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Interview of Artist Darrell Black

Art in Space

Painting outfit of the visual artist Darrell Urban Black

Artist: Darrell Urban Black
Since my early childhood years, I loved to create Futuristic cities and spacecraft out of kitchen utensils Forks, Spoons and Knives and during my teenage years my parents separated, Mom with her children in tow made the transition to Brentwood, Long Island N.Y. As a teenager in a new community I quickly lost interest in these imaginative endeavors and had more of a willingness to interact with other teens, my first encounter with another youth happened while waiting for the school bus on the corner of my block and being my first day of school I was obviously nervous and full of anxiety, not knowing what to expect. While waiting a boy approached that same bus stop and as we both stood side by side not saying a word to each other he suddenly turned toward me and started wrestling me to the ground moments later the school bus came; we then both got up he introduced himself and said his name is Ruben, I replied my name is Darrell, we then shook hands and boarded the bus. I later found out that Ruben, was a big ‘’Bruce Lee’’ fan and this attack was only to test out some new kung Fu moves.
This initial encounter and friendship would be partially responsible for encouraging my artistic expression on paper and as our friendship grew he introduced me to his family and other friends in the neighborhood, including his soon to be girlfriend Lilly. We became good friends going to the movies, restaurants or just simply hanging out together. Lilly, had two brothers Michael and Alex, who hung out with us on occasion. I would visit Ruben or Lilly’s home where I was always welcomed and having Puerto Rican backgrounds they had many fine traditions one in particular, is when you come to there home the parents insist you stay for dinner it’s their way of showing they like and appreciate you. Often, I had dinner at Ruben’s parents home and when we visited Lilly, we ate again. Ruben, and I quickly decided if we already ate at his home it was then best to avoid Lilly’s parents until late in the evening.
I spent a lot of time at Ruben, and Lilly’s home respectively, In my home, life was not always pleasant for me or my siblings the main reason Mom, remarried a man my siblings despised — a big belly, bearded, sloppy dressed man with a receding hairline who was a handyman of sorts, a jack-of-all-trades but master of none. My Dad, on the other hand was well groomed and worked as an Avionics Technician for Pan Am. During those turbulent years I tried to get along with Mom’s husband John, but my siblings would not budge. When we kids became unruly Mom, a big believer in supernatural forces, purchased three spiritual red candles and wrote our names on a separate piece of paper, placing each name under the candles and lighting them. Mom, claimed we would get better but we only got worst. My younger and older siblings fought each other on a daily basis, I would often find myself in the middle trying to promote peace and harmony between them and they would almost always be annoyed with my interference and would plot to attack me.
At home I felt like the only person going through an ordeal but that was not the case Ruben, also had his share of problems too jockeying for his father’s affection Ruben, found himself at odds with his younger brother Eddie, who was the apple of Ruben’s father’s eye. Eddie, was very good in school and had plans to join the Navy. It was obvious, he was his father’s pride and joy. Ruben’s mother was more sympathetic and loving towards Ruben, but I felt that Ruben, very much wanted his father’s approval. Lilly, also had her share of problems her father, did not approve of her relationship which was a constant bother for Lilly, this might help explain why we found comfort in each other’s company with a friendship leading me on the path to creation
