♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Second Story Books celebrating 50 years of dedicated book selling.

♪ (theme music playing).

♪ WENDEL PATRICK: "Artworks" is made possible in part by the Citizens of Baltimore County and by the Ruth R. Marder Arts Endowment Fund, the Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker Endowment for the Arts, the E.T.

& Robert B. Rocklin Fund, The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation Arts Endowment in memory of Ruth Marder.

KOLPEACE JOHNSON: Art is a form of communication, humanity, and influence.

I've seen so many tiles of performance as far as music, dancing, all these things.

And the one thing that definitely grabs people or grabs the moment is how much that person or that thing actually cares, sweats, how loud they are, how performative they are, and just how, uh, in tune with the people they are.

My name is Christopher Kolpeace Johnson.

I specialize in performative art, public art, community art, and contemporary.

WENDEL: So, Kolpeace is one of the most vibrant artists that I know here in the Baltimore region, really, really anywhere.

And he does these amazing live performance pieces where he's painting and often listening to music and reacting in real time.

Sometimes it'll be like these really short bursts with, um, with paint and with fire.

And there's just, it's just a ton of energy in the performance.

So Kolpeace has very strong ties to, uh, South Carolina, where he was before he came to Baltimore.

And, um, you know, has spoken a lot about his connection to, to family, and how that finds its way into his art, into his painting.

It's great, and when you meet Kolpeace and, and have a conversation like, you know, he's, uh, he can be very chill and, and reserved and calm, but when he's painting, it's like this exact, it's like this opposite.

It's like this ball of, of creative action unleashed.

It's amazing.

KOLPEACE: My performative art, uh, is a form of survival, a form of action, and a form of intimacy as well, uh, as far as connection with others.

I get such a sensation of just seeing people smile and having, having a good time.

Um, almost like a little party, a get-together.

♪ ♪ Being able to paint portraits of people or things in a few minutes sounds cool.

Um, but it's very, it's not nerve, nervousness, I would say, it's like butterflies, um, being born again, kind of in a way.

Um, because, because I use, I use fire, I use spray paint, and I also incorporate people and music.

Um, and so in doing so, uh, creating the work and creating it like in the moment, it connects you with, uh, people that you've never met before.

But it gives them a chance to know that, a everyday person like myself is just like them, uh, bleeding the same blood.

Nobody's in different backgrounds.

Nobody's higher, nobody's lower, we're all in the same level.

Um, and when I'm painting, my back is turned away from the audience, um, and we're all facing the same direction.

Um, so for me, I would say my performative art is intentional.

Uh, very intentional, um, and also very sacred, um, but also just very in as space, I say intimate in a way.

Um, a mural is a large definition of a moment, a thing, or a dedication tribute.

Um, as an artist, I do understand the concept of performing art, as you are instigating something.

And so that's what my work does when it performs.

Um, when I create murals, I'm initiating something, and that can be a powerful move as far as community engagement.

Um, it can be a solo, um, memorable thing that I talk about South Carolina, the South, um, painting animals and people together.

Um, or it can be a, um, just, uh, just a general thing.

It could be patterns, it could be a thing, but I don't usually paint those; I actually paint what I love.

And so, um, I do, I do not take on mural commissions or commissions where I'm told what to do, 'cause I'm a rebel, so I do what I want to do.

One of my favorite things, uh, about this, this, this, uh, this practice or this, this thing is that I can do it.

You know, I base my work off of a lot of animals.

All of my animals are like ancestral bays; I'll get a new animal sometimes at certain times.

I will donate to an animal shelter or something like that.

Um, when I may lose a loved one because, um, these are ancestral things beings to me.

They seem like they carry a certain personality from people that I may know.

Maybe like 2019, 20, uh, my sister passed away.

Um, and that was on Juneteenth.

And a year or two later, my grandmother passed away on this past Juneteenth.

Juneteenth is such a strong celebration of, of freedom.

But every Juneteenth I would paint something somewhere for little, I don't care what they trying to pay me, I'm just, I'll paint because I know these are two women, two people that enjoyed what I did for a living.

