Images & interview: Oklahoma artist Ebony Iman Dallas showcases strength with 'Women in War Zones'
By Brandy McDonnell | February 5, 2016
Artist Ebony Iman Dallas poses with her paintings “65 Roses,” left, and “13 Queens” at The Oklahoman studios. A creative designer at The Oklahoman, Dallas is showing the paintings plus several others in a new exhibit “Women in War Zones,” opening Friday at The Project Box in the Paseo Arts District. Photo By Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
"Courage in Flight," a poem and painting by Ebony Iman Dallas, is included in the Oklahoma City artist's new exhibition "Women in War Zones," opening Friday at The Project Box in the Paseo Arts District. Image provided
A version of this column appears in Friday's Weekend Life section of The Oklahoman.
Oklahoma City artist pays tribute to 'Women in War Zones'
Ebony Iman Dallas firmly believes in the strength and resilience of women.
“I grew up with a very strong group of women – my mother, my aunts – who were just very independent. I grew up admiring them,” Dallas said.
“I feel like I grew up watching a lot of positive, strong women doing positive things in the community. So, this show highlights that women aren’t just sitting around twiddling their thumbs and waiting for the world to fall. We’re doing things to make the world a better place and to inspire others.”
The Oklahoma City artist’s new solo exhibition “Women in War Zones” celebrates the courage and fortitude of women while raising awareness of serious issues they face in the United States and around the world. Along with war and terrorism, the 15 portraits in the show pay tribute to women coping with breast cancer, rape and sexual assault, child prostitution, government corruption, exploitation, inequality, lack of access to education and damaging media messages.
“Each piece highlights a person or a group of people who’s experienced some type of trauma, whether it’s physical or internal trauma, emotional trauma,” Dallas said. “It’s about healing and being resilient in the face of tragedy.”
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, “Women in War Zones” debuts Friday at The Project Box, an art space in the Paseo Arts District. The opening reception is set from 6 to 10 p.m. and will feature live music from Tulsa singer-songwriter Kalyn Fay, poetry readings by Oklahoma poets Candace Liger and Trina Robinson and light refreshments from former Urban Roots owner Chaya Fletcher.
“I’m always seeking artists who are kind of pushing the boundaries. I’m able to engage the community by having artwork that will start a conversation. Ebony’s work does that: Every piece that I’ve seen that she’s done is a piece that’s very stylistic, but it’s a piece that represents a deeper story and really engages the audience to start having a conversation,” said The Project Box owner Lisa Jean Allswede.
"Buraanbur Nabad iyo Damaashaad: Somalia" (“Dance for Peace and Celebration: Somalia”) by Ebony Iman Dallas will be featured in the Oklahoma City artist's new exhibition "Women in War Zones," opening Friday at The Project Box in the Paseo Arts District. Image provided
Beauty out of brokenness
When she’s looking for inspiration, Dallas, 35, thinks about the tiles that women often lay outside their homes in Somalia. The tiles are made of broken glass that has been deliberately transformed into something beautiful and functional.
“Trying to break out of my perfectionist tendencies, part of that came from me going to Somalia and staying for a significant amount of time and learning that things don’t have to be perfect to be wonderful and to be what they are and to be beautiful,” she said.
“Life’s not perfect … and bad things are gonna happen. But you can overcome them and make something beautiful out of it. It’s about not forgetting the things that make you beautiful and who you are. It’s about accepting the things that have gone on in your life.”
After growing up in Oklahoma and earning her bachelor's degree at the University of Central Oklahoma, Dallas moved to Oakland, Calif., to pursue a career in advertising, then her master of fine arts in design at the California College of the Arts. For the past 2 ½ years, she has worked as a creative designer at The Oklahoman.
In California, she reconnected by chance with the family of her late father, who hailed from northern Somalia. She has since traveled to Somalia several times to visit her family and even founded a pair of sister nonprofit organizations, Afrikanation Artists Organization Somalia and Afrikanation Artists Organization USA, designed to connect artists and art communities in the two countries.
