Latest news with #Saunders'
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Raymond Saunders, painter who rejected racial pigeonholes, dies at 90
Mr. Saunders prided himself on his independence from movements. In 1967, he published a now-famous polemical pamphlet, 'Black Is a Color,' which rebutted an article by poet Ishmael Reed, a leader of the Black Arts Movement. Breaking with the collective spirit of the '60s, Mr. Saunders argued that Black artists should not feel obligated to share social goals, or to use their work to lobby for political change. He wanted to be seen as an American artist rather than be ghettoized as a Black one. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Can't we get clear of these degrading limitations,' he wrote, 'and recognize the wider reality of art where color is the means and not the end?' Advertisement Still, he was not averse to exploring questions of identity in his work. 'He wasn't throwing his fist in the air,' artist Dewey Crumpler, a friend of his in Oakland, observed. 'It was more subtle.' Mr. Saunders was known for elegant paintings that usually began with an all-black background and ended up as semiabstract compendiums of chalk-scrawled notations and paper scraps. They were often compared to the 'combine paintings' of Robert Rauschenberg, whose voluptuous accumulations of castoff objects exemplified the material plenitude of postwar America. Advertisement Yet Mr. Saunders had a restrained and almost spartan touch. When he glued a choice morsel of collage material — say, a torn-off scrap of Chinese calligraphy, or a panel from a Flash Gordon comic book — to a canvas, he left lots of empty space around it, isolating and framing his finds as if to call attention to their radiance. You could say he foregrounded the magic of art and left blackness in the background. His work was underrecognized for years, but it achieved a new visibility in 2022, when the Andrew Kreps Gallery gave him his first show in New York since 1998. At a time when the art world was determined to correct the racial slights and oversights of the past, Mr. Saunders was an obvious candidate for reappraisal. Last year, Kreps joined forces with the powerful David Zwirner Gallery to organize an expanded view of Mr. Saunders' work in New York. A well-received retrospective followed in short order at the Carnegie Museum of Art, in Pittsburgh, Mr. Saunders' hometown. Mr. Saunders did not attend the shows in New York or Pittsburgh, his friends said. 'His community was here, in the Bay Area,' said Julie Casemore, who represents his work at her Casemore Gallery in San Francisco. 'His home was here.' Mr. Saunders had settled in the Bay Area in 1968 and lived in the Rockridge section of Oakland, in a two-story house that also served as his studio. The interior was crammed with bric-a-brac and mounds of source material for his work, much of which he had gathered on sojourns in Europe and Asia. He did his painting in his yard, on a bright white wooden deck that was designed to receive direct sunlight for most of the day. He called it 'the arena.' A stylish dresser, he liked to exchange his paint-stained duds for the pleated garments of Japanese designer Issey Miyake when he went out at night. Advertisement Mr. Saunders lived within walking distance of the California College of Arts and Crafts (now the California College of the Arts), where he taught painting from 1987 until his retirement in 2013. He was known to invite an entire class to accompany him on his trips to galleries and restaurants, or to stop for lunch at his house. Kevin Demery, a former student of his who now teaches at the Kansas City Art Institute, recalled an afternoon when he and his classmates were seated in Mr. Saunders' dining room sharing 'a robust charcuterie board.' Midway through lunch, the students were alarmed to realize that their professor had disappeared. 'I walked into his living room and saw through the windows that he was painting on his deck,' Demery said in an interview. 'Once we became a vibrant community, he let us thrive without him.' An elusive figure who seldom gave interviews, Mr. Saunders declined to muse on the meaning of his paintings or to disclose details about his childhood, even among friends. He was so private that his friends say they aren't sure whether he was ever married or not. Raymond Jennings Saunders was born on Oct. 28, 1934, in Homestead, Pa., a borough of Allegheny County just across the Monongahela River from Pittsburgh. He and his three sisters were raised by their mother, Emma Marie (Hewitt) Saunders, who struggled to support them on her income as a maid. The family eventually moved into public housing, in the Hill District of Pittsburgh. His nephew Frank said that Mr. Saunders never learned the identity of his father. Advertisement In addition to Frank Saunders, Raymond Saunders is survived by a number of other nephews and nieces and his younger sister, Rossetta Burden. Bucky, as Raymond was nicknamed as a boy, found an early supporter in Joseph C. Fitzpatrick, a white educator who taught art at Schenley High School in Pittsburgh and who also presided over a class for gifted art students every Saturday morning at the Carnegie Institute. Fitzpatrick offered essential encouragement to budding artists, including Andy Warhol, Philip Pearlstein, and Mel Bochner. In later life, asked to name the artists who had shaped his work, Mr. Saunders instead credited his schooling. 