LAUREN R. LYDE
Photo: Micheal Truebloood
Lauren R. Lyde
The Integrationist, 2017
oil on plexiglass, metal
4’ x 4’
Lauren R. Lyde is a realist painter who draws inspiration in her practice from old photographs of African Americans that depict forgotten tales and legends in American culture. Lyde holds a MFA in Community Arts from Maryland Institute College of Art and earned a BS in Visual Communication from Towson University. She is currently a resident artist of School 33 Art Center. Her recent body of work invites audiences to reflect on the intersectionality of the past, present, and future in our historical narratives.
Local lore has it that after the desegregation of Pool No.2 in 1956, none of the black patrons ventured over to the other side of the park to integrate the whites only pool, but there was one white boy who came to swim in the colored pool. Desegregation is not the same as Integration. Desegregation gave black people the choice as to whether they want to live, work, and play separately or integrate. Integration gave white and black people alike an opportunity to integrate their neighborhoods, schools, and businesses of their own free will. The Integrationist wrestles with the idea of civic responsibility and the decision for a member of any group to cross arbitrary social divisions of race, class, and gender.