And so, when I lost those people, I knew that in, in my heart and my blood and my spirit.

Um, I knew I had to stop being such a wall or a brick wall to almost everything.

Uh, because I didn't have to be that as an artist.

As an artist, uh, we were trying to escape that.

And we hide behind it so much to the point where our personalities only come out when we're either having some, indulging in some, uh, stuff, indulging in things.

Um, use your mind wherever that goes, but why can't we just be that way regardless?

Enjoy in celebrating life.

'Cause I've had friends who are sick that almost passed away this year.

I had things, people happen.

Uh, I'm not mad, I'm not upset.

I'm just like, yo, this is day, this is life, it is real.

And all my life, it's been things I've had to try and learn and do have to be this, be that.

Um, but this is one of those things I just know how to do.

I've used this stuff to take care of my family, my friends, people around me, and I'm able to take care of myself a little bit more, and I wouldn't give that up for anything.

♪ ♪ WENDEL: Kolpeace.

KOLPEACE: How you feeling?

WENDEL: Good, how you feeling?

KOLPEACE: I'm all right, cool.

WENDEL: I'm gonna reach across.

KOLPEACE: Alright, you don't like that?

WENDEL: Yeah, uh, it's great to be here.

So, this is the first time I've been in, uh, in your studio space.

This is your new studio space, correct?

KOLPEACE: Yes, absolutely, yeah.

I moved over here at the PS 103; it's the Thurgood Marshall Meeting Center.

So, it's, uh, it's cool.

It's a newly renovated building.

Uh, it was first elementary school, um, housed certain, um, iconic and, uh, neighborhood people who are in this part of Baltimore, which is Pennsylvania Avenue.

Um, and people who've lived in the neighborhood, elders have been going here since they've been kids, and so, um, over time, when it had some building damage, water, um, different things, um, they renovated the building.

Um, I cannot remember the, what it took to renovate it.

Um, but I knew it took a lot of time.

They kept some of the preservations of the things here.

Um, so yeah, it's brand-new building, but, uh, the idea was me to come down here and create a, uh, do arts residence here.

Um, and create a public piece for the community.

WENDEL: That's amazing.

And so, you, you've been here, you said two months?

KOLPEACE: Uh, two to four.

WENDEL: Two to four, okay.

KOLPEACE: Maybe little more than that.

WENDEL: Yeah, you look like you've, you have moved in.

KOLPEACE: Yeah.

WENDEL: You've got a lot of a lot of things in here.

KOLPEACE: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm, uh, I've, I've been in and out, so I've been, um, working from different section, different spaces here.

Um, and so what I did was I kind of, I had to invent because the space was just empty, so, you know, I had to kind of like, create an open space, but a space I could make art, but also a space I could be comfortable in too.

Uh, space I can take meetings, a space I can, you know, uh, greet people, but also show the work as well.

Um, so just, you know, it's what it's used for, I guess.

WENDEL: Yeah, and you came here from the Creative Alliance Residency Program?

KOLPEACE: Yeah.

WENDEL: You were there, I think you were there, if not from the, from the time I met you, definitely shortly after.

But, um, what's, what is, uh, if you can maybe speak to your experiences about residencies and, and having, uh, support for your art, what is that like?

KOLPEACE: Absolutely, um, well, I, I, you know, I think artists have these questions, right?

They want to know, like, what does a residency entail?

What is the initiation, what is the approach to, and my experience with it is just trying a residency and seeing where, where is comfort?

Where some things may not be as grand.

You know, I've had, I've had comfortable residencies, I've had residencies that may have not been, you know, as the other ones, you know.

But, um, my experiences kind of being around spaces is I enjoy like, the conversations of, um, support, right?

I enjoy the conversation of what art, um, can be and what it can grow into.

Um, and I like making new art, art that I haven't made before.

I don't stick to art that, uh, maybe my audience or people, you know, who may see my work outside of here, may be used to.

Um, and so some of the work in the background is brand new work.

