Donald “C-Note” Hooker is a prison artist who has been incarcerated for over 20 years. Despite his circumstances, he has found a way to use his art to celebrate Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
C-Note’s art is often colorful and ethereal, featuring images of prisons, landscapes, and still life. He uses his art to express his hopes, dreams, and fears. He also uses his art to raise awareness about social justice issues, such as racism and mass incarceration.
C-Note’s art has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including a solo show of his 2015 Colored Girl Warholed on a billboard in Santana Row. Colored Girl Warholed was a digital work inspired by Andy Warhol’s 1962 Four Marilyns.
Santana Row in Silicon Valley is the home to premiere restaurants, residential, and retail. It allowed for one-million Billboard Art Exhibition daily views. Google, Facebook, and Apple workers live in Santana Row. Tesla has a showroom in Santana Row, and Sports teams stay at the Valencia Hotel in Santana Row.
In 2016, C-Note’s 2014 Mprisond was exhibited in California’s first exhibition to feature works by both male and female prisoners. The exhibition Through the Wall: Prison Arts Collective was curated by the University of California at San Bernardino and former UCSB professor Annie Buckley, founder and director of the Prison Arts Collective.
The spring exhibition, May 14th – 29th, featured works by prisoners at the California Institution for Men (CIM), the California State Prison, Los Angeles County (CSP-LAC), and the California Institution for Women (CIW). The exhibition was held at the now dissolved CB1-Gallery in Downtown, Los Angeles.
CB1 Gallery was founded by Clyde Beswick. In 1997, Beswick was found guilty of embezzlement and filing false tax returns. He served a little more than 13 months in county jail and state prison. In 2018, following allegations of fraud by some artists, the CB1 Gallery closed.
C-Note’s works have been used to evacuate prisons in the path of hurricanes, inspired the Better San Jose Peaceful Rally, and the reparations of $7M to California women prisoners who underwent forced sterilization.
C-Note is a powerful voice for social justice. His art is a reminder that even in the most difficult of circumstances, it is possible to find hope and beauty.
Juneteenth: A Day of Celebration and Remembrance
Juneteenth is a holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It is celebrated on June 19, the day that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, in 1865, and announced that the Civil War had ended and that all enslaved people were free.
Juneteenth is a day of celebration for African Americans. It is a time to reflect on the progress that has been made since slavery, and to recommit to the fight for equality. It is also a time to remember those who were enslaved, and to honor their legacy.
Donald “C-Note” Hooker is one of many people who use their art to celebrate Juneteenth. His art is a powerful reminder of the importance of freedom and justice. It is also a testament to the power of art to transform lives.
C-Note’s Art: A Celebration of Freedom
C-Note’s art is often colorful and whimsical. He uses bright colors and playful shapes to create images that are both joyful and thought-provoking. His art is a celebration of freedom, and it reminds us that even in the darkest of times, there is always hope.
One of C-Note’s most famous paintings is Return to Vitality is 8 ½ in. x 11 ½ in. (21.5 cm. x 26.5 cm) a work of wax on the back of a legal tablet (cardboard). It was one of 489 global entries featured in the 5th International Art Competition juried by Berlin’s, Art and Prison ev. Return to Vitality depicts an African-American male outside of a prison with nothing on but the cutoff shorts worn by the field slave of old. Near him on the ground are his effects, as the searchlight from a prison guard tower searches the inside of the prison grounds.
While he appears to be running, his fists are closed and his palms are facing up. Try it for yourself. This it’s not how the body would position itself for running, but for dancing. Take into account his facial muscles, and we are not witnessing the breathing upheaval of running scared, but the movements of a man in Jazz.
Return to Vitality depiction of celebratory Juneteenth like joy, captures the spirit of freedom and hope that is at the heart of Juneteenth.
C-Note art is not only beautiful, but it is also powerful. His art has the ability to bring people together and to inspire hope. It is a reminder that even in the face of adversity, it is possible to find joy and beauty.
C-Note’s Art: A Tool for Social Justice
In addition to being a celebration of freedom, C-Note’s art is also a tool for social justice. He uses his art to raise awareness about issues such as racism, mass incarceration, and police brutality. His art is a powerful voice for change, and it has helped to inspire many people to fight for social justice.
One of C-Note’s most famous drawings is Black August – Los Angeles. It is listed in Wikimedia Commons’s extensive Library as one of only 12 artworks in its Black Cultural Archives. This drawing is a powerful reminder of the humanity of prisoners, and it challenges us to think about the ways in which our criminal justice system is unjust.
In 2016, C-Note created Black August – Los Angeles an original work of ink on paper. The piece was inspired by the month-long Black August celebrations that were taking place in Los Angeles that year. C-Note first heard about these celebrations on the podcast Think Outside the Cage.
This was C-Note’s first attempt at political art. The piece makes reference to a number of important events and figures, including:
* Beyoncé’s song “Formation”
* The deaths of prisoners and prison reform activists George Jackson and Hugo “Yogi” Pinell
* The police shootings of Michael Brown and Ezell Ford
* The California Coalition of Women Prisoners (CCWP)
* The Los Angeles Women’s Center
* The raised fist, a symbol of Black Power during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s
* “Mundo Sin Jaulas” (A World Without Cages), a slogan of the Brown People’s Movement
Black August-Los Angeles Is a powerful and evocative work of art that speaks to the ongoing struggle for racial justice in the United States. It is a reminder of the many ways in which Black people have been oppressed and incarcerated, and it calls for a world without cages.
In 2017, Black August – Los Angeles was personally handed over to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles as a gift to Sister Mary Hodges founder of the Partnership of Reentry Program (PREP) for a joint art show with Homeboy Industries, founded by Father Gregory Boyle. PREP and Homeboy Industries are restorative justice ministries of the Archdiocese of Los angeles.
C-Note’s art is not only beautiful, but it is also important. His art has the ability to challenge our assumptions and to inspire us to take action. It is a reminder that art can be a powerful tool for social change.
Conclusion
Donald “C-Note” Hooker is a talented artist who uses his art to celebrate Juneteenth and to fight for social justice. His art is a powerful reminder of the importance of freedom, justice, and equality. It is also a testament to the power of art to transform lives.
