Research
Recent career
Major projects (selected)
Estate of Tameka Jenean Norris, Transform Any Room, Des Moines Art Center
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Legacy as Wikipedia Page, Tameka Norris
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Embodied Research, Iowa Arts Council Award
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a eulogy: By(e), Tameka!, video
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Still (a) Life, video
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Solo exhibitions (selected)
Estate of Tameka Jenean
Norris, Figge Museum
Grief Portraits of Tameka, Dora Maar Residency, Menerbes, France
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Talk Back, Chapter One: Estate, Charles Allis Museum
Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler, Galerie PJ, Metz, France
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Second Line, University Galleries of Illinois State University
Monkey's Uncle, Mimmo Scognamiglio Artecontemporanea, Milan
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Group Exhibitions (selected)
Expo Chicago, Jane Lombard Gallery
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Echoes of Paradise, curated by Alejandro Jassan, Jane Lombard Gallery
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Transform Any Room, curated by Laura Burkhalter, Des Moines Art Center
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Dirty South @ Virginia Museum of Fine Art, curated by Valerie Cassel Oliver
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Gay Guerilla,
curated by Arcade Project Curatorial
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4 bodies, 1 screen, curated by Maria Hupfield with the Rubin Foundation
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On the road: chocolate cities @ TONE, curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah
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Queer Threads, curated by John Chaich, San Jose Museum of Textiles and Quilts.
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Recent press
T.J. Dedeaux Norris's Medium is Healing (Hyperallergic, June 27, 2023)
Holland Kotter: Art Meets Its Soundtrack in 'Dirty South' (New York Times, July 15, 2021)
How T.J. Dedeaux-Norris turns exploitation on its head (Little Village, August, 2020)
T.J. Dedeaux Norris's Medium is Healing (Hyperallergic, June 27, 2023)
Holland Kotter: Art Meets Its Soundtrack in 'Dirty South' (New York Times, July 15, 2021)
How T.J. Dedeaux-Norris turns exploitation on its head (Little Village, August, 2020)
research statement
From starting out as an up-and-coming rapper to now being an associate professor at a major research university, my practice as a painter has pushed the bounds of the medium; my work having become a public screen for the experiences I have had as a BIPOC, Queer, Woman-Bodied person living in the United States of America and the attempts of trying to heal from the grief imparted by these experiences. This life-long, devotional practice to myself has cultivated different facets or personas which have come together to wholly form myself as an artist and cultural practitioner—Tameka Jenean Norris, Meka Jean, and T.J. Dedeaux-Norris. In tandem, I ultimately negotiate which persona is most linked to my current project or body of work; deciding who gets to exist or sometimes who needs to exist in order to see my work to its fruition.
My work as Tameka Jenean Norris, the persona of myself that lived in Los Angeles in the early 2000s to the beginnings of my career as an educator, was greatly propelled by the 2005 Hurricane Katrina. Growing up near the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and spending summers with relatives in New Orleans, Louisiana, much of this work was informed by the initial and emergent emotional, infrastructural, and financial effects Hurricane Katrina had on under-resourced Black communities; including my family. Further, the last effects of this natural disaster underscored themes present within my work at the time: access, mental and physical health, trauma, family support systems, and communal rehabilitation. As Tameka Jenean Norris, this work culminated in make-shift textile paintings depicting deteriorating homes, domestic scenes, and Women in life who crafted these spaces for me. This work was recognized in its ‘home-state,’ having been curated into multiple Prospect New Orleans Biennials, (2011, 2012, 2014).
My work as Meka Jean, expanded my artistic practice from painting into performance, video, and film by embracing a rap persona in Los Angeles. This character allowed me to explore themes of fame, sexuality, and braggadocio, while engaging with the Hollywood sensibility that pervades the city. Meka Jean's work interrogated the spectacle of celebrity culture and its impact on identity, using music and performance to challenge societal expectations and reflect on the artifice of media representation.
As a second-generation artist in the genre of Institutional Critique, taught by its founders, my work has long questioned the spaces and roles I occupied, beginning with the start of my academic career at an institution that overturned its Affirmative Action protections just before my arrival. This continued at another institution renowned for minting the next generation of ‘art stars.’ Primarily through performance and video documentation, my work at this time solidified my larger practice within the Institutional Critique genre. Works like "Yale School of Art: Semesters 1–4" (2010-12), prominently discussed in Portraying Unease: The Art and Politics of Uncomfortable Attachments (Suneson, 2022), and Untitled (2012)" (2012), which was exhibited in the national traveling exhibition Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art (2012-2015), have become key examples of this practice.
These initial works subsequently generated an internationally recognized practice and aesthetic sensibility to their connection with the regional American South. Major solo exhibitions have included Ronchini Gallery, (2014, 2017), the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, (2013), and the Savannah College of Art and Design, (2015). Major group exhibitions have included the traveling exhibition Dirty South, (2021, 2022), the traveling exhibition Southern Accent: Seeking the American South in Contemporary Art, (2016, 2017), the San Jose Museum of Art, (2023), the Trout Museum of Art, (2021), the Hirshhorn Museum of Art, (2018), the Krannert Art Museum, (2017), the Hilliard Art Museum, (2016), and the Wave Hill Museum, (2015).
