Perception. I see a white man with the bluest of eyes wearing overalls. He has dirt underneath his fingernails and tattoos. What does this tell me? That he is uneducated? That he is unintelligent? That he is lazy? None of these ideas are true, they are all misconceptions. Everything I think I see is wrong. Legally, this man is African-American, he received a Master's Degree in Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts, and his latest exhibit, "Some Kind of Love," is a culmination of decades of tireless work. His name is Nayland Blake.

"Some Kind of Love," now on view at the Center for Art and Visual Culture, is an exhibit that deals for the most part with perception. What you think something is, it is not. What you think you see, you do not. "The first thing I say to someone is "what does it look like," Blake explains. Among the work on display is Feeder 2, a life-sized gingerbread house. "The thing that ties most of my work together is for the most part the things I make are the things everyone encounters everyday with a sort of twist to them," Blake says.

The twists that life brings in the form of self-discovery are an ongoing theme in Blake's work. Many of his pieces deal with the sexual and racial issues that touch so many lives. "One of the themes going on in the show is my exploration of the question of what does racial identity mean," Blake says. "It's a theme I am very involved in investigating because of my own background."

Blake comes from an inter-racial marriage -- his mother is white and his father is African-American. In the state of New York, Blake is legally recognized as an African-American man. "The history of race relations in this country is so much a flashpoint for emotion," Blake says. "I use art to understand my own history and explore life by making an object. A lot of objects in this show deal with the issues surrounding sexuality and relationships."

Definition is another prevailing theme in Blake's exhibit. The need to instantly categorize or label things is something he feels very strongly about and this issue shines through in his art. "We want everything to be defined," he says, "For me, making the object is exploring the space of not knowing."

The motivation for Blake's creations comes from the need to explore not only his own psyche, but for his audience to explore themselves, as well. "These works are something to push your thoughts against. In this day, art gives us a place to explore the shape of our own thoughts."

Although most of Blake's works are sculpture, his video work dominates the exhibition. "I think of it all as sculpture because it all involves object," he says. In Gorge, Blake is videotaped being fed for one hour. "At some points, it seems tender, at others, it appears violent."

The native New Yorker offers advice to his audience. "Don't be afraid of your reactions," Blake says, adding, "If you want to laugh, then laugh." Blake takes ideas and gives them breadth and depth. "I take images everyone has and make it a reality, make it physical," he says in reference to Feeder 2. His art is not meant for one specific group of people. "Everyone is equipped to gain something from the work," he says.

Read more about Blake's exhibition in Insights.

The Center for Art and Visual Culture (CAVC) is located on the first floor of the Fine Arts Building. CAVC is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located on the first floor of the Fine Arts Building. Call (410) 455-3188 for more information.

- Jennifer Leigh Gibson

This article was originally published in The Retriever Weekly.