For 40 years, John T. Crisp Jr. has been
known on the East Side for his art and for his work in youth
education. In the past, when people west of 11th Street wanted to
interact with artists of color, they came to him.
Crisp, who grew up on the East Side
(“Back then, if you were black, that was the only side you
could grow up on,” he quips), couldn’t afford a full
college course load. So, as he was able to, he registered for the
courses he needed to learn art: When he visited a sister in Ohio,
he took classes at Ohio State University, and he’s studied
here, at Lincoln Land Community College, as well. He learned
graphic arts and commercial illustration while working for an ad
agency in Springfield. “I trained myself to do several types
of art because of my interest in teaching,” he says. “I
specialize in black history, and I spend a lot of time in
libraries.”
Crisp says he focuses on “the art of
what’s happening now,” but makes a point to teach
students the basics.
The road to “the art of what’s
happenin’ now” has been rocky. Crisp remembers the Old
Capitol Art Fair back in 1968: “Several black artists were
invited, and at the end of the first day we were invited to leave
and they gave us our money back. Since that time, not one black
artist participated until watercolor specialist Barbara Mason, last
year. That experience brought me to a reality: My father always
told me not to get mad at an organization that has an event that
because you can’t participate. Let them have their event,
and, if you want to participate, get your own event — then
you can do what you want to do.”
In the late ’90s, Crisp began working
with the city’s mainstream arts organizations again. He
helped renovate the Fifth Street home of the Prairie Art Alliance.
Soon after, the Springfield Housing Authority and Springfield Art
Association signed a partnership agreement that brought Crisp to
SAA as a summer arts-program teacher. “Things went so well
that I’ve been here as an instructor ever since,” he
says. “I’m going to be here as long as I’m
allowed to be here.”
Crisp, now 60, estimates that over the past
25 years, working at various clubs, churches, and District 186
schools, he has tutored more than 1,500 kids, and he considers
himself as much a teacher as an artist. He has produced two books: A Taste of Black History is a coloring book with historical facts intended to educate as well as engage the artistically
inclined. His Motor Skill Dot Drawing book teaches young people how to develop hand-eye motor skills early in the
lifelong pursuit of artistic learning.
Crisp created the books partly to help fund
the establishment of a joint effort with other East Side community
activists. The Tubman/Anthony Women’s Self-Help Arts and
Education Multipurpose Center, now in the planning stage, is
intended to serve in part as a youth center, open seven days a
week, offering learning opportunities in all fields, including art.
There will be no games — just academics, including music.
“The goal is to get the children into a
positive atmosphere, give them an alternative to the rap music and
the videos thrown at our children,” Crisp says. “I have
other professionals ready to go and work with young people in
programs. We’re not going to stop all the killing and the
drug dealing on the East Side, but we can stop some of it.”
At SAA, Crisp teaches beginning and advanced
drawing and sculpture year-round to kids from all over Springfield.
He continues his efforts at area churches. Several times a year, he
also teaches adults. “Anyone who can sign their name can be
an artist if they apply themselves,” he says. “In my
classes there is no such thing as ‘I can’t.’ I
don’t expect anything dynamic from my 7- to 11-year-olds, but
they do some pretty fantastic things, and they learn something.
They teach me as much as I teach them. Some of the color schemes
they show me amaze and surprise me.”
Crisp does not consider art a ticket to
mainstream community life as some think of professional sports.
“Art plays a major role in [leading kids to study] reading,
writing, and arithmetic,” he says. “I have students say
to me, ‘Mr. Crisp, I’m going to major in art,’
and I tell them ‘No, you’re not. Don’t major in
art. Minor in art. If art is going to be your goal, take business
law or marketing so you can afford your art.”
John Crisp’s books are available for
purchase at Off Top Records, 1503 E. Ash St. For more information about the
Tubman/Anthony Center, call Crisp at 217-544-3095.
This article appears in Jun 9-15, 2005.
