Yatika Starr Fields to Appear at NOC Artist Reception Dec. 11

Northern Oklahoma College Tonkawa is hosting an artist reception for Yatika Starr Fields Wednesday, Dec. 11 at the Cultural Engagement Center inside the Pickens Learning Commons in the Vineyard Administration Building.

NOC is dedicating new murals created by Fields, the third set of murals created by the artist at NOC.  The three sets of murals encompass over 5,000 square feet.  They include mixed media art and are painted with spray paint and other forms of wet media.

All three sets of murals were commissioned by Northern Oklahoma College thanks to the generous donation from Hugh Pickens and the Pickens Museum

The Come-and-Go reception will be from 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. with remarks at 3:30 p.m.

“We are so excited to once again partner with Hugh Pickens to bring in the extremely talented artist Yatika Starr Fields,” said NOC President Diana Morris Watkins.  “The Pickens Learning Commons and the Cultural Engagement Center provide our campus community with museum quality experiences right here in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, and we are grateful for friends like Mr. Pickens who generously assist in providing high-quality, accessible educational opportunities for NOC students.”

While attending the Art Institute of Boston from 2000 to 2004, Fields became interested in Graffiti aesthetics, which has been integral to his knowledge and process along with Landscape painting- and continues to influence his large- scale projects and studio works. Fields is from Oklahoma and currently living and working in Tulsa in conjunction with the Tulsa Artist Fellowship. Fields has spent the last decade on the East Coast, New York City and most recently Seattle where the energy of urban life inspires and feeds the creative force in his artwork. He seeks to influence his viewers to rethink and reshape their relationships to the world around them.

His compositions are often spontaneous and left open for interpretation so that multiple stories can be drawn from them. His kaleidoscopic imagery, with its dynamic pop, symbolism and culture aesthetic, reference both historical and contemporary themes- tied together with traditional affinity but provoked by general concerns of world differences.

His canvasses and murals are alive with movement and filled with images that rely on vibrant colors and swirling patterns to build narratives that carry the eye.

The NOC Cultural Engagement Center (CEC), adjacent to the Pickens Learning Commons, was created through the federally funded U.S. Department of Education Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institution (NASNTI) grant.

The CEC opened in 2017 and includes contem­porary learning spaces where students, faculty, and/or tribal leaders can meet; individual study or collaborative projects can be conducted; cul­ture-based learning activities and community/cultural events can be provided; professional development can be held; and small group or individual tutoring can occur .

NOC, a public two-year community college, serves 4,200 students on the home campus in Tonkawa, branch in Enid, NOC/OSU Gateway Program in Stillwater, online, and the University Center in Ponca City.

In 2019, NOC celebrated the 20-year anniversary of the Enid campus and a 15-year partnership with OSU for the Gateway Program.

NOC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers associate degrees in three general areas: Arts, Science and Applied Science.  The associate degree fulfills lower-division course work which is applicable towards a bachelor’s degree.

Call (580) 628-6200 for more information about Northern Oklahoma College or visit www.noc.edu .