On the easel...

[GKreindler]

Hey guys,

So, the time has come. I've wanted to show this for some time now, and really only decided to do so now because it's officially done. I haven't had it professionally photographed yet, but will do so next week. But for whatever reason, I just felt like I had to share the finished image with you guys first.

It was commissioned by a fellow Net54er and I must say, it was perhaps the most challenging image I've ever had to deal with. That notion didn't necessarily have much to do with the technical aspects of doing the actual painting, but mainly because it's just a friggin' RAW image.

So, I give you an iPhone shot of Kankol:



My client is a big fan of Negro League baseball, and always had a fascination with the Zulu Cannibals - this image in particular. I really was (and still am a little) hesitant to post the image to the Internet and onto my social media pages, as I know it's not necessarily something easy to digest. I would imagine that on a place like Facebook, I'll probably even get accused of being a racist and perhaps lose some fans. But in the end, I feel like it's something that needs to be out there. When I took the commission on, I knew that it was gonna be something special. Whether it was being special in a good or bad way, I didn't know, but I had to paint it.

Thankfully, he seems to really like it, and pretty much summed up his reasoning for choosing the image in a previous email. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing some of his words:

"That look in his eyes sums up so much of what the reality was in the pre-integration era. It wasn't all Bingo Long's Traveling All-Stars and shadowball and clowning. There was also this.

You are helping to bring that reality into focus. It's ugly and shameful and largely unknown, even to baseball historians, in it's raw and true starkness. But it happened. And it's part of baseball history."

I hope he's right. Tough subject matter or not, my goal was to make it as beautiful of a painting as possible. And in the end, I have to remember that I've always wanted to be the type of 'visual historian' who just reports the news, rather than comments on it. My client's definitely right, it happened, and it is part of baseball history.

Anywho, I would really love any of your comments on this, be it good or bad. Maybe I just need a pep talk to convince me that I really have to post it on Facebook and the like. So in that regard, advice is also most welcome.

Either way, as per usual, thanks for looking and listening.

Graig

[LEHR]

Wow! That is very cool Graig! Definitely one of a kind!

[Lordstan]

Dude,
That is awesome!!!!!!!
Show it off everywhere is my opinion.
I think you need to worry less about what "people" will say. There will always be people who will find fault. Will someone see it as racist? Probably, but that doesn't make it so. You are documenting a historical fact with as much realism as possible, not commenting on it. You didn't keep them out of MLB for all those years. You didn't pay them to dress up like this. By painting this you are not saying..."Hey. Let's go back to slavery and oppression." It would be like blaming Walter Cronkite for describing and reporting the Vietnam War.
For the greater understanding, I do think wherever you post it, a story and link, describing the background of the Zulu Cannibal Giants, is needed to educate those who are not familiar with them. This should also help minimize any misunderstandings about it's intent.

Keep up the good work.

How about an update on the 27 Yanks? Pretty Please!

Mark

[howard38]

.

[martindl]

An older black gentleman, perhaps 75 year old or so, was in my store ( antique mall) last week. He was wearing a Negro League t-shirt and we got to talking about old time baseball. I made a comment about it being shameful that it's only fairly recently that the Negro Leagues have been given their due. He stopped me mid sentence and told me it shouldn't be seen as 'shameful' as "we weren't looking for acceptance and don't need it now. These were our communities and the teams were just a part of it. It was a big family gathering and with all the clowns and zulus, I'd say we had a way better time than the white folk at their ballparks". I knew nothing of the Zulus before that conversation.

To the painting. Fabulous. What a great visual introduction to a part of baseball many know nothing about.

[GKreindler]

Thanks a lot for the support, guys.

Mark, you're right - and I know it! It's just weird because whenever I post a painting somewhere, be it on my website, here, or on Facebook, I always do it with the idea that I'm building this body of work that I'm proud of, and here's a part of it. With this Zulu Cannibal painting, that's definitely there too, but there's more - there's actually a need for me to post it. It's not something I've ever really felt before. I guess no matter how I look at it, this piece is gonna be really important.

I don't even know what that means, but I still believe it.

And with the '27 Yanks...I'll post an update soon - I promise!

Thanks again, y'all.

Graig

[thecatspajamas]

I don't know what the general reaction to it will be, but I can tell you right now that seeing that painting makes me want to learn more about the circumstances surrounding it, not just reject it out of hand. I must admit that, other than knowing that there was such a thing as the Negro Leagues, and that just about everything originally associated with them is now out of my price range, my knowledge of the Negro Leagues is very limited. I think, as Mark suggested, as long as wherever you post it, a story and link describing the background of the Zulu Cannibal Giants accompanies the post, any rational adult should be able to see it as documenting history rather than stirring up hate.

I say "thumbs up" on a job well done (as usual), and I would love to see the original photo this one was based on.

[Jaybird]

Incredible piece that needs to be shared. The questions that come from it and the outrage should be welcomed. That's part of the reason that I collect Negro League stuff as well. I want to have those hard discussions. When my son asks me why that man has his face painted and is on his knees posing with a bat and a grass skirt, it's going to be a tremendous learning lesson. Hopefully by asking and answering these questions we can become a more tolerant and enlightened society.