ULYSSES JENKINS
Biographical Information
Although he majored in art in college, Jenkins initially worked as a juvenile probation officer. In 1971 he quit his job and moved to Venice Beach. For awhile he painted theater backdrops, but seeing the work of the Los Angeles Fine Arts Squad inspired him to try his hand at mural painting. During the 1970s he worked on mural projects with Alonzo Davis and Judith Baca, including a section of the Great Wall called The 1848 Band-aid. Originally introduced to video in 1972 while working on his first mural on the Venice Boardwalk, over the years Jenkins has become increasingly involved in performance and video art. After getting his M.F.A. in video from Otis Art Institute, he taught at several local colleges. He also ran his own performance studio near the University of Southern California for artists of color. In 1989 he moved to Oakland in northern California. He works with a San Francisco gang intervention program teaching youth how to use video, and he holds video telephone poetry readings between Oakland and Santa Monica.
Mural Credits
Transportation Brought Art to the People (photo)
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