Richard Wyatt, Jr., on making public art

For complete oral history, visit digicoll.lib.berkeley.edu/record/288654?v=pdf.

Richard Wyatt, Jr., is an artist whose work includes drawings, paintings, installations, and public art. Wyatt was born in Lynwood, California, in 1955, and has lived in the Los Angeles area his whole life. He began his art career early, winning the Watts Chalk-In at twelve years old, and then studying at the Watts Towers Art Center, the Chouinard Art Institute, and the Tutor/Art Program with artist Charles White. Wyatt attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he earned a BFA in art. Some of his best-known work in Los Angeles includes the mural Hollywood Jazz: 1945–1972 on the Capitol Records Building; the mural City of Dreams, River of History in Union Station; and the installation Ripple of Hope at Robert F. Kennedy Inspiration Park. Wyatt taught drawing and painting at the University of California, Irvine; the Otis Art Institute; and the Watts Towers Art Center. He also had a career as a songwriter, writing songs for musicians like The Sylvers and New Edition. In this interview, Wyatt discusses his childhood in the Los Angeles Area, including family and early education; early arts education, including at the Chouinard Art Institute, Studio Watts Workshop, and the Tutor/Art Program; early teachers and mentors, including Charles White, John Riddle, George Evans, and Bill Pajaud; teaching art, including students and art exercises; songwriting career, including musicians, songs, and work with songwriters like Freddie and Christine Yarian Perren; collaborations with artist May Sun; marriage and children; creative process and preparation for work, including historical research, music, and working with models; shows, including Panorama of Black Artists, Visions of a Spirit, and Black American Portraits; paintings and drawings, including E.J. Johnson and Woman with Roses; murals, including The Muralists, Hollywood Jazz, and Cecil on the Watts Towers Art Center; City of Dreams, River of History in Union Station; People Coming, People Going in the Wilshire/Western Metro Red Line Subway Station; Ripple of Hope installation at Robert F. Kennedy Inspiration Park; reflections on commissions and public art; business of art and racism in the art world; collectors and gallery representation; and reflections on his art career.