Which began on a rainy afternoon with nothing for our group of neighborhood friends to do Lilly, made the suggestion that we all go to her Mom’s home, when we arrived Lilly, invited everyone to sit around her dining room table then she made another suggestion that we should draw some pictures; everyone agreed so Lilly, went to her bedroom and got a stack of paper and pens and placed them in the middle of the dining room table each person, took a sheet of paper and a pen and started to draw. The drawings, ranged from stick figures to little obscenities and as each person finished there artwork, they started to leave the table one by one until I was the only one left, still working on my second drawing, when I was done Lilly, quickly picked up my two drawings to show them first to her sister and brother in law who started to make comparisons to artist like Picasso, Van Gogh and Matisse, names I never heard of before then, she showed them to her mother who did not speak English, but seemed very excited and impressed with the two drawings, I then decided that afternoon to keep creating artworks on paper. That same year Ruben and I joined The ‘’National Guard’’ under the buddy system But Ruben, had some medical Issues and could not complete the training.
After returning home from two weeks of ‘’Army National Guard’’ duty full of excitement and anticipation to study my past drawings in preparation to create new artworks; went to the basement where I always created my art expecting to find them readily available instead, it ended in a frantic search to no avail, I broke out in a cold sweat only thinking the worst that my artworks were thrown away or missing not finding my drawings my worst nightmare had been realized, could not believe it! I was devastated having to face the reality my early artwork was gone forever. After such a massive loss, I decided never to draw again and leave New York by joining the Regular Army.
After finishing basic and technical training, I arrived in Germany, in the spring of 1988, along with many other young new recruits we were all sent to a relocation center at Frankfurt, Rhein Main Airbase. The end of each working day many ‘’Tour Buses’’ lined the parking lot of the relocation center with all new recruits in formation outside waiting to be called forward from a list read aloud. The soldiers were then loaded onto waiting buses and taken to Military Bases throughout Germany. This relocation process normally took three days to complete and on the third day me and two other soldiers, were still left. With no more outside formation or buses lined up in the Parking Lot, I started to think a mistake was made that maybe they missed my name during roll call then suddenly one Staff Member, told me to pack my Bags I would be leaving tonight and my new Military Assignment would be in the city of Frankfurt, at that moment a calming effect came over me, didn’t know this city or the country for that matter but I Somehow felt at home here. Late that evening, a Mini Bus came to pick me up and I arrived at the ‘’109th Military Police Company’’ At first glance it was unlike traditional rigid military Barracks, the environment was very modern and cohabitant. I meet my roommate, who was just picking up a few items for the weekend he introduced himself and stated he lives with his Girlfriend but I’m welcomed to use anything in the room which consisted of TV, Stereo and Refrigerator full of Beer. That same evening, I meet some more fellow soldiers including, my direct line supervisor who was congenial in temperament.
My job as a Communication Specialist was from Monday thru Friday with most weekends off during my free time soldiers would offer to introduce me to Downtown Frankfurt, where I had my first taste of German beer. I spent most weekends in Frankfurt, Sachsenhausen, drinking and partying the whole night that life Style of decadence, put my art and creative ambition on hold and eventually forgotten. But in the spring of 1991, while in my barracks room recovering from another weekend of partying, I decided to cleanup the room beginning with boxes of personal belongings that contained letters and pictures from back home. I started, with the first box reading old letters and reminiscing on old Photographs of family and friends and as I got to the bottom of the Box, I stumbled across ten photos of artwork images, that I photographed during my ambitious attempt at becoming a visual artist. At that moment, remembering how creative I use to be and how easy it was to draw and the amount of pleasure it gave me. Immediately, I picked up a pen and paper and made a futile attempt at drawing each and every image was the same ‘’Scribble, Scribal!’’ Creativity, no longer came easily it was lost I then decided to give up partying and spend most weekends practicing drawing again and after many failed attempts I started to see imagery on paper at that moment, I vowed never to abandon my art again. I left the military in April, of 1992 and presently work and reside in Frankfurt, Germany where I continue to strive as an artist.