Even before her first trek to Somalia, her African roots influenced her art. One of the oldest paintings in the exhibit, “"Buraanbur Nabad iyo Damaashaad: Somalia" ("Dance For Peace and Celebration: Somalia"),” is based on a photo that she found online of women dancing at a Somali wedding.
“Somalia is very fragile right now. It’s struggled with war off and on for so many years, since the ‘80s, and some places are more safe than others,” Dallas said, adding that most of her family lives in the safer breakaway region of Somaliland.
“It shows that life goes on even in places where there is war.”
"Unclipped Wings," Ebony Iman Dallas' portrait of Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, is featured in the Oklahoma City artist's new exhibition "Women in War Zones," opening Friday at The Project Box in the Paseo Arts District. Image provided
Global and local issues
The acrylic on canvas paintings and ink on paper drawings in “Women in War Zones” are global, local and universal in their scope. Her portraits pay homage to Kurdish women fighting for freedom in Syria; to Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban; and to the 13 women who testified against former Oklahoma City Police Officer Daniel Holtzclaw, who was recently sentenced to 263 years in prison after he was convicted of raping women while on duty.
“It takes a lot of guts and a lot of bravery to get in front of the person who harmed you and say it’s not OK in front of many people that you have never, ever met before and may never, ever see again,” Dallas said of the latter painting, titled “13 Queens.”
One of the most meaningful portraits in the exhibit, “65 Roses,” depicts local breast cancer survivor Lori Klarenbeek, whom Dallas was inspired to paint after seeing her photo in a series by fellow OKC artist Gay Pasley. Although she has never met Klarenbeek, Dallas said she lost a childhood friend to breast cancer and her grandmother is fighting it for the second time, so it is a topic that has deep meaning for her.
“She looks like a fighter,” Dallas said. “That’s an internal war. It’s a very difficult thing to probably accept and then have to go through and fight.”
After interviewing Klarenbeek by phone, Dallas was able to create a painting that would have meaning to her, too: “65 Roses” shows the breast cancer survivor surrounded by 65 roses that represent her daughter, Jodi Marquez-Klarenbeek, who has cystic fibrosis.
“She has a daughter who has cystic fibrosis, and when she was younger, like a lot of kids, she had a hard time saying ‘cystic fibrosis.’ So, she would call it ’65 Roses,’” said Dallas, who hopes to meet mother and daughter at the opening reception. “There are literally 65 roses in the painting because she said that her daughter inspires her, just coming up and seeing all the pain that her child had to go through and how she overcame it.”
Oklahoma City artist Ebony Iman Dallas' mixed-media painting "I Define Me" is featured in her new exhibition "Women in War Zones," opening Friday at The Project Box in the Paseo Arts District. Image provided
Bright colors and dark issues
Although her paintings often delve into dark serious issues, Dallas’ use of bright colors helps to give them a sense of hopefulness.
“I think I paint and I dress how I feel, so my art is very colorful,” Dallas said. “I like really bright colors, colors that make people smile.”
Allswede said the bold palette, soft tones and curvy lines that Dallas favors in her paintings reflect her thoughtful but positive outlook on life.
“There are very few people like Ebony that are so positive and pleasant to be around all the time. … To me, she is so graceful in how she lives – and it does come across in her work,” she said.
“That’s part of what’s attractive about her and her art: she wants it to be an element to help people heal and come together.”
"For Our Names' Sake," a painting by Ebony Iman Dallas, will be included in the Oklahoma City artist's new exhibition "Women in War Zones," opening Friday at The Project Box in the Paseo Arts District. Image provided
ON VIEW
Ebony Iman Dallas’ “Women in War Zones”
When: Friday through Feb. 27.
Where: The Project Box, 3003 Paseo.
Opening reception: 6 to 10 p.m. Friday during the First Friday Gallery Walk.
Workshop: Dallas and David M. Delgado will lead a workshop titled “Art for Relaxation” from noon to 2 p.m. Feb. 27. The Feb. 13 session is full.
Closing celebration: 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 26.
