Hickerson’s art uncovers blocks

In the halls of the Cypress Creek Campus’s Building 1000, many will notice that a majority of the pieces all contain one key element, a solid cinder brick wall, or “aggregate concrete blocks,” as artist Melanie Hickerson calls them.

“It’s like a way of thinking about nothing,” said Hickerson, an adjunct ACC professor and artist. “You know, how you think of nothing but you’re not thinking of nothing, and the imagery that kept coming to me was cinder blocks.”

In 2001, after the events of 9/11 and a few personal tragedies, Hickerson began to use cinder block walls as a recurring theme in her artwork.

“We had a house that had a cinder block wall behind it that I used to go and sit on,” she explains.

During the stressful period of her parents’ divorce after 22 years of marriage, Hickerson, at 14, would use the brick wall as a solace from the bickering. “As an artist, we have touchstones; images we go back to... and it became my touchstone.”

She viewed the blocks as a foundation. “It’s that old thing about how your limitations are also your strengths. Family and all the problems in the world are barriers. They get in your way, but they also give support.”

The cinder block theme continued in her artwork until 2009, when, after the untimely suicide of her sister, she painted a piece called “Cynthia.”

“After that event, I didn’t want to paint the wall anymore,” Hickerson reflects. “Cynthia”, named for her late sister, “was about healing and understanding what she what she (my sister) was going through”.

“I was so mad at her, and I was so guilt-ridden,” Hickerson said. “And, you know, you have to forgive her. But, boy, it shoved me into a different place. And it’s a gift, and it’s a punishment, and it’s a horror, and a blessing. And you have to go and look for the blessing.”

Hickerson’s art will remain on display at the Cypress Creek campus until May 16th.
“All paintings are abstract at first,” Hickerson said. “Mostly I try to make compositions with mystery and skill. I hope people enjoy looking at my work.”

Hickerson will hold a reception for the opening of the gallery on February 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Cypress Creek Campus Commons area.

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