Listen to The Art of Definism by Definism on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/ybBxX

The Land of Innocence
For Jade Rose King and George Floyd

A YouTube clip shows a protest
ignited after police killed George Floyd—

torched SUVs, overturned cop cars,
armored officers retreating—

all of that sinks my wife
into a deeper postpartum,
having made it through
our personal crisis.

We watch the python of despair
coil itself around America, blowing out
glass storefronts and colliding angry bodies
as the tension constricts and crushes.

We're miles from the mayhem,
but a different kind of danger finds us
in the maternity ward—

a decreasing heartbeat, frenzied nurses
rushing my wife to the OR, surgeons scrambling
to save our daughter.

Watching the news, I'm reminded of slogans
on chaos as necessity: “Real discoveries come
from chaos,” “Chaos is beautiful
and full of fertility.”

But when it's a violent pattern
of reactions, what's the real discovery,
where's the beauty in things shattered and tagged
if the same pattern of injustice
ripples our lives?

Maybe “chaos” isn't the right word.
Let's try, instead, “challenge.”

And since it means refuting the truth
or its validity, isn't a protest a public dispute
of someone else's truth

like the one about the fear of dark bodies,
how it justifies them being mangled
or discredited in news cycles?

Wouldn't the beauty then
be new laws that get us closer
to becoming the people
the Constitution claims it protects?

Let me begin again.

When my wife told me several months ago
she was pregnant, we knew the challenge
of this birth could take her life

just as the challenge in the hospital
threatened our daughter's.

And isn't it an act of faith to go blindfolded
into the future and be delighted
by the light there?

Now, we're lit by a dancing star named Jade,
short for Jadesola (Jah-de-sho-lah), which in Yoruba
means "come into wealth."

She's Jade like the green stone
said to emit wisdom and clarity.

I’m feeding her while watching
the YouTube video.

Someone onscreen yells,
"We're better than this,"
and she squeals—mouth dripping
with her mother's milk, smiling
while dreaming her baby dreams—
that land of innocence, where it all starts
before we lose our way back
rationalizing our destruction.

Darrell Urban Black, is an American visual artist presently living in Frankfurt, Germany. He works in a variety of formats that include Pen and Ink drawings acrylic paintings on canvas wood and Mixed media objects. His creative process is a mixture of works on paper, acrylic paint, found objects and non toxic hot glue which creates a three-dimensional effect on any surface that gives a sense of realism and presence in his artwork. Darrell, refers to this optical artistic illusion as “Definism” in his opinion, Definism, portrays various differences in human nature from life’s everyday dramas to humankind’s quest to under-standing self. “My artworks transport viewers from the doldrums of their daily reality to a visual interpretation of another reality.”

Darrell Urban Black born in Brooklyn, New York, grew up in Far Rockaway and Brentwood Long Island New York. In high school, he excelled in science with an affinity for outer space. In June 1969, as America fulfilled J. F. Kennedy’s dream to put the American Stars and Stripes into the dusty surface of the moon Darrell’s fascination with spaceships grew. As a child he made spaceship models eventually placing his artistic visions on paper resulting in some 500 drawings. Phantasmal spaceships that eventually carried Darrell to a unique wonderland of strange forms and colors.

In 1982, he joined the National Guard. During this time his previous drawings were lost – but not his passion. In 1988, Darrell, joined the US Army and served another four years. Earned his Bachelor Degree in Science of Criminal Justice Administration at the University of Phoenix. In April 2001, Darrell, was nominated by the German government as a “candidate of the year’s prize for promising young artists” for his artwork titled “The Invasion” in the exhibition “The Zeppelin in Art, Design, and Advertisement,” shown between May and July 30, 2000, in the Frankfurt International Airport. Another piece referenced in the nomination letter, was titled “The Cosmic Shroud,” executed with a unique glue and acrylic on linen technique. The image was described as “universally appealing and representing a topic which concerns all of us – The Universe.” Darrell, had many local, national and international group art exhibitions. He has artwork permanently displayed in a number of art Galleries, Museums and other Institutions Worldwide. Darrell’s artwork has also been displayed on billboard in New York’s Times Square for the exhibition titled: “SeeMe Takes over Times Square 2014”

Darrell lives in Frankfurt, Germany and continues to draw and paint in pursuit of his artistic dreams. He’s a member of the Veteran Artist Program abroad (EuroVAP).

http://darrell-black.pixels.com/

Final Artistic Analysis
BY KADAR · PUBLISHED DECEMBER 2, 2015 · UPDATED NOVEMBER 20, 2019

Today my final art analysis was due. I had to give a presentation that had to last six minutes, but had to be less than ten minutes. I was very afraid that I’d run under, but I surprised myself and ran nine minutes! Pretty good! Here’s the piece I analyzed by Darrell Black (from The Viewing Program on drawingcenter.org):

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There are many other instances of art that he has done that’s in this particular collection, but they’re kind of hard to reach via a link. If you want to see more of Darrell Black’s pieces in that particular collection go to drawingcenter.org and then click on The Viewing Program and enter Darrell Black into the search box.

