Monjett Graham
Encyclopedia
Biography and education
Monjett Graham, was born in Omaha, NebraskaNebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
where he obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska. His major was Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an and American History with a minor in Art. Monjett Graham then went on to complete his Master's thesis in Psychology and Art in 1974 from the Lone Mountain College
Lone Mountain College
Lone Mountain College was a college acquired by the University of San Francisco in 1978. It was founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart as Sacred Heart Academy in Menlo Park, California in 1898 and became College of the Sacred Heart in 1921...
.
Graham continued his education at the University of Toronto, The San Francisco Institute of Art, and also attended The San Francisco Art Academy, focus was on Art.
Monjett Graham is a daily practitioner of transcendental meditation
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
, yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
and weight lifting.
He started these life-style features in the 1970s to increase his artistic productivity and relieve stress.
Working out five days a week, he is a certified personal trainer and specializes in strength training for adults.
His hobby
Hobby
A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...
is studying Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
writing characters.
1970s
Monjett Graham moved to San Francisco, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in October 1969, from Omaha, Nebraska. In the early 1970s he wrote a regular column on culture for the Sun Reporter, an African American
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...
newspaper, located in San Francisco. He also contributed artwork to The Rip Off Review of Western Culture
The Rip Off Review of Western Culture
Rip Off Review Of Western Culture was an underground comic magazine based in San Francisco, California. There were three issues in 1972. The publication was historically significant in that it brought together the work of many noteworthy underground artists and writers.-History:The Rip Off Review...
magazine/comic; two pieces were published in the first issue. The first drawing was entitled “Urban Mood” created with a single woodcut and pencil. The second drawing was created with woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
s only, three soldiers,entitled “Occupation”. The subject matter, at that time was social commentary and surrealistic landscapes.
In 1970 Monjett Graham had his first one man exhibition, "The Fire Cycle" at the San Francisco College for Women. The college had changed it's name in 1971 to the Lone Mountain College
Lone Mountain College
Lone Mountain College was a college acquired by the University of San Francisco in 1978. It was founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart as Sacred Heart Academy in Menlo Park, California in 1898 and became College of the Sacred Heart in 1921...
Monjett Graham became an exhibiting member of the Blackman’s Art Gallery on Haight Street in San Francisco, which was the first African American owned art gallery in Northern California.
- Fantasy Landscapes
In 1976, Monjett moved from San Francisco to Sausalito, California and then a year later moved to Mill Valley, California. In the mid-1970s Monjett Graham started "Fantasy Landscapes" series, which consisted of exotic or mysterious landscapes often punctuated by temples, pyramids or ancient buildings. Sometimes these paintings were accented with a single expressive character to embellish the scenario with specific attitude.
1980s
Monjett Graham created portraits of historical, military leaders from around the world, using pencil and conte as a medium. These drawings were then applied to T-shirts and sportswear via silk screen. This fashioned a marketable commodity, which involved a mail order business, complete with a color catalogue, that supplied retail buyers and sports shops across America. The business,incorporated in 1981, known as the "California Corporation" advertised in major nationwide magazines such as Soldier of FortuneSoldier of Fortune
Soldier of Fortune is another term for an adventurer or mercenary. It may also refer to:- Film :* Soldier of Fortune , a 1955 film starring Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, and Michael Rennie...
, American Handgunner and Guns and Ammo. Eventually, it also included illustrations of warplanes and military vehicles. The business due to increased competition, ended in the late 1980s.
During this time Monjett also expanded his artwork to a mixed media collage technique, which he used paper, thin bits of fabric on canvas. He would then experiment with larger objects, such as wood panel, leather, metal and plastic parts, as well as boots, and entire pieces of clothing. Starting out as abstract imagery, Monjett's mixed media collage technique evolved into illustrating animals and a variety of scenarios involving the human form.