Um, people have not seen it, um, in person, they'll see it now, of course, but it's like they haven't seen it.

Um, but it's very prone to me.

And I made these, um, at a residency at the Gibbs Museum of Art in Charleston, South Carolina, when I did that residency.

But I've, you know, I thought about the concept, and I spent, um, two to three years planning to kind of get myself to create these pieces.

So, before I even did the residency, I kind of took my time to research and do some things.

So, a residency is kind of like that, right?

You go in, you kind of prepare, you are preparing for like a, it's kind of going on a vacation.

Um, but as an artist, you, you want to prepare for your vacation, and your excursions are your pieces, or you don't have to be; some residencies allow you to rest.

Um, like residency I did at the Last Resort Artist Retreat, which is here in Baltimore.

Um, and what I'm doing now is at the Thurgood Marshall Meeting Center.

And here is a little bit different 'cause now I'm incorporating all the worlds, right?

Uh, I can get rest, you know, I can chill, um, but I also can, uh, make art, but I'm also making community art, public art.

And then I'm having people like you guys and you as well in the space where, um, you are in one of many of my worlds, but they're all together, you know?

WENDEL: Mm-hmm.

KOLPEACE: So, yeah.

It's kind of like that for real.

WENDEL: Yeah, well, so I wanna talk to you a little bit about, uh, origin stories.

But before we do that, you are wearing a custom hoodie?

KOLPEACE: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

WENDEL: Like super custom.

(laughs).

KOLPEACE: For Sure.

WENDEL: It's like custom of custom.

I believe that's, uh, that's the new, is that the new bearded dragon line?

KOLPEACE: Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know what I'm saying?

So, they don't come this, this size anymore.

WENDEL: Okay, yeah.

KOLPEACE: Extra-large, 2XL here.

WENDEL: Right, right, right.

They're, they're outta those that's like a special... KOLPEACE: Yeah, yeah.

WENDEL: Yes.

KOLPEACE: A lot, a lot of times, you know, uh, people have, you know, their chains, people have their shoes, they have their things, it's like their hair.

Um, and being Black and loving the idea of being an artist and loving being Black, I know that I have my thing.

And my thing is animals.

I love animals.

They bring me comfort.

They bring me joy.

Um, but they also bring me care, you know what I'm saying?

Because, um, it allows you being a man, it allows you to learn to take care of something and then take care of things around you as well.

Um, so this is Bubba.

Um, Bubba, well, is my, is my son, I claim that.

But also, um, Bubba was a rescue as well.

Um, so he had a broken arm.

Um, but anyway, Bubba's an old man, like, he, you know, sometimes he is, sometimes he's not, you know, he just, like, he's an own zone, but he has a personality.

And so, um, I base my work off of a lot of animals, too.

WENDEL: Mm-hmm.

KOLPEACE: Um, all of my animals are like ancestral bays.

Um, every time people may, people don't know this, but I'll get a new animal.

Sometimes, at certain times, I will donate to an animal's shelter or something like that, um, when I may lose a loved one.

Um, because these are ancestral things beings, to me, they seem like they carry a certain personality from people that I may know.

Like, this guy acts like my grandfather, you know what I'm saying?

So, um, my puppy, he acts like all my cousins on, my uncles, like, he acts like everybody.

Um, I have a spider, and my spider acts like, he acts like my aunt.

So my spider's a girl, but she, like, she's very, like, she comes out what she wants, if she does what she want to do.

Um, and then my snake, uh, he, he acts like himself, and so it's kind of like having these different personalities with animals as well.

WENDEL: Yeah.

KOLPEACE: Yeah.

WENDEL: Yeah, that's amazing.

So, this is Bubba.

KOLPEACE: Yes.

WENDEL: And what are, what are the names of your other animals?

KOLPEACE: So, this is Bubba here.

Um, I have a snake you guys will see, you see in a second, um, which is Kobe, uh, after the great, you know, um, and I have a, my spider, a zebra knee tarantula, which her name is Harriet, um, after the great Harriet Tubman, everybody laugh, but I do it because that's a superhero of mine.