So, I take in this piece. At first it looks deranged, even repulsive, quite chaotic. I wouldn’t generally assign much import to such a piece, but art class has opened my eyes a bit about art interpretation. The more I looked at this piece, the more I grew to like it.

The title of this piece is “Face of Concentration” with ink and pen, unknown variable dimension. On the surface, the image is symmetrical, but in its own way asymmetrical, like a real face. In fact, this piece seems to be a mixture of contradictions. You could piece this up into parts of three, but you could also split it vertically in two as well. There’s quite a bit of surprising ambiguity here.

The title of this piece is “Face of Concentration”

Darrell Black has a bit of a history to him, that I explained in class. I quoted that he was originally a very creative child, and during the space race he became enamored with building little spaceships out of household items. Apparently, there was talk of institutionalizing him, but his parents decided that that wasn’t appropriate and instead fostered his creativity. Well, in a handful of years he amassed, I believe, 500 images (you can check the full biography). Then he joined the military and didn’t draw for years. When he was returning from the service he wanted to see his old drawings again, but his mother had thrown them out! He was so affected he swore off drawing entirely, that is until he found a few photographs of his previous work that had survived. This sparked his creativity and fueled his imagination. From then on, he drew. Now he lives in Germany.

Here’s the much more detailed biography on a user page on Wikipedia under his aptly named movement definism.

In his own words and in his artist statement on The Viewing Program I quote:

My work portrays various differences in human nature, from life’s everyday dramas to humankind’s quest to understanding Self. The pen and ink drawings transport viewers from the doldrums of their daily reality to a visual interpretation of another reality.

Anyways, I felt that the title frames the picture into a digestible piece, to me revealing the feature placement: large eyes, furrowed brow, the sliding away of the nose and mouth.

In terms of line, line separates each colored piece kind of like stained glass. Each line delineates an area of color, without them each shape would fade into the other. The line allows the features to be set such as the eyes or the nostrils.

The face is obviously deranged: the nostrils barely follow the nose, the mouth is imagined, but the eyes and brow are easily recognizable. The image itself does violate traditional portraiture, but not necessarily by shape alone, but through the feeling the contrasting colors lend.

The colors are paramount and vibrant. Not every line separation turns into a new color, with blues on blue. It is as if looking in a mirror, the color brings out each feature differently. The two features with any symmetry are the eyes and the nostrils. It’s difficult to say exactly what each color connotes, as they seem to work together as a whole. It reminds me of stained glass, like a church, explaining to us our version of reality. The red on one side forms a bit of a tint, a display of light. Through his eyes we can guess the red is from what he’s concentrating on. The blue on the other side casts the face in shadow. Almost as if the face is showing a transition from tranquil to focus on something glowing and unseen.

A classmate of mine also pointed out that the red could signify concentration, and the blue the state before. I thought that was interesting.

The solidness of each color is necessary for giving us a reflection or interpretation of pieces of facial reality, accentuating the eyes in this piece. Notice he doesn’t use a single kin tone, mostly primary extremes. It’s telling me that this is meant to be a face, but a face outside our normal perception.

The shapes themselves are simultaneously repetitive, but also unique. A continuing characteristic of the contradictions found here. The technique is repetitive, the solid shapes and line, but the result is unique. When I look at a face, there are elements repetitive to every face, but at the same time each face is unique. Lacking solid structure, the piece imitates that repetition in that style through the technique.