In the wake of losing my grandmother and taking on the role of primary caregiver of my ailing mother, I understood my practice under the personas of Tameka Jenean Norris and Meka Jean to be no longer emotionally or physically sustainable; and worked to revitalize my practice through the ‘death’ of my old selves and the emergence of a new project. In 2019, I legally changed my name to T.J. Dedeaux-Norris in order to circumvent the racialized and gendered associations of my given name and honor my mother’s French-Creole heritage; all while navigating the changes in my personal life of a divorce, moving, and managing my mother’s health and legal affairs. This pivotal shift in my life allowed for T.J. Dedeaux-Norris, the persona of my present self and self as an educator, to take form along with the creation of two major projects, The Estate of Tameka Jenean Norris and #embodiedresearch. The Estate of Tameka Jenean Norris begins with the works of “Coffin,” (2020), a rose gold coffin fixed at the gallery’s entrance when on view, and “A Eulogy, By(e) Tameka!,” (2021), a single-channel video performance that recites the eulogy of my former self. These works are followed by paintings made under the Tameka Jenean Norris; along with family heirlooms, personal objects, and signage indicating these works are of the estate—the works of an artist who has since passed. #embodiedresearch is a simultaneous project, rejecting monetary structures of the art market and instead opting for the investment of T.J. Dedeaux-Norris’ body as the artist—opting to invest in myself as a person with a body needing to be taken care of. Work through this project has examined running, boxing, detoxing, therapy, and guided meditation as methods for both endurance-based, performance research and personal fulfillment.
The Estate of Tameka Jenean Norris has been supported as my most prominent project, with major solo exhibitions at the Figge Art Museum, (2020), the University Galleries of Illinois State University, (2021), and the Charles Allis Museum, (2023); along with recognition in the group exhibition Transform Any Room at the Des Moines Art Center, (2023). Awards which have supported the continued progression of this project and the creation of the work in it include a $10,000 Iowa Arts Council Fellowship Award, (2022), a $20,000 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, (2019), and two $25,000 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, (2016, 2018). Major residencies which have supported the production of this work include The Studios at MASS MoCA, (2024), the Dora Maar Mansion, (2023), Yaddo, (2019), the Vermont Studio Center, (2018), MacDowell Colony, (2016), the Fountainhead Artist Residency, (2009), and the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, (2009).
Presently, I live and work in Iowa City, Iowa, where I am an Associate Professor of Painting & Drawing at the University of Iowa in the School of Art, Art History, and Design. As well, I also maintain a teaching appointment in the Department of African American Studies. Upon the culmination of my time as an artist-in-residence at the Grant Wood Art Colony as the Grant Wood Fellow for Painting & Drawing (2016–17), I accepted a tenure-track position within the program and have since assumed the role of Area Head where I assess and implement both undergraduate and graduate-level instruction in contemporary art practice and theory. Prior to my position at the University of Iowa, I served as Adjunct Professor of Art and Art History at Santa Monica College, (2016), Adjunct Professor of Art at Dillard University, (2012–15), and Visiting Lecturer of Art at Xavier University, (2012–14).
I received a Master of Fine Arts in Painting & Printmaking from Yale University, a Bachelor of Arts in Painting from the University of California, Los Angeles. Gallery representations include Jane Lombard Gallery, (New York City, NY), Rena Bransten Gallery, (San Francisco, CA), Walter Maciel Gallery, (Los Angeles, CA), and Galerie PJ (Metz, France). Institutional collections include the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, (CA), Figge Museum of Art, (IA), and The Studio Museum in Harlem & the Peggy Cooper Cafritz Collection, (NY).
My work as Tameka Jenean Norris, the persona of myself that lived in Los Angeles in the early 2000s to the beginnings of my career as an educator, was greatly propelled by the 2005 Hurricane Katrina. Growing up near the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and spending summers with relatives in New Orleans, Louisiana, much of this work was informed by the initial and emergent emotional, infrastructural, and financial effects Hurricane Katrina had on under-resourced Black communities; including my family. Further, the last effects of this natural disaster underscored themes present within my work at the time: access, mental and physical health, trauma, family support systems, and communal rehabilitation. As Tameka Jenean Norris, this work culminated in make-shift textile paintings depicting deteriorating homes, domestic scenes, and Women in life who crafted these spaces for me. This work was recognized in its ‘home-state,’ having been curated into multiple Prospect New Orleans Biennials, (2011, 2012, 2014).
My work as Meka Jean, expanded my artistic practice from painting into performance, video, and film by embracing a rap persona in Los Angeles. This character allowed me to explore themes of fame, sexuality, and braggadocio, while engaging with the Hollywood sensibility that pervades the city. Meka Jean's work interrogated the spectacle of celebrity culture and its impact on identity, using music and performance to challenge societal expectations and reflect on the artifice of media representation.