I like it.

Like, that's one of my favorite superheroes for real.

Um, and I have a dog, it's named Chico, um, off of, off of "Friday."

Uh, but it's my love for movies.

WENDEL: Yeah.

KOLPEACE: His characteristics is very movie-like, and so I just name my animals off of things that's just remind me of just things I really enjoy and care for.

So, uh, yeah, for sure.

WENDEL: Yeah.

Uh, I know we talked a little bit about, uh, uh, off camera about dogs and... KOLPEACE: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

WENDEL: Totally, I totally get it.

KOLPEACE: Yeah, yeah.

WENDEL: Yeah.

Um, so, you know, a lot of times I think when people see artists such as yourself, right?

Who, who seem fully formed, right?

Like, like you have a, an identity that I think resonates, um, both in your artwork and I think just in your, in your personality, right?

Uh, it's easy to look at an artist like yourself and think, okay, well, this is, this is who this artist is now.

Um, but, you know, we all have, we all go through, go through phases, and there's, uh, that sort of initial phase where you fall in love, with whatever it is that you, that you do or your, your relationship begins with whatever your art, uh, art form is.

Um, what was that for you?

Were you always painting, drawing when you were younger?

KOLPEACE: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: Um, yeah, how did, how did that start for you and how did, how did you foster that love?

KOLPEACE: Well, I mean, shoot, uh, so I'm from Columbia, South Carolina, uh, born and raised, and... that love came from the love of music.

Um, art was never like, um, a first concept for me, um, but I enjoyed the idea of moving my hands, working my hands, um, seeing my mom being a hairstylist, uh, seeing my dad trying to fix stuff that he couldn't fix, and broke everything.

Seeing my, uh, my family kind of putting things together to things to make people happy, I, I always enjoyed that.

Um, and I enjoy the way people, or maybe iconic figures, have effect on people.

Um, and so I know that I wanted to do something, but I didn't know art was a thing, right?

Um, I know it was introduced to art, artists, Black artists may exist, artists is in the books, all this, I never knew those things.

I just knew I liked a picture, something that looked good, and that was my favorite thing about it.

Um, and so just coming into it, I would say that, I don't know, man, I, I, I mean, I was in, I was in college, you know what I'm saying?

I, I wanted to, I wanted to figure something out to kinda help my family, but, uh, help myself too, 'cause, you know, I, I've, when I do this work, um, I think about community people.

Um, but I think about the environment that they live in, uh, being from the south, I grew up in a very, um, rural area.

Um, but I also grew up in the woods too, so it's kind of like seeing nature, um, being around wildlife, of course.

Um, but learning how to create forms of survival, um, because my art became a survival technique.

Um, 'cause I started off as a performative artist in the street.

So, what I would do is I would go to, when I was in college, I had like two or three jobs.

And when I got off of work, I would go to different things, maybe downtown, in the neighborhood, whatever, I would go to these events, and I would just paint around people.

Um, it didn't matter where it was and who was in front of, even if it was two or three people, I would go do it.

Um, and I would do that to cause attention, attention to whatever art, what I believed in, in that moment.

Um, and so what I would do in that moment when I would paint live, I would paint these faces in like eight to 14 minutes, um, using spray paint, using fire, using these things, because graffiti was a form of communication for me.

Um, it helped me kind of create this concept between they didn't know who I was, I didn't know who they was, but guess what, after this, they gonna think I'm the, you know, coolest person in man in this moment.

Uh, but that creates a relationship and a friendship.

Um, and I knew how the humanity part of that exists in that moment, and so I just kept pushing.

I just kept pushing.

I didn't stop.

Even if I wasn't making no money, I kept doing it because I knew that there was something out there that I could reach people in doing it.

Um, at this point, I still didn't know I was an artist.

I just knew that I was a guy that enjoyed painting.

WENDEL: Mm-hmm.

KOLPEACE: Um, and so what I would do is, um, travel to different spaces like in South Carolina and Georgia, um, and North Carolina.

Um, these different states to just do painting, um, for these different spaces.