'I am from Pittsburgh,' he said, 'and they had an unusual and outstanding program for kids.' By the time he had graduated from Schenley, Mr. Saunders was decorated with awards. Moving to Philadelphia, he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts on a scholarship from the National Scholastic Art Contest. In 1959, he returned to Pittsburgh and transferred his college credits to the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon), where he received his bachelor's degree in fine arts the next year. After living in California for a year to earn a Master of Arts in fine arts at California State University, Hayward (now East Bay), Mr. Saunders moved to New York, the country's art capital. Most established galleries declined to exhibit work by Black artists in that era, but Mr. Saunders found an ally in Terry Dintenfass, a well-regarded gallerist on East 67th Street in Manhattan who represented Jacob Lawrence, an older and much-acclaimed painter of Black life and history. Dintenfass gave Mr. Saunders his debut show at the gallery, in 1964. Reviewing it in The New York Times, critic Brian O'Doherty described Mr. Saunders as 'essentially a conservative painter with a good eye.' Advertisement Mr. Saunders returned to California to join the faculty of Cal State in Hayward. He continued teaching, he said, less to earn a paycheck than to repay the educational advantages of his hardscrabble youth. A fervent traveler, he purchased a second home in Paris, a former fire station in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood on the Left Bank, where he hosted art classes in the summer. But his influence extended not only to his students. Among his admirers was Jean-Michel Basquiat, the precocious art star who emerged in the New York art boom of the early 1980s. Some of Basquiat's paintings, with their graffiti-style markings and floating masks inscribed against flat fields of blue, bore a curious similarity to Mr. Saunders' tastefully disjointed imagery. Basquiat made multiple attempts to contact Mr. Saunders, apparently without success, before his untimely death in 1988. 'Basquiat tried to reach Raymond Saunders when he came to San Francisco,' Ishmael Reed, with whom Mr. Saunders had sparred decades earlier, told The Amsterdam News of Harlem in 2022. Poet Bill Berkson, who taught at the now-closed San Francisco Art Institute, related that he once offered a scholarship to Basquiat but the artist demurred. 'I'll only come if you get Ray Saunders to teach there,' Berkson quoted him as saying. Mr. Saunders, with his usual aversion to discussing his work and its critical reception, had little to say about Basquiat's regard for his work. Advertisement Crumpler, his Oakland friend, once tried to draw him out on the subject. 'When I looked at Basquiat's work for the first time, I knew he was biting Ray,' Crumpler said in an interview. 'I told Ray, 'Basquiat is biting your work all day and night.' Ray just smiled.' This article originally appeared in
Perth Now
03-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
How a school dropout started a multi-million dollar empire from her garage
An Australian fashion founder with a multi-million dollar business has described how she went from dropping out of school, to starting her empire. And if you've dipped your toe into the world of online shopping, there is a high chance you've bought something from Brittney Saunders' company, Fayt. Watch 7NEWS at 6pm for a behind the scenes look at the Fayt warehouse. Saunders started out as a content creator after discovering some American influencers on Youtube when she was 14-years-old and knew she wanted to do it. She grew a loyal group of followers after making Youtube videos and then eventually branched out to Instagram and Tiktok too. Those loyal followers turned into a customer base when she launched Fayt almost eight years ago. Brittney Saunders at Fayt. Credit: 7NEWS 'I guess, yeah, I became an influencer. I think I always knew deep down that wasn't gonna be sustainable for me forever,' she told 7NEWS. Fayt sells womenswear, but with a twist. The clothing shuns the standard model and instead runs its collections in a full suite of sizes. Saunders' story is a modern day fairytale and now she's sharing all the secrets to her success in her brand new memoir. Credit: 7NEWS 'As we got bigger and bigger, I'd add another size and another.,' Saunders said. 'And then it got to the point where we had sizes six to 26 in everything. And now it's just it's normal to us and I forget that not every brand does that.' Fayt is now so big, it has outgrown its 1300sqm warehouse and is expanding to a second storage space next door. Saunders' story is a modern day fairytale and now she's sharing all the secrets to her success in her brand new memoir. Watch 7NEWS at 6pm for a behind the scenes look at the Fayt warehouse and to hear more details about Saunders' book: Just Getting Started.