As a second-generation artist in the genre of Institutional Critique, taught by its founders, my work has long questioned the spaces and roles I occupied, beginning with the start of my academic career at an institution that overturned its Affirmative Action protections just before my arrival. This continued at another institution renowned for minting the next generation of ‘art stars.’ Primarily through performance and video documentation, my work at this time solidified my larger practice within the Institutional Critique genre. Works like "Yale School of Art: Semesters 1–4" (2010-12), prominently discussed in Portraying Unease: The Art and Politics of Uncomfortable Attachments (Suneson, 2022), and Untitled (2012)" (2012), which was exhibited in the national traveling exhibition Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art (2012-2015), have become key examples of this practice.
These initial works subsequently generated an internationally recognized practice and aesthetic sensibility to their connection with the regional American South. Major solo exhibitions have included Ronchini Gallery, (2014, 2017), the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, (2013), and the Savannah College of Art and Design, (2015). Major group exhibitions have included the traveling exhibition Dirty South, (2021, 2022), the traveling exhibition Southern Accent: Seeking the American South in Contemporary Art, (2016, 2017), the San Jose Museum of Art, (2023), the Trout Museum of Art, (2021), the Hirshhorn Museum of Art, (2018), the Krannert Art Museum, (2017), the Hilliard Art Museum, (2016), and the Wave Hill Museum, (2015).
In the wake of losing my grandmother and taking on the role of primary caregiver of my ailing mother, I understood my practice under the personas of Tameka Jenean Norris and Meka Jean to be no longer emotionally or physically sustainable; and worked to revitalize my practice through the ‘death’ of my old selves and the emergence of a new project. In 2019, I legally changed my name to T.J. Dedeaux-Norris in order to circumvent the racialized and gendered associations of my given name and honor my mother’s French-Creole heritage; all while navigating the changes in my personal life of a divorce, moving, and managing my mother’s health and legal affairs. This pivotal shift in my life allowed for T.J. Dedeaux-Norris, the persona of my present self and self as an educator, to take form along with the creation of two major projects, The Estate of Tameka Jenean Norris and #embodiedresearch. The Estate of Tameka Jenean Norris begins with the works of “Coffin,” (2020), a rose gold coffin fixed at the gallery’s entrance when on view, and “A Eulogy, By(e) Tameka!,” (2021), a single-channel video performance that recites the eulogy of my former self. These works are followed by paintings made under the Tameka Jenean Norris; along with family heirlooms, personal objects, and signage indicating these works are of the estate—the works of an artist who has since passed. #embodiedresearch is a simultaneous project, rejecting monetary structures of the art market and instead opting for the investment of T.J. Dedeaux-Norris’ body as the artist—opting to invest in myself as a person with a body needing to be taken care of. Work through this project has examined running, boxing, detoxing, therapy, and guided meditation as methods for both endurance-based, performance research and personal fulfillment.
The Estate of Tameka Jenean Norris has been supported as my most prominent project, with major solo exhibitions at the Figge Art Museum, (2020), the University Galleries of Illinois State University, (2021), and the Charles Allis Museum, (2023); along with recognition in the group exhibition Transform Any Room at the Des Moines Art Center, (2023). Awards which have supported the continued progression of this project and the creation of the work in it include a $10,000 Iowa Arts Council Fellowship Award, (2022), a $20,000 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, (2019), and two $25,000 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, (2016, 2018). Major residencies which have supported the production of this work include The Studios at MASS MoCA, (2024), the Dora Maar Mansion, (2023), Yaddo, (2019), the Vermont Studio Center, (2018), MacDowell Colony, (2016), the Fountainhead Artist Residency, (2009), and the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, (2009).
Presently, I live and work in Iowa City, Iowa, where I am an Associate Professor of Painting & Drawing at the University of Iowa in the School of Art, Art History, and Design. As well, I also maintain a teaching appointment in the Department of African American Studies. Upon the culmination of my time as an artist-in-residence at the Grant Wood Art Colony as the Grant Wood Fellow for Painting & Drawing (2016–17), I accepted a tenure-track position within the program and have since assumed the role of Area Head where I assess and implement both undergraduate and graduate-level instruction in contemporary art practice and theory. Prior to my position at the University of Iowa, I served as Adjunct Professor of Art and Art History at Santa Monica College, (2016), Adjunct Professor of Art at Dillard University, (2012–15), and Visiting Lecturer of Art at Xavier University, (2012–14).
I received a Master of Fine Arts in Painting & Printmaking from Yale University, a Bachelor of Arts in Painting from the University of California, Los Angeles. Gallery representations include Jane Lombard Gallery, (New York City, NY), Rena Bransten Gallery, (San Francisco, CA), Walter Maciel Gallery, (Los Angeles, CA), and Galerie PJ (Metz, France). Institutional collections include the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, (CA), Figge Museum of Art, (IA), and The Studio Museum in Harlem & the Peggy Cooper Cafritz Collection, (NY).
full portfolio
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Curriculum vitae
dedeaux-norris_cv_updated__august_25_2024.pdf Read full career history in CV. (click)