Since childhood, local sculptor Omar Shaheed has been passionate about two things, visual art and jazz.
“My interest in art began at an early age,” he said. “While other boys were playing basketball and baseball, I was out sketching.”
Shaheed’s fascination with jazz began at age 13 when his older brother left home to join the military, leaving behind a collection of blues and jazz records, he said.
In his traveling exhibition, “A World of Jazz in Stone and Bronze,” Shaheed combines his passions for music and art in the form of 24 sculptures.
“What you’ll see at the (exhibition) is simply my thoughts and feelings as I listen to jazz music,” he said.
Since its mass distribution in the 1910s, jazz has inspired scores of artists – the most famous being Pablo Picasso. Though the premise is nothing new, Shaheed tries to take a fresh approach to incorporating jazz into his sculptures.
“I’ve seen all kinds of shows representing jazz. However, most shows represent the musicians. I lean toward the music and try to put sound into sculpture form,” he said.
Most of Shaheed’s sculptures are created from limestone, though the show also includes a few ceramic and bronze pieces. Like the early twentieth century cubist sculptors and painters, Shaheed incorporates aspects of African art with a rigid emphasis on geometric shapes.
Shaheed’s limestone sculptures are weaved with textures that range from gravel-like patterns to a nearly porcelain smoothness. It took Shaheed nearly 13 years to perfect this technique.
“I try to make texture take the place of color. The process is one that I have never seen before in limestone,” he said.
The exhibition premiered at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, Mo., at the end of 2002 and is on display at the King Arts Complex in Columbus until May 27.
In addition to the exhibition, the King Arts Complex also has a permanent installation created by Shaheed.
“The Family” was created by Shaheed for the complex in 2000. The immense outdoor sculpture depicts a mother, father, son and daughter.
Though the King Arts Complex is a showcase for black art in Columbus, the faces of the family members were intentionally left featureless to represent all cultures.
“I didn’t want it to be just a black thing. I wanted it to be a human thing. ‘The Family’ is the world. I think we are a family as a whole, although we don’t always act like it,” he said.
Bettye Stull, curator of the show, explained how Shaheed’s work affects the Columbus art community.
“Omar is one of the few, if not the only, African-American limestone sculptors in the nation. His work has been exhibited all over the country,” she said. “I’m not sure if most people understand how much African-Americans have given to the arts. It’s our hope that when they come here they will be enlightened and inspired.”
The King Arts Complex is located at 867 Mt. Vernon Ave. The exhibition is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m Saturdays.
