Painter and Muralist Emmett Wigglesworth Talks Importance, Power of Art

Emmett Wigglesworth believes in the power of art. Or rather the powers of art, plural. He believes in it not just as a vehicle of personal expression but as something that permeates all of society and possessing the ability to change it. “The arts represent the humanizing factor in any culture. When you talk about the arts,” he says, “you’re not just talking about painting or music, you’re talking about industrial design, advertising design, you’re talking about architecture, fabric design. Once you understand that, you understand the power.”

Eighty-three year old Wigglesworth, who now has an exhibit in Times Square through the end of May and a permanent exhibit at the Jamaica Arts Center in Queens, grew up in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and has never not been an artist. He says, “I don’t remember as a kid knowing any artists and I certainly didn’t know any black artists, but I knew I liked scribbling. Then my parents thought I should learn to draw since I showed an interest in art but I still didn’t know what to make of it.”

It wasn’t until his art teacher, Ms. Holman at Simon Gratz High School encouraged him to go out for an art scholarship that he began to have an awareness of his identity as an artist. “She understood that art would allow me and the other students to make a contribution to the world, so she pushed us all in that direction. It was the fifties and at that time, he remembers “The Board of Education gave out scholarships but they always went to white students. She went to other agencies to get scholarships for the white students so the Board of Ed scholarships would go to the black students.”

With his identity as an artist now firmly established, Wigglesworth began finding artists whose work he admired. He looked up to Charles White the most, although Wigglesworth’s work kinetically and colorfully hovers between abstract and realism, it is perhaps more stylistically reminiscent of Picasso. White’s staunchly realist images were usually black and white or brown oil wash. Wigglesworth like White, uses his art to celebrate Black American life and culture. Of White Wigglesworth says, “There was a kinship not just in terms of color but also in terms of how they approached what they were doing. Although I have to say there was an African element to Picasso’s work, I didn’t particularly like something in his work that I couldn’t identify with, maybe because it was dark to me.”

He attended the illustrious University of the Arts (known at the time as the Philadelphia Museum of Art) after high school and says, “What it did for me was make me aware that there was a wider world to the arts and art was something that had some meaning and value.” Wigglesworth then understood that art could be a tool to change the world. Still, he ended up a dropout. “I found it difficult to identify with what they were doing. I was a scribbler and I knew my scribbling meant something and they wanted me to draw. I was able to draw but I didn’t enjoy it. Also the school wasn’t a fine arts school. They trained people for advertising and things like that.”

Though Wigglesworth gave up the school, he didn’t give up on art. Since then he has been a muralist, painter, sculptor, fabric designer, and poet. He was also a civil rights activist as many black creatives of his generation were. He’s received numerous commissions for his work as a muralist including P.S. 181 in Brooklyn. The role and necessity for access to arts education for children is something he feels very strongly about. “I hope people realize that in our school system, our kids need to be exposed to the arts because they can change our society, any society for the better.”

Of his current exhibit at Times Square he says he hopes that people who experience it “Feel that there’s something in the hands of all humanity which properly used, can help solve all our problems and brings us all together. I hope they’ll say ‘Oh, I understand now.’”

Asked how he feels about having his work shown in Times Square- a location that simultaneously symbolizes commerce, tourism, and perhaps not very often the best that culture has to offer, he laughs somewhat ironically in consideration. His reply suggests that even at this stage of his life, he remains a firebrand for social justice. “When you have a message,” he declares, “You have to go where people can hear the message so I hope that wherever the work is, that people get the message. It’s my intent that the message is positive although I bring up negative things and I hope it makes people want to take action.”