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Arlington & Lakeland’s Community Newspaper
November 2014
theview
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Arlington High Art Students Get Lesson in Art,
History from Memphis Artist George Hunt
Lakeland Moves Forward with Approval of
Lakeland Prep Tax Increase, Project Manager
By Terry Louderback
By Terry Louderback
On October 21, Arlington
High School Visual Arts
students had the opportunity
to listen and learn from an
acclaimed artist—Memphis
painter George Hunt.
Hunt, who taught art in the
Memphis City Schools for 36
years, regaled the students
with a mixture of stories
about his journey to
becoming an artist and
aphorisms encouraging the
students in their artistic
development.
Hunt’s “Meet and Greet”
at the school was arranged in
conjunction with the
RiverArtsFest held later that
week in the Historic South
Main Arts District in
Downtown Memphis. Each
year, the festival partners
professional artist with local
schools, explained AHS
Visual Art Teacher Leanne
Wilson..
A native of Louisiana,
Hunt attended high school in
Hot Springs, Arkansas before
receiving a fo otb all
scholarship to the University
of Arkansas, Pine Bluff. He
also attended graduate school
at Memphis State and New
York University.
Originally intending to be
a coach, Hunt switched to art
education in college and then
taught art and coached
football and track at Carver
High School in Memphis.
Just one year after
electing a new mayor,
overhauling the board of
commissioners, and
establishing its first-ever
municipal school board,
Lakeland’s elected officials
continued their wave of
change in October with
several key votes.
America Cares, by
George Hunt as appeared
on a 2005 US Postage
Stamp.
Staff Photo
Acclaimed Memphis Artist George Hunt spoke to
Arlington High Visual Art Students about his
experiences as an artist and art educator.
Hunt credited Memphis
State Art Professor Dick
Knowles with encouraging
him not to copy the style of
European masters, but to “do
what you do” and “paint
what you like.”
“What I knew for the most
part was the hood,” Hunt
states, adding that he “had
limited involvement with
whites.” In fact, Hunt tells
that he only taught two white
students in his 36 years at
Carver High.
Told to “paint what you
know,” Hunt chose subjects
from the music world he
loved—although he isn’t a
musician—blues players,
gambling, dice, and cards.
He started to paint in his
classroom after school and
sports practices were over.
His dedication to creating art
meant that sometimes he
would stay all night.
“If there is something you
want to do, you will find time
to do it,” Hunt told the
students.
In addition to themes of
music, Hunt is recognized as
a leading Civil Rights artist.
America Cares. an image of
the Little Rock Nine he
created for a memorial at
Central High School in Little
Rock, was selected to hang at
the White House and later
issued as a postage stamp as
p art o f
a ser ie s
co mme mo rating Civil
Rights.
Visual Arts Teacher
Carrol McTyre describes the
impact exposure to a working
artist has on her students.
“They see someone who is
not working realistically, but
has a definite style. This
gives the students
encouragement to push
outside of what they are used
to doing.”
AHS students Emily
James and Emily Burraston
agreed that after Hunt’s talk
they were intrigued and
encouraged to experiement.
Burraston, a senior at
AHS who hopes to major in
art education, said “I would
be interested to see my style
if I tried to mimic his.”
James, a sopho more
interested in fashion design
admitted that she, too, had
worried about painting
anything abstract. “It’s
outside of my comfort zone.”
At its October 13 Board
Meeting,
the Lakeland
School System became of
the of the first in Tennessee
to pass a resolution
encouraging the Tennessee
governor, legislature, and
state department o f
education to repeal the
adoption of the Common
Core State Standards.
After the vote, Board
Chair Kevin Floyd stated
that while the resolution has
no immediate impact on
what is being taught at
Lakeland Elementary,
“we’re hoping that it will
send a message to the
Tennessee legislators that
Tennessee parents and
educators and school boards
want to be involved in
educating Tennessee
students.”
The very next day, a full
house was present for the
Board of Commissioner’s
twice-delayed vote to
approve a $0.55 special
property tax solely for the
retirement of school bond
debt.
After a steady stream of
citizens spoke in support of
the “Lakeland Prep” joint
middle/high school
construction project or
advocated reasons why it
should be delayed, the board
unsurprisingly voted
unanimously to approve the
ordinance.
In an interview after the
meeting, Mayor Bunker
explained that the October
14 vote didn’t actually enact
a tax increase or issue bonds.
“With the vote tonight, it
did not have any effect: it did
not issue bonds and it did not
increase the tax rate,”
Bunker said.
According to Bunker, by
state law, taxes can only be
adjusted once a year during
the budget process. For
Lakeland, this will occur in
May or June 2015. The
Board of Commissioner's
action now lets the school
board know of the BOC's
intention to increase taxes.
“Tonight was just our
way of saying, ‘Ok, there is
support from the board of
commissioners for the school
board to move forward with
site selection and design
because time is of the
essence’” Bunker explained.
The budget process will
include more public
hearings. If approved, the tax
increase would be retroactive
to January 2015.
Once the BOC takes
action to issue bonds,
Bunker states a 20-day
window opens during with
the public may petition to
force a referendum on the
bond issuance.