Information: www.theprojectboxokc.comand ebonyimandallas.com.
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By Brandy McDonnell | February 5, 2016
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Artist Ebony Iman Dallas poses with her paintings “65 Roses,” left, and “13 Queens” at The Oklahoman studios. A creative designer at The Oklahoman, Dallas is showing the paintings plus several others in a new exhibit “Women in War Zones,” opening Friday at The Project Box in the Paseo Arts District. Photo By Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
"Courage in Flight," a poem and painting by Ebony Iman Dallas, is included in the Oklahoma City artist's new exhibition "Women in War Zones," opening Friday at The Project Box in the Paseo Arts District. Image provided
A version of this column appears in Friday's Weekend Life section of The Oklahoman.
Oklahoma City artist pays tribute to 'Women in War Zones'
Ebony Iman Dallas firmly believes in the strength and resilience of women.
“I grew up with a very strong group of women – my mother, my aunts – who were just very independent. I grew up admiring them,” Dallas said.
“I feel like I grew up watching a lot of positive, strong women doing positive things in the community. So, this show highlights that women aren’t just sitting around twiddling their thumbs and waiting for the world to fall. We’re doing things to make the world a better place and to inspire others.”
The Oklahoma City artist’s new solo exhibition “Women in War Zones” celebrates the courage and fortitude of women while raising awareness of serious issues they face in the United States and around the world. Along with war and terrorism, the 15 portraits in the show pay tribute to women coping with breast cancer, rape and sexual assault, child prostitution, government corruption, exploitation, inequality, lack of access to education and damaging media messages.
“Each piece highlights a person or a group of people who’s experienced some type of trauma, whether it’s physical or internal trauma, emotional trauma,” Dallas said. “It’s about healing and being resilient in the face of tragedy.”
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, “Women in War Zones” debuts Friday at The Project Box, an art space in the Paseo Arts District. The opening reception is set from 6 to 10 p.m. and will feature live music from Tulsa singer-songwriter Kalyn Fay, poetry readings by Oklahoma poets Candace Liger and Trina Robinson and light refreshments from former Urban Roots owner Chaya Fletcher.
“I’m always seeking artists who are kind of pushing the boundaries. I’m able to engage the community by having artwork that will start a conversation. Ebony’s work does that: Every piece that I’ve seen that she’s done is a piece that’s very stylistic, but it’s a piece that represents a deeper story and really engages the audience to start having a conversation,” said The Project Box owner Lisa Jean Allswede.
"Buraanbur Nabad iyo Damaashaad: Somalia" (“Dance for Peace and Celebration: Somalia”) by Ebony Iman Dallas will be featured in the Oklahoma City artist's new exhibition "Women in War Zones," opening Friday at The Project Box in the Paseo Arts District. Image provided
Beauty out of brokenness
When she’s looking for inspiration, Dallas, 35, thinks about the tiles that women often lay outside their homes in Somalia. The tiles are made of broken glass that has been deliberately transformed into something beautiful and functional.
“Trying to break out of my perfectionist tendencies, part of that came from me going to Somalia and staying for a significant amount of time and learning that things don’t have to be perfect to be wonderful and to be what they are and to be beautiful,” she said.
“Life’s not perfect … and bad things are gonna happen. But you can overcome them and make something beautiful out of it. It’s about not forgetting the things that make you beautiful and who you are. It’s about accepting the things that have gone on in your life.”
After growing up in Oklahoma and earning her bachelor's degree at the University of Central Oklahoma, Dallas moved to Oakland, Calif., to pursue a career in advertising, then her master of fine arts in design at the California College of the Arts. For the past 2 ½ years, she has worked as a creative designer at The Oklahoman.
In California, she reconnected by chance with the family of her late father, who hailed from northern Somalia. She has since traveled to Somalia several times to visit her family and even founded a pair of sister nonprofit organizations, Afrikanation Artists Organization Somalia and Afrikanation Artists Organization USA, designed to connect artists and art communities in the two countries.
