Kadir Nelson
Encyclopedia
Kadir Nelson is an award-winning African American
artist
, illustrator and author. His work is focused on African American culture
and history.
, and graduated from the Pratt Institute
in Brooklyn, New York.
, Coca-Cola
, The New York Times
, Major League Baseball
, and the United States Postal Service
, among others.
and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
in Los Angeles
, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
in Detroit, the Anacostia Museum
in Washington, D.C.
, the Society of Illustrators
and the Studio Museum in Harlem
in New York
, the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
in Bristol, England, The Yokohama Citizens’ Gallery in Yokohama, Japan and the Tijuana Cultural Center
in Tijuana, Mexico.
, the United States Postal Service
, the United States Sports Academy
, the International Olympic Committee
, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
for the film Amistad
, and worked on visual development for the animated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
. His paintings have decorated the sets of television sitcoms "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and "The Jamie Foxx Show
," as well as feature films Friday
, Set It Off
and The Beauty Shop
.
; children's book authors Donna Jo Napoli
, Nikki Grimes
and Carole Boston Weatherford
; director Spike Lee
; and actors Debbie Allen
and Will Smith
.
In 2009, he published Change Has Come, with illuminated quotations from President Barack Obama
.
for the book Just the Two of Us. For his book, We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
, he received the 2008 CASEY Award
for best baseball book, the 2009 Coretta Scott King Author Award
, and the 2009 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award
.
's posthumous 2010
album Michael
.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
artist
African American art
African American art is a broad term describing the visual arts of the American black community . Influenced by various cultural traditions, including those of Africa, Europe and the Americas, traditional African American art forms include the range of plastic arts, from basket weaving, pottery,...
, illustrator and author. His work is focused on African American culture
African American culture
African-American culture, also known as black culture, in the United States refers to the cultural contributions of Americans of African descent to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from American culture. The distinct identity of African-American culture is rooted in...
and history.
Early life
Nelson was born in Washington D.C., attended Crawford High School in San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, and graduated from the Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
in Brooklyn, New York.
Illustration work
Nelson has done illustration work for Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, and the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
, among others.
Exhibitions
Nelson has had exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States and the world, including the Museum of ToleranceMuseum of Tolerance
The Museum of Tolerance , a multimedia museum in Los Angeles, California, USA, with an associated museum and professional development multi-media training facility in New York City, is designed to examine racism and prejudice in the United States and the world with a strong focus on the history of...
and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is located in the Cultural Center of the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1965, it holds the world's largest permanent exhibit on African American culture. In 1997, it moved into a 120,000 square foot facility on Warren Avenue...
in Detroit, the Anacostia Museum
Anacostia Museum
The Anacostia Community Museum is a Smithsonian Institution museum in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States, opened in 1967...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, the Society of Illustrators
Society of Illustrators
The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the mission of the Society is to promote the art and appreciation of illustration, as well as its history...
and the Studio Museum in Harlem
Studio Museum in Harlem
The Studio Museum in Harlem is an American contemporary art museum in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, New York. It was founded in 1968 as the first such museum in the U.S. devoted to the art of African-Americans, specializing in 19th and 20th century work as well work of artists of...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
The Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. It is run by the city council with no entrance fee. It holds designated museum status, granted by the national government to protect outstanding museums...
in Bristol, England, The Yokohama Citizens’ Gallery in Yokohama, Japan and the Tijuana Cultural Center
Tijuana Cultural Center
The Tijuana Cultural Center opened its doors October 20, 1982, with over a million visitors a year. This touristic attraction has been the main center for the regional arts, and represents one the most important in the northwest of the country...
in Tijuana, Mexico.
Collections
His work is in the collections of the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
, the United States Sports Academy
United States Sports Academy
The United States Sports Academy is an accredited, sport-specific institution located in Daphne, Alabama. It offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs as well as certificate programs. Founded in 1972, the Academy has provided its sports programs to more than 60 countries around the...
, the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was founded in 1990 in Kansas City, Missouri.-History:The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was founded in 1990 by a group of former Negro Leagues baseball players, including Kansas City Monarchs outfielder, Alfred Surratt, Buck O'Neil, and Horace Peterson...
and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Film and television work
Nelson was a concept artistArt department
Art department in movie terms means the section of a production's crew concerned with visual artistry. Working under the supervision of the production designer and/or art director, the art department is responsible for arranging the overall look of the film as desired by the film director...
for the film Amistad
Amistad
"Amistad" is a Spanish noun meaning "friendship". It may refer to:Ships* Amistad/Amitie, an 18th century schooner that transported Acadians from France to Louisiana....
