Painter Wayne Manns looks to mother, grandmother for inspiration

Artist Wayne Manns has set out to honor women and give back to the Bloomington community in his new exhibit “Women of Bloomington,” opening at 5 p.m. Friday at Gallery North, located on the Square.\nManns devoted his summer to painting 22 portraits of admirable women who contribute to the Bloomington community by exemplifying warmth, generosity, understanding and kindness. Ten percent of the sales will go to the Bloomington domestic and rape crisis center, Middle Way House.\nThe inspiration for his exhibit comes from his upbringing by women.\nThe jazz-influenced painter was raised in Atlantic City by his grandmother and mother.\n“I wanted to capture the ideals that my mother and grandmother instilled in me,” Manns said. “I chose Middle Way House because it is an organization that helps women.” \n He selected women for the project by asking women he already knew about who they thought notable women in the community were. Each woman he asked knew five other women he had to meet, he said. \n“It should really be called ‘Some Women of Bloomington,’” said Manns, noting that there are many spectacular women in Bloomington who are not featured in the exhibit. “This exhibit really is for all women.” \nThe women whose portraits he painted are a diverse group, including musicians, businesswomen, educators, actresses and mothers. A variety of ethnic backgrounds are represented, including Black, Jewish, Ethiopian and Lebanese. He wanted it to be inclusive, he said.\n“There are so many women out there, women who are doing things out of love, kindness and service,” he said. “Those are the heroes in my world. Frances Manns, my mother, is my hero.”\nManns developed a passion for the arts when he moved to Santa Fe in 1982. Manns established himself in the art community in 1995 through a life-changing group show at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art in California. He lived and studied in Brazil for a year, where he learned to “free himself.” Then he moved to Bloomington to pursue a graduate program in museum studies at IU. Locally, he has curated shows at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures and the Kinsey Institute. His art has been exhibited in Europe, South America and all over the U.S. \nManns’ favorite portrait in the exhibit is that of Camilla Williams, opera singer and an IU professor emeritus. She made her debut with the New York City Opera in 1946, singing the title role in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” She sang “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech during the civil rights rally of August 1963 in Washington, D.C.\nIn Manns’ portrait of Williams, her glamorous presence emanates from the richly colored canvas as she smiles jubilantly back at the viewer. In the background, she is depicted in her costume from “Madama Butterfly,” complete with parasol and fan.\nAs he did with Williams, Manns incorporated something about each woman in her portrait. Whether it was through the woman’s favorite color or plant or her prized Argentinean tea vessel, every woman’s identity was reflected in some way. He said it was interesting and rewarding to meet so many extraordinary women.\n“I walk away with the same kind of good feelings I got from my grandmother,” he said.