ULM hosted the Black History Artist Reception and Art Exhibit Wednesday.

The exhibit featured three artists, Cliff Woods, Michelle McCally and Bernard Menyweather.  The majority of the pieces exhibited traces of African American history. Pieces such as Menyweather’s ”Down by the Riverside,” which featured African American men singing along the riverbank and “Wood’s Slave Portrait,” which featured African American children chained to together on a ship.

McCally’s portrait, “Sinking,” showed a drawing of a bare woman clutching herself and was a favorite among visitors.

“So much emphasis is placed on the female body and I wanted to strip that away” said McCally, who is also a junior art major at ULM.

Victoria Smith, a junior art education major from West Monroe, really took a liking to Menyweather’s “Red Tail,” a painting that featured a Tuskegee airman.

“The strong contrast of the sky and landscape really popped out the sleek texture of the plane…it was an all around good source of material,” said Smith.

“Red Tail” was also Menyweather’s favorite painting. He said, “I did it about 4 years ago, I liked the fact that I didn’t have to go back and add more to it, something I usually have to do.”