Professor of art and master printmaker Wendell Brooks starts with meditation and right thinking.
By: Susan Van Dongen
When you are meeting a man with such a presence as Wendell Brooks, professor of art at The College of New Jersey and master printmaker, you have to be prepared.
He’s known for his focus, energy, discipline, immense talent and passion for teaching, so it might be a little intimidating upon first acquaintance. But you don’t dwell on that you take a deep breath and ask the universe for strength. Or rather, you visualize already being strong. That’s what Mr. Brooks would do.
The artist is waiting to tell his remarkable life story, so your head must be clear, your mind as focused as his.
When you do meet Mr. Brooks, your fear drops away because he seems so open and emotionally available. This is a man, after all, whose own mind and soul have raged but were tamed by his personal discipline, dignity and faith.
Then he smiles enigmatically and hands you a book, something he likes to give to almost everyone he meets: As a Man Thinketh by James Allen.
"If you want ‘As a Woman Thinketh,’ you’ll have to come out to my car," Mr. Brooks says. "I have some copies out there."
Seated in his studio on the fourth floor of Holman Hall, surrounded by student artwork as well as his own dazzling prints, he reads from the opening page, "A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts."
This is the essence of Mr. Brooks’ life. It’s the idea that you can create your success and even victories over personal demons if you can control your thoughts, filtering out negativity and focusing on the highest, most positive ideals.
In addition to the vigorous physical workout he does daily, Mr. Brooks also exercises his mind with this inspirational matter. He meditates, reads all kinds of spiritual books and devours self-improvement and "mind power" CDs. He’s inspired to reach for "right thought and livelihood" by the memory of his father, a high school principal in a small town in Alabama.
"My father was an optimistic visionary who didn’t look at the mountain, he looked at himself on the other side," he says. "Like my father, I have fought to hold onto my vision, and through hard work and the ability to visualize, I have been able to realize my dreams."
Mr. Brooks’ most recent dream come true is the installation of five tiled mosaic murals at the Ambulatory Center of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. The New Jersey State Council of Arts selected the Trenton-based artist for a commission to create five grand mosaic tile murals for permanent installation at the Ambulatory Center. Working with renowned mosaic tile artist Steve Miotto, he designed the mural images and Mr. Miotto used Italian tile to render them.
Perhaps to encourage the patients at the center, many of whom are being treated for injuries that obstruct movement, Mr. Brooks’ works swirl with kinetic energy. His silhouetted forms, inspired by traditional African art, intermingle with a labyrinth backdrop of abstract geometric patterns.
Three 4-by-8-foot mosaic murals grace the entry to the facility, where the figures seem to leap for joy across the sepia-toned panels. Placed high above another entry is a 4-by-8-foot mosaic mural in tones of blues and greens, filled with a large silhouette figure entwined with all of nature, representing the oneness of life. A 4-by-15-foot mosaic mural in shades of reds and corals majestically spans two floors of the building.
"They represent the triumph of the human spirit," he says, emphasizing the moral and ethical qualities of his art. "I never just do it for the beauty of the art. Self-improvement is the most important thing that a person can do. Through creating my own style in art and meditating while doing it, I have worked to grow increasingly peaceful.
"You have to have a vision if you’re going to build something, you have to have some kind of plan," he continues. "Same with yourself. Something that I have sought to do is to discover who I am and to master myself. To get over my anger, it became necessary to turn to a spiritual path. My art comes through this path."
He says the artwork he creates is a manifestation of that spirit. And the imagery pours through his imagination and hands almost organically.
"A lot of times I look at my pictures and I don’t know how I did them," Mr. Brooks says. "My earlier stuff was much different, more realistic, and was categorized as black protest art. I acted out through my art put all this anger, self-pity, all these negative things into my art. But being so angry almost drove me crazy. I made an effort to actually change my personality, and when I changed my personality, I could no longer do that kind of work. So I began making this instead."
Born in Alabama before the civil rights movement, Mr. Brooks grew to embrace his African heritage through his art. In a time when he says being African-American meant being constantly put down, he was able to maintain his self-esteem through the creation, exhibition and sale of his art.
Encouraged by his parents, he went on to earn a master’s in printmaking from Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., where he was awarded the very first Martin Luther King Jr. Fellowship, also the first of numerous scholarships and grants. Mr. Brooks has been the recipient of several Trenton State College grants, as well as a Grant Award from the Smithsonian Institute-National Museum of Art. In addition, he’s been a busy speaker and lecturer, as well as an active participant in numerous community social programs.
A conversation with Mr. Brooks touches upon a medley of things the power of positive thinking, the benefits of a vegetarian diet, St. John’s Wort and B-12, the "missing" years of Jesus’ life (did he spend it in India and Tibet?), the artist’s ability to exist on only a few hours of sleep, and the necessity of a healthy colon. At one point, Mr. Brooks adjusts his collar and reveals a magnificent necklace of silver rings, which hold an array of crystals and healing stones.
Another stone rests at the small of his back, suggested by an intuitive healer to coax the pain out of a devastating back injury and other physical ailments. It must have worked, since the artist rarely misses a day of school.
In fact, if there’s any part of himself that can be improved, he’ll seek out imaginative solutions, always fighting the good fight.
"I describe myself as a boxer I have been on the ropes, I have been on the canvas and I have been counted out," Mr. Brooks says. "But I have turned to God that’s ‘Good Order and Direction’ I do what is necessary to make my art and create ‘right mind and thinking.’
"The thought that you hold in your mind is what becomes real, so I want to be happy, joyous and grateful and that’s what I’m after, the joy of living, the celebration of life," he continues. "That’s what it’s all about. I don’t concentrate on the negative. I concentrate on this being the kingdom of heaven and I feel blessed to be here."
Wendell Brooks’ mosaic murals are on view at the Ambulatory Center of the University
of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey, 90 Bergen St., Newark. For information,
call (973) 972-4300. On the Web: www.umdnj.edu.
Wendell Brooks on the Web: www.tcnj.edu/~brooks/