And so, when I would do it, you know, I wanted to find a different, deeper connection with the arts.

Um, and I didn't know that contemporary art and public art and murals, I knew that murals existed, but I didn't know the strength behind it, right?

And so, um, I decided to, you know, go get some education, learn something for once, um, open up a book, read it, you know, take some time to actually, uh, absorb information and get closer to people.

Um, being close to my faith in God, trying to like, think about some things that was strongly in that spaces, um, and I thought about my family, and I thought about the legacy of, of my, my grandmothers and my mothers and how they, um, how they invite people in the room.

Um, and so I flipped my art a little bit more to create that performative art piece into a aesthetically pleasing, um, contemporary art where I create paintings and different things that represents, uh, South Carolina culture a little bit more.

Um, and so what I did was I took, you know, their, uh, gestures, their movements, their dancing, whatever, and I incorporated that into my performative pieces and then into my contemporary pieces.

WENDEL: Mm-hmm.

KOLPEACE: Um, most of my pieces, you look at 'em, and you think about music a little bit, you think about like, it's sound, you know, it's, it's things that's coming out to it.

Um, because as I'm making work, I listen to music, um, and I see color.

And so, it's kind of like a synesthesia type thing, um, where you can see things that you, I guess, hear what you see, something like that.

Um, and so creating music, listening to jazz, maybe opera, listening to hip hop, soul, whatever that may be, gospel, all these things, um, you create a picture that comes to life.

Um, and so as I grew and as I got stronger a little bit more, I realized that I wanted to deepen my connection with the people, but also with my art as well.

And so, um, as I got close to my art, I realized that it drew people in a little bit more, um, unintentionally, but in a genuine way.

Um, and so when I go to spaces and things like that, I'll start to bring my little animals, I bring myself, but I bring all of my personality with it because I remember that, you know, people who may have passed in my life, people who were very close to me, I remember who they were, and I remember how people loved them, even after they're not here no more, still can hear their voice, see their picture, and they get emotional, um, 'cause they miss that close to the connection with that.

Um, and so this is why it's important to celebrate people that's living, and so, personally, I paint community people.

I paint everyday people, but I create them as like this broad and superhero or this gestural movement.

Um, kind of like, uh, Alexandre Dumas, who made the Three Musketeers.

Um, and so when he made that, um, he created these, these lifelike three heroes, you know, who created a concept, and so my version of that is creating these pieces to create that concept, so.

WENDEL: Yeah, yeah, that's amazing.

Um, you mentioned that, uh, when you were doing performance art and painting in South Carolina at the time, you didn't think of yourself as an, as an artist.

KOLPEACE: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: And so, at what point, was there a point or, uh, a time period in your life where you, you sort of made that switch and started to view yourself, I mean, because you speak about yourself as an artist now?

KOLPEACE: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: And I think, you know, for a lot of us, a lot of artists, there's sort of like this period in between where, you know, you're like, well, what am I, am I, am I this thing that I, that I do?

Um, but for you, was there a, a moment where it clicked?

KOLPEACE: Um, I would say I didn't know I was an artist um, in college, I remember my, my mother was sitting in the driver's side, and we were at the financial aid office, and she looked over at me, and we was trying to figure out how I was gonna continue to be in college and school.

Um, so we went in, we tried to talk, we did everything, you know, they wasn't trying to give us no bread, no, no scholarship or anything.

Um, I had decent grades, but it wasn't horrible, but I was still trying to make it, you know, in the space, uh, we went outside, she sat in the car, she started praying, and she started crying.

She was crying.

I've seen my mother cry before, but I've never seen her cry like this.

Um, and so it lit like a little fire in me.

Um, and in that moment, I knew I had to take myself seriously.

Um, and in that moment, I should have claimed being an artist, but I didn't know it until I felt it, but I had, like, I was really like fired up, and I wanted to do something.

Um, so I did all those things.

I went everywhere, I did the things that I needed to do to survive, but also provide a way to just be in school to get that education.