, and worked on visual development for the animated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is a 2002 American animated film that was released by DreamWorks. It follows the adventures of a young Kiger mustang stallion living in the 19th century wild west. The film, written by John Fusco and directed by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook, was nominated for the...
. His paintings have decorated the sets of television sitcoms "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and "The Jamie Foxx Show
The Jamie Foxx Show
The Jamie Foxx Show is an American television sitcom that aired on the WB Network from August 28, 1996 to January 14, 2001. The series starred Jamie Foxx, Garcelle Beauvais, Christopher B. Duncan, Ellia English, and Garrett Morris.-Synopsis:...
," as well as feature films Friday
Friday (film)
Friday is a 1995 stoner comedy-drama-buddy film directed by F. Gary Gray. Starring Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Bernie Mac, Tommy Lister, Jr...
, Set It Off
Set It Off
Set It Off is a 1996 action and crime film directed by F. Gary Gray, and stars Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox and Kimberly Elise , as four close friends in Los Angeles, California who decide to plan and execute a bank robbery...
and The Beauty Shop
The Beauty Shop
The Beauty Shop was an Americana rock / alt country band, led by singer-songwriter-guitarist John Hoeffleur, based out of Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1999, they released two EPs and two full length albums before disbanding in 2008...
.
Children's book illustration
Nelson has collaborated in creating children's books with several authors, including Ntozake ShangeNtozake Shange
Ntozake Shange born October 18, 1948, is an American playwright, and poet. As a self proclaimed black feminist, much of the content of her work addresses issues relating to race and feminism....
; children's book authors Donna Jo Napoli
Donna Jo Napoli
Donna Jo Napoli is an author of children's and young adult books, as well as a prominent linguist who has worked in syntax, phonetics, phonology, morphology, historical and comparative linguistics, Romance studies, structure of Japanese, structure of American Sign Language, poetics, writing for...
, Nikki Grimes
Nikki Grimes
Nikki Grimes is an American author and illustrator of books written for children and young adults, as well as a poet and journalist. Grimes was born in Harlem, New York....
and Carole Boston Weatherford
Carole Boston Weatherford
Carole Boston Weatherford is an African American author and critic, now living in North Carolina, United States. She writes children's literature and some historical books, as well as poetry and commentaries.- Biography :...
; director Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
; and actors Debbie Allen
Debbie Allen
Deborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities...
and Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
.
In 2009, he published Change Has Come, with illuminated quotations from President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
Book awards
Nelson is a two-time Caldecott Honor Award winner. He received an NAACP Image AwardNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Children's
The NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Literary Work, Children's:...
for the book Just the Two of Us. For his book, We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
, he received the 2008 CASEY Award
CASEY Award
The CASEY Award has been given to the best baseball book of the year since . The honor was begun by Mike Shannon and W.J. Harrison, editors and co-founders of “Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine.”-CASEY Award recipients:...
for best baseball book, the 2009 Coretta Scott King Author Award
Coretta Scott King Award
The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association...
, and the 2009 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award
Sibert Medal
The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award established by the Association for Library Service to Children in 2001 with support from Bound to Stay Bound Books, Inc., is awarded annually to the author and illustrator of the most distinguished informational book published in English during the...
.
Album cover art
Nelson created the mural used as cover art for Michael JacksonMichael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's posthumous 2010
2010 in American music
The following is a list of notable events and releases that have occurred in 2010 in music in the United States.-January:* January 1 – Frontman Chris Cornell announces the reunion of Soundgarden....
album Michael
Michael (album)
Michael is a posthumous album of previously unreleased tracks by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released from December 10, 2010 - January 14, 2011 by Epic Records and Sony Music Entertainment and features guest performances by Akon, 50 Cent, Lenny Kravitz and Dave Grohl...
.
Postage stamps
Nelson designed the pair of 44-cent U.S. postage stamps that were issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 2010, to honor Negro Leagues baseball.External links
- Kadir Nelson's website
- Nelson at the Simon and Schuster website
- Nelson at the HarperCollins website
- Nelson at the Scholastic website
- We Are the Ship children's book website
- Nelson biography, with further links, at Black Art Depot website
- Nelson audio interview from December 3, 2007, at Children's Book Radio website
- Nelson at the Internet Movie Database website
- Nelson video interview on Change Has Come at Youtube.com (Simon and Schuster Videos)
- Nelson at 2009 National Book Festival, Library of Congress webcast site