Artist Carl Richardson was being interviewed a few years ago when he had a revelation about his creative process.
In response to a question about his work, Richardson began talking about freestyling.
“That’s when it started to click that this is what I’m doing with it,” he said. “I started to really think about responding and not reacting. When I put a mark down, instead of immediately reacting to it, I’m thinking about it, and then being thoughtful in how I respond, and then that response builds on itself.”
The idea of taking a moment to respond instead of immediately reacting reminded Richardson of a cypher, which he defines in his artist statement as “an informal gathering of rappers, beatboxers and/or dancers in a circle, improvising, freestyling or taking turns showcasing skills. It’s a collaborative, non-competitive space where artists feed off of each other’s energy to foster creativity.”
With the idea of a cypher in mind, Richardson created a body of work for which he let one line, one circle, one color inform the next again and again until he felt the piece was complete.
This body of work, called “Cypher,” is on display at D2 Gallery beginning Friday and continuing through June 27. The show opens 5-8 p.m. on First Friday.
“Cypher” will also feature pieces Richardson created for Februllage, a challenge to create a collage for each day in February.
Those who see “Cypher” can purchase a raffle ticket for the piece “We’ll Be Alright,” which features a picture of one of Richardson’s daughters. All proceeds from the raffle will go to the gallery in a show of appreciation.
Growing up in Florida, Richardson followed in the footsteps of his artistic older siblings, particularly sister Lillie, now an actor, who was a skilled oil painter. Richardson wanted to paint and spent every Saturday from fourth through 10th grades with an instructor named Mrs. Rogers.
In her studio, Richardson, sometimes alone and sometimes with other students, would learn about color theory and various techniques while painting, primarily, beachscapes and still life.
After high school, Richardson earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Florida A&M University. He then moved to Pullman to get his Master of Fine Arts from Washington State University.
Along the way, he picked up screen printing. His prints would usually be collage-like, featuring several images layered on top of one another, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that Richardson began experimenting with paper collages that featured maps and photos accented by colorful lines made with Posca pens.
Richardson showed many of these pieces at the Kolva-Sullivan Gallery in 2022 and is including a few of them in “Cypher.” The bulk of the work in the show includes fabric patterns that belonged to Richardson’s late mother.
One pattern had the measurements of his childhood friend George written on them, while others still had pins in them from when Richardson’s mother altered the size of the pattern.
“My mom was always a huge supporter of all of us doing artistic stuff, and it’s like I’m collabing with her now,” he said. “She’s still present and still a part of all that I’m doing … What was wonderful is to think about the fact that the last hands that touched these were my mom.”
The works feature circles and other shapes cut from tissue paper and photographs Richardson took of his friends and family, some pasted onto the canvas and others screenprinted on.
As he became more comfortable with collage, Richardson started seeing the connection between his artwork and his love of hip-hop.
As teens, Richardson and his friends Travis and Tracy Lineberger formed a rap group called the New Breed. Memories of freestyling together, where one person would say a line then the others would have to respond to the line with a rhyming line of their own that made sense, inspired Richardson to name this show “Cypher.” Each piece in the show is named after a song.
“In this body of work, I am approaching collage in the same way that one would approach a freestyle,” Richardson said in his artist statement. “I am gluing paper, drawing lines, painting marks and then responding to those actions with more marks and gluing. The composition of the collage builds upon itself just as the lyrical composition of a rap would.”
Richardson said he has a basic idea of what he thinks the final piece will look like but he works to get out of his own way and let the creative process take over, which usually happens as he sings along to whatever music he’s listening to as he creates.
Sometimes he starts with a shape cut from colorful tissue paper, others he starts with linework. Sometimes he makes note of what colors he’s used recently and will actively pull different colors so as to not repeat himself.
“Have you ever heard sports people talk about ‘the zone?’ I think that happens with creative people as well,” he said. “You get into this area where things just start happening, and instead of questioning why it’s happening, why am I making a circle, why am I making a mark, why did I choose that color, you trust that you’re making those decisions for the right reasons. Even though you may not know them in that moment, you’ll know it when it’s done.”
Collages can easily get too busy, so Richardson tries to see the creation of each piece as having a conversation. He’ll make a mark and the piece will give him a type of response.
Richardson’s daughter has told him that he sometimes actually speaks out loud while creating, saying “I don’t know about that” to himself while working.
That conversation, be it out loud or with the collage, continues until he feels like he’s said all there is to say with that piece. And with the pieces in “Cypher,” Richardson is talking about things that bring him joy.
“It’s about those things that bring me peace and happiness,” he said. “That’s the thing that runs through it. My love of making stuff is just the same as my love of hip-hop, and all of those things are married together.”
