Randy Hayes | |
Home | |
A native of Mississippi, Randy Hayes was born in 1944 in Jackson. He grew up in the country near the then small town of Clinton. His family moved to Tupelo when Hayes was sixteen and it was there that he graduated from high school. He attended college in Memphis at both Rhodes and the Memphis College of Arts where he received a B.F.A. in sculpture in 1968. A life long urge to travel began early for Hayes. He dropped out of school briefly to take a freighter to Europe when he was nineteen. It was there that Hayes made the decision to become an artist. After graduation Hayes worked as a VISTA Volunteer in Seattle for a year. After moving to Boston, Hayes worked as a freelance scene painter and designer. This work, primarily with WGBH PBS Television, had an enormous influence on the painter's life and art. Hayes returned to Seattle in 1976 to open a used and rare book store which included a small gallery. The gallery exhibited primarily vintage and contemporary photographs. This experience allowed the artist to become steeped in the history of photography. By 1983 Hayes felt that he could realize his dream and work full time as an artist. In 1979 Hayes walked into a gym to try to photograph some boxers. This led to his first mature body of work. He continued to photograph sub cultures in Los Angeles and New York before working in Rome for two months in 1987. A commission from the Port of Seattle allowed the artist to travel to three continents and India and amass a large archive of negatives to further his examination of culture and history. In 1990 Hayes began to paint directly onto photographs. About the same time he was drawn back to his original environment of the Deep South. He continues to work on this Southern series. |