy.
One day
the philosophy professor wrote a quote on the board that helped Bright realize
what he should do. At the end of class, he headed to the art department and
found Naberezny there.
“He said,
‘I’ve been waiting for you for two years,’” Bright said.
Bright
created the artwork in front of 10,000 people at the Pittsburgh Arts Festival
the day before Naberezny’s funeral and believes his former mentor was with him
that day,
McGuffey,
an educator, who lived in the Western Reserve, near Youngstown, published the
“McGuffey Reader,” in 1836. It became the standardized reading text for most
schools across the United States during the mid- to late-19th century.
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