NOTES
“Gorilla” features smooth surfaces, abstracted forms, and a masklike face. These elements are evidence of Houston Chandler’s search for “the simplicity that brings out the greatest line of expression.” Though the gorilla rests in a hunched pose, its muscular limbs, arranged in diagonals across its body, allude to its physical power.
Born in St. Louis, Chandler was the second African American student to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Iowa. He returned to St. Louis to teach for many years at Vashon High School and direct summer classes at the People’s Art Center, the city’s first racially integrated community arts center.
