Greg Rumph Talks Illustration

Greg Rumph with his portrait of "Peaches" 

As Assistant Vice Principal at Booker High, Greg Rumph oversees the school's visual and performing arts (VPA) program. The school prepares students focused on all forms of art -- from dance to drama to visual art -- to leave home and go out into the world. In addition to the standard high school curriculum, students spend three hours each day working in their field with top notch professionals guiding their practices. It's no wonder students with creative goals happily commute significant distances to attend the school. But the topic at hand at a recent Arts Advocates' luncheon wasn't Booker's unique program but Rumph's own artistic practice as an illustrator. 

"Miles Davis"

In case you're wondering what differentiates an illustrator from other types of visual artists, it's the intention of the artist to create images that convey a message rather than being "merely" for personal expression. Sometimes Rumph leans into caricature in his works. He often exaggerates the hands of the people he portrays as a means of depicting stress and intensity. Even a quick look at Miles Davis' muscular -- but somewhat gnarled -- hands in this illustration yields information to the viewer about the life Davis led. And that's what Rumph is trying to achieve in his art -- capturing individuals at their core instead of just superficially. 

"Sarah Vaughan"

I was particularly interested in learning about the disparate artists who have inspired Rumph. You might be surprised, as I initially was, to learn that Gustav Klimt is one of his major influences. (Click here to see "The Kiss," one of Klimt's most famous paintings.) But when you look at Rumph's paintings with this influence in mind, you can see the connections. Despite their different styles, both artists lean into patterns, shapes and verticality in their images. Very cool. 

The impact of Egon Schiele's work on Rumph's style made more immediate sense to me. Schiele was best known as an Expressionist. It's a style of art whose followers were known for leaning into their feelings about the subject of their work rather than creating an objective image. Schiele would frequently use angular lines to express exaggerated emotions. If you're thinking, "That sounds similar to a caricature," you'd be right. You'd never look at a Schiele -- or a Rumph -- portrait and mistake the work for a photograph even if the subject is identifiable. And here's a fun fact about Rumph's artistic influences: Klimt served as a mentor to Schiele. 

"Sweet Thing" 

Rumph went on to share the specific inspiration for his paintings of "Peaches" and "Sweet Thing." The works are from a series depicting the characters in Nina Simone's "Four Women." In the song, "Peaches" is a woman born into slavery who was forced to become tough. She is not someone you would want to mess with. When Rumph heard these lyrics, he immediately related the character to Harriet Tubman and her work as a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad.  If you look carefully, you can see Tubman's face in the painting shown above. (For a better image of "Peaches," click here.) 

"Sweet Thing" in Simone's song is a woman who walks the streets for a living. In Rumph's portrayal, she welcomes her "patrons" with open arms. I get the feeling, though, that they walk into that embrace at their peril. To read the song's lyrics, click here. I hope I get the opportunity to see Rumph's series in its entirety. 

A big thanks to Rumph for sharing his time and his art. For a great piece on WEDU PBS in which Rumph talks about his work, click here. And to see more of his work, click here.