West Australian
16-06-2025
- West Australian
Former Broome Bishop Christopher Saunders fined $2k after pleading guilty to firearm offences
Former Broome bishop Christopher Saunders has been fined $2000 after pleading guilty to firearms charges. The charges relate to Saunders' failure to properly secure ammunition and a firearm, with Magistrate Deen Potter describing his storage practices as 'extremely lax.' Broome Magistrates Court was on Monday told that hundreds of rounds of ammunition were found inadequately stored in Saunders' home, office and vehicle, including 500 rounds of .22 calibre ammunition hidden inside a camera bag. A CZ bolt-action rifle was also discovered unsecured in his car during travels in southern WA in January last year. Appearing via video link, Saunders' lawyer Tony Hager asked the court to consider his client's age — 75 — and the fact he had no prior criminal record. In handing down the fine, Mr Potter noted changes to firearm laws since Saunders obtained his licence and said that while the offences were serious, they warranted a financial penalty rather than a jail sentence. More than 1200 rounds of ammunition and a shotgun were allegedly uncovered in Mr Saunders' Broome home in December 2023. The charges are part of a broader WA police investigation into historical child sexual abuse allegations against the 75-year-old. Saunders was first arrested in February last year, after an investigation ordered by the Pope found he likely sexually assaulted four youths, while potentially grooming another 67 over 50 years. He now faces a total of 39 charges, including alleged child sex abuse, firearms offences, and assault, all of which he has pleaded not guilty to. WA Police allege Saunders indecently dealt with a male child between 2009 and 2010, amid a series of charges involving multiple complainants and incidents spanning more than a decade. His arrest in January led to six new charges, including sexual penetration of a child under 13, indecent dealings, and common assault, bringing the total number of charges against him to almost 40. Saunders first drew national attention last year when he became the highest-ranking member of the Catholic Church in Australia to be accused of sex crimes since Cardinal George Pell's acquittal by the High Court in 2020.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man shot multiple times after confrontation in Dauphin County bar parking lot, court docs show
DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — A confrontation in a Dauphin County bar parking lot led to a man being shot multiple times Tuesday night, police said in charging documents. Dakota Saunders, 21, of Elizabethtown, faces felony charges including attempted homicide and aggravated assault from the shooting in the lot of the Triple B Restaurant and Bar along Derry Street, court documents from Swatara Township Police state. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Severe Weather Alerts Surveillance video from the bar was obtained by Swatara Township Police, who were able to watch what happened in the bar's parking lot, the charges filed Wednesday state. Staff also helped police identify the shooter. Police say Saunders and a man got into a confrontation around 10:30 p.m. in the parking lot that at first was not aggressive, but it did escalate. According to police, someone tried to separate them, but that only seemed to make things worse between them. Previous coverage -> One hospitalized in Dauphin County shooting The victim started to walk away, but he then turned around and pulled a gun out of his pants, police said. The victim was interviewed and claimed he only did this after he heard someone pull a gun, police said. The charging documents show Saunders allegedly started shooting at and chasing the man, who was not even 10 feet away, throughout the parking lot. A patrolling Swatara Township Police Sergeant in the area reported hearing gunshots, and then almost right away saw the victim running for help, police said. The suspected shooter then got into a red Jeep and left the scene. After being hurried to Hershey Medical Center for treatment, police said they found multiple gunshot wounds to the victim's legs and hip area, and it appeared he was shot three times. Man transporting juvenile human trafficking victim arrested on Pennsylvania Turnpike An empty '9mm hi-point' handgun that appeared to be empty before the shooting was recovered in the parking lot, and the victim admitted to having that handgun in his possession. However, police said he denied shooting the gun, and he was never seen firing any shots on video, and there was no magazine or ammo found belonging to it. A bartender reported that one of Saunders' relatives paid for drinks that night, and confirmed he was at the bar after police showed them a photo of him. Police said they were able to talk with Saunders' relative over the phone, and they allegedly admitted they were the ones who tried separating Saunders and the victim during the confrontation. Saunders turned himself in to police around noon on Wednesday, and he is expected to be arraigned Thursday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
CBS News
05-03-2025
- CBS News
Maryland woman pleads guilty to stealing 3.6 million in Medicaid fraud scheme
A Parkville woman pleaded guilty to stealing more than $3.6 million in a Maryland Medicaid fraud case, the attorney general's office said Tuesday. Tasha Saunders, 44, admitted to operating two behavioral health companies that submitted fraudulent claims for psychiatric rehabilitation program services between November 2019 and September 2024. Investigators found she forged signatures, created fake patient records, and stole the identities of healthcare providers and Medicaid recipients. "This outrageous conduct is an insult to the one in five Marylanders who rely on Medicaid for health coverage," Brown said. This marks Saunders' second Medicaid fraud conviction. In May 2021, she pleaded guilty to similar fraud schemes involving different mental health companies and was sentenced to nine months in prison, nine months of home detention, and ordered to pay $470,744 in restitution. After Saunders' first conviction, she was placed on a federal exclusion list prohibiting her from participating in federal healthcare programs. Prosecutors say she lied on Medicaid provider applications to conceal her involvement with the new companies. The investigation involved nearly a dozen search warrants for email records, cloud storage accounts, and cell phones. Investigators discovered Saunders had stolen the identities of legitimate providers, including University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty members, to create fraudulent service authorizations. Saunders pleaded guilty on February 25 and is set to be sentenced on July 21. Maryland sees similar fraud cases In February, the owner of multiple Baltimore childcare centers was charged with stealing more than $2.5 million from Maryland through a decade-long fraud scheme. In another case, a Baltimore man pleaded guilty to stealing more than $82,000 from Maryland's Child and Adult Care Food Program.
