Demarcus McGaughey's rebellion Toward Complacency, Negativity, And Submission
Demarcus McGaughey expands the definition of love in action - whether extending the legacy of his loved ones through vibrant visual artwork or contributing inspirational messages of strength and positivity to the black community.
He delivers both forms in depicting the departed artist, friend, and "guardian angel" Taufeeq Muhammad in When You Believe. He portrays Muhammad in an aspirational upward gaze, face framed by a nimbus pulled straight from the stained glass windows of a 17th-century cathedral and splashed with a stylized neon pattern. Demarcus recites his dear friend's affirmation, "When you believe, everybody else around you will believe." making the painting shine a little brighter.
Demarcus' attitude is solidified through an active rebellion toward complacency, negativity, and submission to doubt. His art wisps itself through and around community and entrepreneurship, two concepts attached at the hip. An appropriate artist to be featured in this Volume of Bleucalf, Demarcus places his brush at the center of Uptown ownership. A featured artist in ArtCrawl Harlem's Governors Island Residency Program highlighting 100 years of Harlem history, Demarcus reflects on the sheer bravery it took for NYC transplants to move themselves to Harlem in pursuit of their dreams. Despite every possible tribulation, they created an iconic cultural community and thrived beyond doubt.
Deeply inspired by their courage and the manifestation of success, Demarcus represents the fruition of culture, self-belief, ownership, and community in Ambassador of Harlem. The subject is draped in apparel designed by Black-owned companies. Accessories like the Ronald Draper Pin and The Very Black Project tee and even a Black-owned Bodega, brandishing the tagline, "Our Own Community" in the faded background, are nods toward the cultural motivation and representation McGaughey delivers.
Even with such a beautiful expression of positivity and inspiration, McGaughey is painfully aware of both the gift and curse of willpower and trust. He describes the choice all have - the decision to listen to the shouts of affirmation or the whispers of doubt. Trust portrays what it might look like to choose the whisper. The social experiment that eventually brought about the piece required subjects to partner up and express themselves with a limited arsenal of phrases: I trust you. I don't trust you. I don't know.
Demarcus sat before his partner and led by affirming his unshakably positive outlook. "I trust you." Laura, the subject and artist in her own right, negated his expression with honesty and intuition. "I don't trust you." Stunned, Demarcus considered the experiences that might have caused her response. He moves her direct expression away from himself in his artistic process, and though taken aback, he adorns her soul-piercing, defiant eyes in golden regality. He acknowledges the queen within her and calls himself and his viewers to stand in rebellion toward distrust.
“Trust in your mindset. Your gift. Yourself. ”
This philosophy of self-belief persists in all of Demarcus' work and even his life coaching practice. It's his contribution to the world. He recalls a crystalizing line of advice from his own life coach in a moment of self-doubt. "People are waiting on you." As with most wisdom received in youth, this gem took a while to marinate for Demarcus. He clarifies, "People in the world are waiting on you." Conquering your dream inspires others to achieve their own. Those realized dreams inspire others. And so on, and so on.
Demarcus' philosophy around artwork and life itself reflects Tupac's fossilized line of truth, "I'm not saying I'm gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world." In retrospect, Pac was modest, something out of character for the immortalized artist's distinguishable bravado. Demarcus similarly understands the domino effect of self-belief and the interconnectivity of a self-informed destiny. Thus, he views his artistic ambition and the responsibility to execute his vision as petals of the same flower.
