Tameka Norris facts for kids

Quick facts for kids T.J. Dedeaux-Norris
Born	Hagåtña, Guam
Nationality	American
Alma mater	UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture (2010) Yale School of Art (2012)
Occupation	Artist
Years active	2002–present

Tameka Norris, also known as T.J. Dedeaux-Norris or Meka Jean, is an American artist. She creates art using painting, sculpture, and performance. Her work often explores ideas about racial identity. She also looks at how Black culture is sometimes copied in modern society. Her art helps us think about the history of Black people in painting and fine art.

Early Life and Education

Tameka Norris was born in Guam. She grew up in Gulfport, Mississippi. After high school in 1995, she moved to Los Angeles. She first wanted to become a rap artist.

Before going to college, she worked different jobs. Later, she enrolled at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California. She was one of the few Black students in the art program. She studied there for five years.

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit. This storm affected her family in Mississippi. It also influenced the art she made. The pictures she created during this time helped her get into the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture. She transferred there in 2007. At UCLA, she learned from many famous artists. These included Andrea Fraser, Mary Kelly, and Barbara Kruger.

Norris then earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in 2012. She studied printmaking and painting at Yale School of Art.

Art and Career

Tameka Norris is a professor at the University of Iowa. She has also studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. She has been part of many artist residencies. These are places where artists can live and focus on their work. Some of these include the MacDowell Colony and The Fountainhead Residency.

From 2016 to 2017, Norris was a Fellow at the Grant Wood Art Colony. In 2017, she received a $25,000 grant. This grant came from the National Endowment for the Arts. Modern Painters magazine named her one of "24 Artists to Watch in 2013."

Performance Art

In 2013, Norris was part of a special art show. It was called "Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art." This show was at The Studio Museum in Harlem. It looked at performance art by Black artists over 50 years. The exhibition included many live performances.

For this show, Norris performed her work called Untitled (2012). In this piece, Norris uses her body to create art on a wall. She uses her body as both the paint and the paintbrush. Her performance makes people think about the art space itself. It also brings up ideas about the body and feelings. This exhibition was written about in Hyperallergic and New York Times.

Visual Art

Norris has had many solo art shows. These include "Family Values" in New Orleans in 2013. Another was "Tameka Norris: Too Good For You (Introducing Meka Jean)" in 2014. She also had "Almost Acquaintances" and "Not Acquiescing" in 2014 and 2015.

In 2012, her work was in New American Painting magazine. This magazine shows art from graduate students across the United States.

Her exhibition Between Bloodlines and Floodlines was shown in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2015. It was at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Film Work

Tameka Norris also made a full-length film. It is called Meka Jean: How She Got Good. In this film, she plays herself. She explores her own identity and culture. The film looks at what it means to be from New Orleans. It was first shown at an international art event called Prospect.3 New Orleans.

In 2011, Norris made a video art piece. She re-performed an older artwork by Bruce Nauman. Her piece was shown in her "Family Values" exhibition in 2013.

Music

In 2016, Norris released a rap album. It was called "Ivy League Ratchet." This album was part of an art show called "The Beat Goes On." The album talked about what it's like to be a woman of color. It also discussed attending a top university.

Personal Life

Tameka Norris is also known by the name Meka Jean. This was a nickname given to her when she was a child.