Artistic inspiration flows through Nashville as surely as the Cumberland River. While many have traveled to Music City with the hopes of becoming the next great musical creator, a large number of our artists are homegrown. Artists — and the art they create — leave an indelible mark on our soul. Whether through song, image or story, we are often frozen in the moment when art made an impact on us. Nfocus sat down with three artists to learn more about their vision, their art and what they hope to leave as a legacy.
Shabazz Larkin
When Shabazz Larkin was growing up in Norfolk, Virginia, his older brother would take him to poetry slams and open mic nights, and those experiences made an immense impression on him. Those evenings, and being surrounded by artists expressing themselves through language, inspired Shabazz to try his hand at poetry — an art form he would later use to create his “God Speaks” project. After going to school to become an art director, Shabazz worked with some of the top advertising agencies in New York. His experiences taught him that a single idea can be incredibly powerful. He set out to be someone who could clearly articulate ideas and make them as impactful as possible.
Growing up, Shabazz didn’t see himself in art. In fact, it wasn’t until college that he saw a Black person represented in art in a grand way — the subject of the painting stood strong and confident. This moment inspired him to begin to create, and to this day, motivates him to continue his journey. Shabazz says his style has more to do with why he creates than how he creates. Using bright, bold colors, Shabazz enjoys telling the vibrant stories of Black people. Embodying the spirit of the griots, a group of West African historians and storytellers, Shabazz shares the stories of those in his community. “I believe in preserving culture,” he says. “Because without culture, we can feel invisible, adrift.”
Shabazz’s art is multidisciplinary and spans an impressive number of media. In his “God Speaks” project, he asked the question: “When did God speak to you?” He turned the answers he received into poems, and planted them throughout Nashville, housing some in a temporary balloon installation titled “The Museum of Presence.” Shabazz is also a painter, sculptor, printer and writer, and he uses photos as a canvas for the written word. His book The Thing About Bees is a heartfelt love letter to his sons about the importance of bees. The book shares a father’s unconditional love for his children, and it’s part of the legacy he hopes he can leave with his art. “I want people to see how beautiful they are — to stand your truth and feel powerful within your beauty,” he says.
Trenton Wheeler
Voice was Trenton Wheeler’s first instrument. He began singing at an early age. At age 7, as a Valentine’s Day gift, Trenton presented his parents with his first foray into songwriting — a book of lyrics called “The Family Love,” which he then performed for them. Trenton had musical influences all around him. Growing up in Dallas-Fort Worth, he attended a church that had a theater ministry. In the seventh grade, he learned how to play the tenor saxophone. But it was the gift of a guitar from his father that would change the course of his life.
While in college, Trenton and a group of friends started a band called Seryn. An indie-folk band featuring broad vocal ranges, giant melodies and stunning harmonies that can vacillate between haunting whispers and bold emotional statements, the group makes music you knew you were looking for but could not articulate. After much success and a small hiatus, the band relocated to the Nashville area. However, Trenton’s solo project — Topknot, a shortened version of his Blackfoot name Owl Topknot Feather — is where his true voice can be heard and where he is able to show his soul. He recently released a new song, “Time Does Not Change.” The song sat buried in his computer for 15 years before he finished it. With the birth of his daughter as the catalyst, Trenton said he needed to be present in the moment and released the song into the world. “Art shouldn’t be held on a hard drive,” he notes.
One of Trenton’s keystone tenets is the belief that love is immortality. Legacy really is based on how someone is remembered. “No matter what your spirituality, I think heaven is to be remembered well and hell would be to be remembered poorly,” he says. “When it comes to legacy, I would like my children to remember, not the success of my art, but how present I was as a father.”
As a mixed Indigenous artist, Trenton has found multiple influences for his work. He is a descendent of the Blackfoot and Métis people. When he was as young as 6 years old, he began to learn Grass Dancing — a ritual which was the subject of a documentary short he recently completed. Trenton often finds himself inspired by a quote from Louis Riel, a Métis leader who founded the Canadian province of Manitoba: “My people will sleep for 100 years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back.” It is that spirit that he hopes will continue as his legacy.
Harold Kraus
Harold Kraus is a beloved artist whose paintings hang in homes and galleries throughout the United States. Some have described his paintings as being “like a bag of potato chips — you can’t [have] just one.” Harold studied at Lipscomb University, initially planning to get a degree in ministry with a minor in art. His goal was to be a therapist through his ministry. In his words, “Plenty of people need fixing.” He learned pretty quickly that he was not suited to be a therapist, so he switched his major to an art major and Bible minor. That change made all the difference to Harold.
A self-described colorist, Harold finds beauty in everyday objects: “For me, color is the subject. I am inspired by trips to the grocery store to look at the produce or the unique colors brands use on their boxes and cans.” (He recommends going through the aisles and appreciating the thought and effort that went into the packaging.) His vibrant works range from beautiful florals with cheeky names like “Hey Cupcake” and “Blind Date,” to funky paintings of boxes of Crayola crayons and bottles of whiskey. He also enjoys painting vintage items, like yo-yos, roller skates or the fin of a vintage car. While color inspires his work, at times, he has combined paint with other ordinary, everyday items. For Vanderbilt University’s 2002 graduation, Harold postmarked stamps that he later affixed to each of the pieces he created, elevating the paintings to encapsulate a special moment in time. With color leading the theme, most of the paintings were white envelopes on a black field with gold accents as a nod to Vanderbilt’s colors.
While he has shown in galleries throughout Nashville, the bulk of his work now hangs in a gallery in Dallas. He continues to paint at an astonishing rate. His legacy, he says, is to give back and help those who supported him on his journey. He fondly remembers one band teacher who offered him help when he really needed it. He recently had the opportunity to offer some of his work to that teacher as a thank you. Harold’s work also hangs in the Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee clubhouse.