Activism and art often go hand in hand. In early 2020, amid COVID-19 restrictions and Black Lives Matter protests over the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, art and activism came to the forefront not just for the nation, but in the mind of Marlon West.
A University City native, West has spent decades as an animator for Walt Disney Animation Studio. While his animation work often deals in fantasy, the murder of George Floyd inspired him to draw comic book-style portraits of victims of police brutality and civil rights heroes.
“I am an unapologetic comic book nerd. And I feel very passionately that comics are like a very American style of mythmaking [and] most American comics are about superheroes,” West told St. Louis on the Air. “I wanted to draw all these people in a way to kind of make them almost mythical. It was kind of important to me to do this kind of superhero series.”
Initially, West planned to create four “ink tributes” and post them solely on social media, using the images to honor the memories of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Orlando Castille and Christian Cooper. Instead, he ended up with over 40 illustrations, including portraits of Vice President Kamala Harris, Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman — who was widely praised for leading rioters away from the U.S. Senate chamber on Jan. 6, 2021 — and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “So many of these folks, one way or another, are standing up for civil rights or standing up for themselves in some way,” West said. “[With] Eugene Goodman, there were a couple of photos of him running up the stairs and standing in the doorway that almost looked superhero-like.”
West’s son inspired a number of the portraits in his “ink tributes,” including Nina Pop, a Black transgender woman murdered in Sikeston, Missouri, in 2020. “Nina Pop in particular and Tony McDade, they were transgender. And my son is transgender,” West said. “[The portraits] were a cathartic project for me to sit with these folks, stare at their images and pay some type of tribute.”
For more about Marlon West’s “Ink Tributes” including how the social media project ended up in the St. Louis University Museum of Art and the inclusion of “people in uniform” in his tributes, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast by clicking the play button below.
Related Event
What: Marlon West’s "Ink Tributes" exhibit opening
When: 5-8 p.m. Aug. 25
Where: St. Louis University Museum of Art
3663 Lindell Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63108
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Ulaa Kuziez is our production intern. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