He used pen and ink to develop this picture. It contributes to the shading and texture of each block, rendering it not completely the same throughout. The blocks are actually just repeated lines of ink when it comes down.

The artist speaks of the work transporting the viewer to a visual interpretation of another reality. To me the other reality is how we emotionally see inside our intellects. The choices of stark color are filled in by our reactions to the outside world. By assigning color and shape to these reactions we’ve arrived at a face.

There is no true focal point I think to this piece, but I found myself immediately drawn to the eyes. The eyes are very powerful, and if this had a technical focal point, that would be it. I was immediately drawn to the eyes. I tend to think this composition evokes a bit of revulsion of the strange, but also familiarity with the action in the title: concentration. I think the extremely contrasting colors impart confusion, reaction, and curiosity.

In another way, it’s also like looking at a child’s interpretation of a face. This could be true if Darrell was inspired by his ‘childhood’ drawings. It’s both the face and the emotion in one, imagined by a very young child. After gazing for a while I also got the sense of child’s play. Exploration of color completely. This probably adds to its mystery or message when examining it at an adult level. This is most apparent in the total disfigurement of the face.

After I made my presentation one girl pointed out the thin scratchy lines, and wondered what I thought about those. I had to honestly answer that I hadn’t even noticed the squiggly lines. It was a bit embarrassing, but I couldn’t just make something up on the spot. I think I just saw through those as some form of static, I hadn’t considered them part of the piece at all. Now that I do see it I do wonder what they could mean, or speak of. I really don’t know.

So after the analysis I was supposed to share my final art project where I steal a technique or piece from this artist and use it in my own work. I had to turn in the proposal papers and I wrote them by hand, so I don’t have mine. However, I was thinking I might shoot for pastel on fine black sandpaper. I’ll have to get a lot of fine black sandpaper form Home Depot. I was venturing that I would do a whole figure rather than just a face. Quite the project! We’ll see how it goes…

Born March 25,1964 in Brooklyn NEW YORK, My name is Darrell Urban Black, an American visual artist presently living in Frankfurt, Germany. I work in a variety of formats that include Pen and Ink drawings acrylic paintings on canvas wood and Mixed media objects. My creative process is a mixture of works on paper, acrylic paint, found objects and non toxic hot glue my technique creates a three-dimensional effect on any surface that gives a sense of realism and presence in my artwork. I refer to this optical artistic illusion as ''Definism'' in my opinion, Definism, portray various differences in human nature from life's everyday dramas to humankind's quest to under-standing self. My artworks transport viewers from the doldrums of their daily reality to a visual interpretation of another reality.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Darrell Black.
Darrell, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My name is Darrell Urban Black, an American visual artist presently living in Frankfurt, Germany. My artistic endeavors started at an early age and remained with me until present day as a child, I was always fascinated with space and wanted to create my own space cites, but as I got older my artistic talent became more developed so the next logical step for me was paper working my way to Canvas and wood.

Portrait of a New York Artist: Darrell U. Black
by Hans D. Pflug

Actually, he became my friend even before I had met him face to face. It was during a vernissage at the Frankfurt Airport, where a flight captain had arranged an exhibition of impressive photos of clouds and sunlight, viewed from his cockpit. In the background, I heard a Homeric laughter. It was not somebody who laughed at a joke or so � no, it was the hearty, sonorous laughter of a man who obviously enjoyed life. I turned around, and it was Darrell Black, the New York painter, who was just having a chat with my wife and some other guests. I shook hands with him and said: We must become friends. And his answer was: Yes, we will be friends. It seemed to be something very natural to be his friend.

He said with a mystic smile: Yes, I am a painter � but it's modern art, very modern. I replied: I am a writer, I have not yet published anything. I am just enjoying writing, it's so much fun. We made a deal. Darrell said: I would be interested to read some of your stuff. Let me have it, and in return I give you a painting. When we met again, Darrel gave me two little paintings, size 8.5" x 12.5", he had called them "Synchronized Jumping" and "The Pillars". I sent him a copy of my novel "The Miraculous Adventures of the Little Bear and the Little Monkey".

