William Tony is a local multimedia artist whose exhibition "Greyscale" currently on display at UMKC Art Gallery reflects his life experience and allows viewers to interpret his art from their own perspective.
Using what he found in his surroundings, Tony included still images, photographs, and installations observing contemporary black culture as part of this exhibition.
“We are in a place in time where people are interested in black culture and stories, but not from a stereotypical perspective and from a real nuanced perspective,” Tony said.
Tony was born in Raytown and graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2012, with a BA in Photography.
Art and photography became Tony's interests at an early age, and while attending the MyARTS after-school program in Kansas City, he learned a range of artistic skills and realized that his passion could become his career.
Inspired by the lives of other artists, Tony said he felt his dream was possible.
With his residencies at The Drugstore and being the recipient of the 2020 Charlotte Street Studio Residency, Tony said access to other artists and various art forms was an important part of challenging himself.
Toney's first show was his exhibition "Social Fabric" in Kiosk in 2019. "Greyscale" allowed Tony to gauge his influence and growth as an artist.
“Having people review and interact with your work always feels successful,” said Tony. "Being able to represent yourself and your culture from your point of view is really important."
Tony works within the Kansas City community to mentor young artists and teach them that they can reach self-expression by using character, but objects and places to represent concepts. He is also Senior Curator at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.
“Local artists like Will have a better presence because they have gained a local following and have strong connections to the community,” said Davin Watney, director and curator at UMKC Art Gallery. "I like that the UMKC Art Gallery can be a platform for an artist like Will to fully explore their ideas with financial support and academic legitimacy."
Tony split "Greyscale" into two different sections, one of which are black and white photographs and the other full of colour, creating a noticeable transformation in the gallery.
The decision to make this shift was intentional, with Tony considering something in between or a shift in value.
“I look at things for their inherent value or lack of value and combine them to make a new composition that still speaks to or alludes to Black’s experience,” said Tony.
The act of taking and extending an intimate object gives the audience the opportunity to look at it for its cultural context and formal elements.
"Will explores the limits of art's ability to communicate the experience of race through visual transience," Watney said. “Art does a good job of creating a deep response in the viewer and creating a different form of knowledge. It stimulates dialogue and brings people together.”
While his work may highlight his experience as a black man, Tony relied on how the work fit with the public's perception of life.
Sharing these intimate experiences and things is an exchange between artist and audience because art leads viewers to reflect on their relationship to situations.
“I hope people see how they can look at some of the ways they might see the lion experience,” Tony said. "I hope they will have the opportunity to think of something without feeling like they're getting the whole story in one picture."
One of Tony's long-term goals is to write a book from his black and white still photos. He also said he was excited to continue working on more sculptural elements and installation experiments.
For more information about Toney, visit http://willtoney.com/. To stay up to date with exhibitions at UMKC Art Gallery, visit https://info.umkc.edu/gallery/.
lbb5ky@mail.umkc.edu
#Photography
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