1990s
Monjett Graham created several series of mixed media collage paintings throughout the 1990s. The first completed series was the "Music Series" which was first exhibited in 1991 at the Piazza Gallery in Sausalito, California. This is an ongoing series still in production, which portrays music in the United States as medium of stage entertainment. Other series done in the mixed media collage technique were the "Religion Series" and the "Sports Series" and the "Black Holocaust" series. The "Black Holocaust" series was exhibited in in 1995 at Jahn Arts International in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The series illustrated the historical narrative of the West African slave trade.Current work of 2000s
Currently Monjett is working on his "Music Series" mixed media collage paintings and just completed a series of paintings entitled "2010" which are all abstract expressionist paintings on canvas. Monjett Graham uses only three colors of acrylic paint with the "2010" series, and has worked with the paintings as if the canvas was an uneven, textured stone wall or cave interior. This can be seen here in the “Gold Rush” painting within this article.Exhibitions
| Year | Exhibitions |
|---|---|
| 2011 | October 22, 2011, Monjett Graham Selected Paintings, Cassandra Kersting Expressions Gallery, Sausalito, CA |
| 2011 | September 6, 2011, Monjett Graham Selected Paintings, Joe Hamer Salon, Mill Valley, CA |
| 2008 | November 2008 Group Exhibition - paintings Art and Soul Gallery Burlingame, CA |
| 2006 | August 1 thru 31, 2006 "New Paintings 2006" Solo Exhibition - paintings O'Hanlon Center for the Arts Mill Valley, CA |
| 2005 | August 2005 Group Exhibition - paintings Art and Soul Gallery San Francisco, CA |
| 2005 | July 2 and 3, 2005 Fillmore Jazz Festival Fillmore/Washington Street Selected Paintings and Prints San Francisco, CA. |
| 2004 | May 7 and 8, 2005 Marin Open Studios Recent Paintings Mill Valley, CA. |
| 2004 | Oct. 5 thru Oct. 31, 2004 "Art and Politics" Group exhibition paintings and cartoons O'Hanlon Center for the Arts Mill Valley, CA. |
| 2004 | May 19 thru June 30, 2004 "Selected Paintings" Solo exhibition—paintings dava dava salon San Francisco, CA. |
| 2003 | April 5 through April 30, 2003 Solo Exhibition Recent Paintings: "Games and Luck" Toby's Gallery Point Reyes Station, CA |
| 2002 | October 21 - December 12, 2002 Group Exhibition "It Figures" Marin County Civic Center San Rafael, CA |
| 1999 | August 7 through August 31, 1999 “Man, Woman, and Mythology” One-man exhibition of mixed-media paintings Gallery Dog Eureka, CA |
| 1999 | July 5 through August 1, 1999 Heart of Care Inc. Artist in residence grants four-week summer arts project. Funded by the Nebraska Arts Council Omaha, NE |
| 1999 | “1999 Regional Invitational” Sponsored by Humboldt State University First Street Gallery Eureka, CA. |
| 1999 | January 8-February 28, 1999 “Musical World” Solo Exhibition Recent Mix-Media Paintings and Giclee Prints Plaza Design Arcata, CA. |
| 1999 | November 14 - December 17, 1999 “7th Annual Marin Arts Council Members Exhibition” Paintings and Limited Edition Prints Corte Madera Town Center Corte Madera, CA. |
| 1999 | September 3 through December 31, 1998 “Windows on the Waterfront” Group Exhibition Paintings Jack London Square Oakland, CA. |
| 1998 | September 3 through October 30 “Annual Group Exhibition” Paintings Shamwari Gallery Oakland, CA. |
| 1997 | “Windows on Art” Project, 1997 Group Exhibition Alameda Historical Society Museum Alameda, CA. |
| 1997 | June 1 through June 30, 1997 “Exploring Collage” Solo Exhibition Mill Valley Art Commission Mill Valley City Hall Mill Valley, CA. |
| 1996 | October 24 through December 19, 1996 Group Exhibition – Paintings HAND Contemporary Arts San Francisco, CA. |
| 1995 | December 3 through January 3, 1995“Kwanza Exhibition” Group Exhibition Hennepin County Government Center Minneapolis, MN. |
| 1970s through the early 1990s | October 14 through December 3 “Jazz and Blues Night” Group Exhibition Sunrise Gallery San Francisco, CA.
|
| 1970s | Paintings and Woodcuts San Francisco College For Women, San Francisco, CA |
| 1970s | Paintings Richmond Art Center Richmond, CA |
External links
- Monjett Graham at the Joyce Gordon Gallery
- Marin News
- San Francisco Gate, Visual Art August 17, 2006
- Exhibits
- The Rip Off Review of Western Culture, First Issue
- Artist uses startling effects, Merced County Times, 30 August 1990
- Artist turns trash into treasure, Merced Sun Star, 31 August 1990
- Musical sinspiration rings true in paintings by Monjett Mill Valley Record, 6 March 1991
- Art Notes, Marlene Tait, Mill Valley Literary Review, Summer 1991
- Local artist combines "Light and Rhythm" to produce eclectic and original paintings, Marlene Tait, 3 March 1992
- Visions of Light, Marlene Tait, Mill Valley Literary Review Spring 1992
- Mixed media gets mythic, Humboldt Times Standard 6 August 1999
- Pop Icons, Mythology And The Soul Humboldt Beacon 12 August 1990