Pinned to the lapel of his jacket were the colours of the Stars and Stripes. The Nine-Eleven had its impact on Darrell's art. He created four different flags which bear the words "America a nation of hope, heroism and humanity", "America wanting resolution in exchange of war", "America's strength lies in its diversity" and "America a symbol of unity and resolution in times of crisis". He is a patriot but he shows no desire to discuss politics.

On Nine-Eleven, I was at a conference in Washington. At nine o'clock, they told us that the WTC Towers in New York had been attacked, and a little later the Pentagon. Just at the time when my wife was strolling about downtown Washington. The shock stayed with us after we had returned home. I said to Darrell: Once I liked to look at the sky when a plane was crossing. It was a foretaste of my next trip. Now, I don't look anymore at planes. It's as though this shattering event has made me older all at once. Darrell said: I just feel the same. Somehow, I found solace in his simple words.

When I asked Darrel for his business card, he gave me a brochure with his address and the print of one of his images, called "The King and His Four Sons", followed by a short text that read: "My work portrays various differences in human nature, from life's everyday dramas to humankind's quest to understanding Self. The pen and ink drawings transport viewers from the doldrums of their daily reality to a visual interpretation of another reality�" It is somewhat amazing to read these pensive lines and then to hear Darrell saying: Yes, I enjoy my life. Despite h i s everyday dramas and the doldrums of h i s daily reality? You would expect such a serene composure from a white-bearded Greek philosopher at the summit of his wisdom, but Darrell has not even reached his 40st birthday.

Darrell Urban Black was born in Brooklyn in 1964, later the family moved to Rockaway, New York. There he spent most of his youth. At highschool, he got excellent marks in science. In June 1969, America fulfilled J. F. Kennedy's dream to conquer the space. American astronauts, planting the Stars and Stripes into the dusty surface of the moon. Darrell, then five, began to build his own spaceships from utensils he found in the bathroom: pieces of clothes, shoe laces, hair pins, soap boxes, shavers, and from the kitchen: forks and spoons� Phantasmic spaceships that would eventually carry him to his unique wonderland of strange forms and colours.

His elder siblings watched his imaginary activities with suspicion. They thought it was an odd behaviour of a child to spend its pastime in such an unreal world. Sure, there were signs of mental illness, they thought, which demanded appropriate action. Fortunately, his parents were more supportive to his art and decided against institutionalizing poor Darrell. In those days, he had one close friend, this was Kenny, living just round the corner. He was always available, when Darrell was in need of company. The other children in the street were curious to meet Kenny, and Darrell tried his best to arrange this. It never worked out, because Kenny did not exist in the real world.

In 1980, the family moved to Long Island, where Darrell's mom still lives. At this time, Darrell made still another transition. Till now, he had created replicas of spaceships, aerodromes and futuristic cities. Now, he turned to placing his artistic visions on paper. Within a two year's period, he produced some 500 drawings. He received much encouragement and support from his mother, who worked in a mental hospital. She bought him paper, ink and pens. His father, who was an expert in avionics with PANAM, had left the family in 1979.

Then, something happened to Darrell that was to leave him behind in grief and bewilderment, to say the least. In 1982, he joined the National Guard in New York. Upon his return home from duty he was keen to resume drawing. He wished to study his earlier drawings to spark inspiration. It turned out to be a desperate search to no avail � the 500 drawings were gone. His mother, mistaking Darrell's genius for a passing phase, had thrown his work to the garbage.


Darrell: I was devastated and decided never to draw again. I was unable to even look at blank sheets of papers or ink or pens. It was a kind of anguish torturing me that could be only soothed by forgetting that I once was a fledgeling artist.

If his early oevre had not been destroyed � would Darrell's career as an artist have taken different turns? It's idle to muse at this question. However, in retrospect of the catastrophe, in the mellowing shades of time, we may be reminded of the purging impact of a forest fire. The surviving seedlings still grow to another mighty forest.