Even before her first trek to Somalia, her African roots influenced her art. One of the oldest paintings in the exhibit, “"Buraanbur Nabad iyo Damaashaad: Somalia" ("Dance For Peace and Celebration: Somalia"),” is based on a photo that she found online of women dancing at a Somali wedding.
“Somalia is very fragile right now. It’s struggled with war off and on for so many years, since the ‘80s, and some places are more safe than others,” Dallas said, adding that most of her family lives in the safer breakaway region of Somaliland.
“It shows that life goes on even in places where there is war.”
"Unclipped Wings," Ebony Iman Dallas' portrait of Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, is featured in the Oklahoma City artist's new exhibition "Women in War Zones," opening Friday at The Project Box in the Paseo Arts District. Image provided
Global and local issues
The acrylic on canvas paintings and ink on paper drawings in “Women in War Zones” are global, local and universal in their scope. Her portraits pay homage to Kurdish women fighting for freedom in Syria; to Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban; and to the 13 women who testified against former Oklahoma City Police Officer Daniel Holtzclaw, who was recently sentenced to 263 years in prison after he was convicted of raping women while on duty.
“It takes a lot of guts and a lot of bravery to get in front of the person who harmed you and say it’s not OK in front of many people that you have never, ever met before and may never, ever see again,” Dallas said of the latter painting, titled “13 Queens.”
One of the most meaningful portraits in the exhibit, “65 Roses,” depicts local breast cancer survivor Lori Klarenbeek, whom Dallas was inspired to paint after seeing her photo in a series by fellow OKC artist Gay Pasley. Although she has never met Klarenbeek, Dallas said she lost a childhood friend to breast cancer and her grandmother is fighting it for the second time, so it is a topic that has deep meaning for her.
“She looks like a fighter,” Dallas said. “That’s an internal war. It’s a very difficult thing to probably accept and then have to go through and fight.”
After interviewing Klarenbeek by phone, Dallas was able to create a painting that would have meaning to her, too: “65 Roses” shows the breast cancer survivor surrounded by 65 roses that represent her daughter, Jodi Marquez-Klarenbeek, who has cystic fibrosis.
“She has a daughter who has cystic fibrosis, and when she was younger, like a lot of kids, she had a hard time saying ‘cystic fibrosis.’ So, she would call it ’65 Roses,’” said Dallas, who hopes to meet mother and daughter at the opening reception. “There are literally 65 roses in the painting because she said that her daughter inspires her, just coming up and seeing all the pain that her child had to go through and how she overcame it.”
Oklahoma City artist Ebony Iman Dallas' mixed-media painting "I Define Me" is featured in her new exhibition "Women in War Zones," opening Friday at The Project Box in the Paseo Arts District. Image provided
Bright colors and dark issues
Although her paintings often delve into dark serious issues, Dallas’ use of bright colors helps to give them a sense of hopefulness.
“I think I paint and I dress how I feel, so my art is very colorful,” Dallas said. “I like really bright colors, colors that make people smile.”
Allswede said the bold palette, soft tones and curvy lines that Dallas favors in her paintings reflect her thoughtful but positive outlook on life.
“There are very few people like Ebony that are so positive and pleasant to be around all the time. … To me, she is so graceful in how she lives – and it does come across in her work,” she said.
“That’s part of what’s attractive about her and her art: she wants it to be an element to help people heal and come together.”
"For Our Names' Sake," a painting by Ebony Iman Dallas, will be included in the Oklahoma City artist's new exhibition "Women in War Zones," opening Friday at The Project Box in the Paseo Arts District. Image provided
ON VIEW
Ebony Iman Dallas’ “Women in War Zones”
When: Friday through Feb. 27.
Where: The Project Box, 3003 Paseo.
Opening reception: 6 to 10 p.m. Friday during the First Friday Gallery Walk.
Workshop: Dallas and David M. Delgado will lead a workshop titled “Art for Relaxation” from noon to 2 p.m. Feb. 27. The Feb. 13 session is full.
Closing celebration: 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 26.
Information: www.theprojectboxokc.comand ebonyimandallas.com.
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