Faces of Jackson: The Art of Giving
Written by Bria Kastens
Photos by Maddie McMurry
I sat in a sun-soaked conference room at theCo on a January afternoon, watching remnants of snow melt outside. As I watched, I was absorbing the stories of Union alum and artist Callie Wright, as she shared how her landmark project became an integral part of the Jackson community.
As a social work and art double major, Wright spent her senior year of college grappling with ways to pour into the community while exploring with art. She told me about her fascination with an artist in California who painted members of the homeless community in Santa Ana, a project called Faces of Santa Ana.
“It was January 2021, and I was alone in my dorm,” Wright said. “I had never written fan mail before, but I wrote an email to the artist, Brian Peterson. I probably said something like, ‘I don’t even know what to say, but I absolutely love this. I’m a portrait artist too, if you have any tips.’”
Not expecting a response, Wright was thrilled when Brian responded with a link to a Zoom meeting. By the end of the call, he had extended an invitation to her, sharing how he sought to broaden the project to be Faces of Mankind.
Originating in Santa Ana, CA., Peterson’s project spread to other parts of California, and eventually Detroit, Michigan, and the United Kingdom. Wright brought it to Jackson, TN.
In search of a social work job and ways to engage in art therapy with the homeless community, her conversation with Peterson paved a way for her to connect portrait artistry and her ambitions with social work.
“I made it my senior project because I felt passionate about it and hadn’t had an opportunity like this before. But in a way it did feel like the culmination of a lot of my thoughts on social justice and art and portraiture all coming together really well in this.”
Wright had volunteered at Room at the Inn in the past, so she used that as a way to rekindle previous connections for her senior project at Union.
“It did end up being a launching point for me to connect with artists locally in Jackson, as well as with those across the country.”
Faces of Jackson portrays the faces of six homeless men in the community, highlighting the intimate details of their expressions.
Hearing her experience, I felt awe-inspired. Just as art is a medium for expression, it is also a medium for connection and transformation. It is a multifaceted medium; the story behind the art doesn’t end when the piece itself is finished; it is ever evolving as it is gazed upon and brought into new spaces.
“I just want people to see the man in the painting as a human and as their neighbor,” Wright said. “Painted portraits used to be for royalty, and I wanted to give that honor to men we don’t even look at on the side of the street. I want people to make eye contact with them in the painting and wonder, “Hey, I wonder who that is!”
Wright paused occasionally, carefully collecting her thoughts. I was trying to wrap my mind around how methodical and time-consuming her creative process was, as she spent ten hours on each canvas. She was methodical and intentional relationally, too.
“I was really wary of it seeming like I was using people for the project, so I made sure each portrait was someone I had sat and had dinner with – sometimes even for a couple of nights. Once I painted one or two of them, one of the men became my hype person and helped me find more men to paint.”
Before their current location in the Jackson Madison County Hospital ER, Wright’s portraits have been the center of conversation in the ComeUnity Café downtown. Having these 30x40 canvases in a café, they are “in your face,” conversation pieces, making the intimate details of each man’s face known. Wright smiled as she told me she heard stories of people connecting over these portraits and learning the men’s names.
The pieces elicit more surprise housed in the hospital, brightening a typically dismal space.
“I want these men to have that audience. I hope they are noticed as people first and then the details of the project are noticed next. I wanted to recognize the human dignity of these men, and in a way, there is human dignity in recognizing those in pain in the hospital too, kind of like saying, ‘I see you, here’s some art.’”
“I consider the Faces of Mankind project more on hiatus than completed. But I’ve had a steady art commission since, the crosswalks downtown by far the biggest,” Wright said.
Wright’s involvement with public art is a continuation of Faces of Jackson in a way. While not directly portraiture, it is accessible to the public and those who live downtown, serving from a different perspective.
After graduation, Wright took a trip to New York and passed the same man on a street she traveled every day. She offered to paint his portrait and gifted it to him. I smiled at her story, as it reminded me that art is a way of life and a gift that can be given, not merely a product or propaganda on display.
“Everyone has something weird they can probably just pull out of their pocket and do for someone else,” Wright said. “Art is something I can just pick up when I feel the calling to do so.”