For the next six years he turned away from art completely, and for another three years he grappled with his genius to come to life again. It was like a miracle: In 1988, the year he joined the regular army, he discovered by chance ten photos he had once taken from his earlier work � the only pieces that were left, just enough to kindle the fire�

He has the natural gift to be a friend, he is a sociable and convivial guest at parties, being always surrounded by curious people. He is a good listener, he is very courteous, and he has a big heart. This is the Darrel, we shake hands with, the man with the big laugh, with the broad, overwhelming smile. If you meet Darrel, the artist, you will discover some other traits of his personality: He appears more detached from his surroundings, wrapped in thought and quite serious.

Once, we had invited Darrell and Christina, his wife, for dinner, and Darrell glanced at the few paintings which adorn the walls of our flat. The artists were friends and relatives, and Darrell did not give much comments, except to one: An oil on canvas, showing the yellow flowers of an arnica plant in the state of withering, some heads already drooping. Darrell said: This painting does not give me something, it takes something away from me. The artist was a former girl friend of mine, and I told him, even in later years she still suffered from memories of a loveless childhood.

The same evening, I got a glimpse of Darrell's creative work. I asked him some questions related to his art, and he said: Give me some paper and a pencil. Then he filled nine pages with patterns of a continuous flow of crisscrossing lines. The pencil, as though driven by magic, never came to a rest. Out of these bewildering mazes, figures and faces evolved. Darrell put his name on three of the drawings. Why don't you sign the other ones? Because, I don't know what they mean, he said.
When Darrell Black was safely back to art in 1991, he expanded by creating paintings and wall hanging sculptures. One reviewer depicted Darrell's pen and ink drawings as "large and colourful and disturbing in a way, hard to classify. It is urban, quasi graffiti-like, cubic themes, and challenges the viewer to intellectually differentiate between artistic fulfillment and failed endeavours of the past� Without an open mind, the images are difficult to view and fascinating at the same time. Wasn't the same thing said of Picasso?"

This is an excellent description of what most viewers will see, and perhaps you couldn't come nearer to the mystery of Darrell's art. And yet, you might be eons away. The more you try to understand Darrell, following the straightforward guidelines of your intellect, the more deeply you get lost in an intricate, fabulous maze, a mystic, puzzling wonderland � a strange, cryptic fairy tale. Why should we try to unveil this mystery? Why not just enjoying our great amazement � in times that believe to have an answer for almost everything?

When I first read Darrell's e-mail address, I wondered at the word "definism". It was Christina, his wife, who hinted to me: Think of cubism, surrealism, dadaism ... Usually, artists have an ancestry, Giotto, for example, was the most prominent forefather of the Italian Renaissance. No, said Darrell, I had none. Spaceships, if you like. He is the first representative of "definism". I tried to recall someone else, who in an similar way appeared out of the blue with some novel art. Friedensreich Hundertwasser came to mind.

Darrell Black lives with his family in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He is a flourishing artist. In April 2001, he was nominated to the German government "for this year's prize for promising young artists". The idea came from John Provan of the Zeppelin Museum in Frankfurt. For the exhibition entitled "The Zeppelin in Art, Design, and Advertisement", held between May 11 and July 30, 2000, Darrell had created "The Invasion". In the nomination letter, he was cited for his exceptional abilities in various art works. Another piece of art, referenced in the letter, was titled "The Cosmic Linen", executed with a unique glue and acrylic on linen technique. The image was described as "universally appealing and representing a topic which concerns all of us � the universe".

Darrell Black's art is represented in a number of art galleries, museums and other institutions in America and Germany: Guggeheim Museum of Modern Art, James Baird Gallery; Frankfurt International Airport; Zeppelin Museum Frankfurt, American Center for Artists, The Amistad Foundation (at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford CT), Stand-up for Kids (Boston), Annual Art Auction for Homeless Kids (two works on paper auctioned off in December 2002).