Um, after all of that, going to grad school, coming here in Baltimore, um, I went to the, uh, MICA, and then when I went to MICA, did community arts, um, my mentor, Paula Phillips and Ken Krafchek, and other people like Fletcher will, uh, Fletcher, excuse me, um, and a couple other people, they kind of spoken to me and the influential way about it was, you know, you have to decide, you know, just take yourself seriously.

WENDEL: Mm-hmm.

KOLPEACE: Um, and so this is why I wanted to have mentees, that I talk to young people because, uh, once you start taking yourself seriously, other people will too.

Um, even people who do photography, who do I don't know, who do singing, who do these things like that, like, it's not until like you, not until you yourself listen to your own work, wear your own stuff, this is why I wear my own name proudly, you know?

'Cause when you do that, um, people don't second-guess you, you know, they take you as who you are, so, um, I am, I am that, and it's a part of me.

And so, I claim being an artist to this day.

Um, and I think maybe a, a few years ago when I, you know, just started to actually just lock in even more and being like, hey, this is me, this is what I do.

Um, but it wasn't until I was able to celebrate my mother, you know, uh, threw a party for her and my art, you know, contributed to that, um, when I got to go on vacation and my art contributed to that, you know, my brother went to LA, my art contributed to that, you know what I'm saying?

But I was able to do these things to other people because imagine if I would've quit, man.

Like, imagine if I would've just stayed and did something, you know, general, you know, not regular, but general, general public type stuff.

And people know what that is like, and that's nothing wrong with that, um, but in a sense, if you have this feeling inside you that you really want to do something, um, it's important to drive even further, you know what I'm saying?

Like, you do what you gotta do for now.

Um, I've done it, I've done many odd jobs, Lord have mercy.

But I'm happy where I'm at today because it's like, I don't have to lift 200-plus boxes anymore in a hot truck, you know?

I can watch everything in life and just watch it unfold so... WENDEL: Yeah.

KOLPEACE: I love being an artist, man.

WENDEL: Well, I, I can't remember exactly when you and I met, but... KOLPEACE: Yeah, yeah.

WENDEL: We were out and about somewhere, and you introduced yourself and... KOLPEACE: I know music was playing.

WENDEL: Yeah, music was playing.

And, um, and not long after that, I just kept like, people would be like, "Oh, yeah, you know Kolpeace?"

"Oh, have you met Kolpeace?"

You know?

KOLPEACE: Yeah, man.

WENDEL: Or it would be like, um, like, "Do you know Chris?"

I'd be like, "Chris?"

They'd be like, "Yeah, Kolpeace?"

And I'd be like, "Oh yeah."

(laughing).

WENDEL: So... KOLPEACE: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

WENDEL: ...it's, it's been great, you know, having you in, in the area and, and seeing you blossom and shine and, um, you know, you and I are gonna do something, I know we talked about it... KOLPEACE: Yeah, yeah, we will be.

WENDEL: ...uh, a lot.

Um, but we're doing this, and it's great to have a conversation with you, uh, be able to share a little bit more about who you are and what you do, uh, with our audience, and um, thank you.

KOLPEACE: Yeah, yeah, man, I mean, it's, it is important for us to share, dude, and I'm, I'm happy to be here talking to you, uh, 'cause you, you're very special, you know what I'm saying?

You're special in a way where you, um, you have a story, like, it's like you, your eyes tell a story, right?

And then you just gotta, gotta listen and the story just kind of flow a little bit.

Um, but I love people and, and I enjoy people, who they are and, and they themselves, you know?

And so, um, I'm just happy, you know, we got to make this happen.

Um, hope people get to see the fun stuff too.

WENDEL: Yeah.

(laughing).

♪ (music plays through credits).

♪ ♪ (theme music playing).

♪ WENDEL: "Artworks" is made possible in part by the Citizens of Baltimore County and by the Ruth R. Marder Arts Endowment Fund, the Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker Endowment for the Arts, the E.T.

& Robert B. Rocklin Fund, The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation Arts Endowment in memory of Ruth Marder.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Second Story Books celebrating 50 years of dedicated book selling.