From: MayJoseph Professor of Global Studies Department of Social Science and Cultural Studies Pratt Institute March 19,

2011 To: The Selection Committee, Artist in Residence Program The Studio Museum in Harlem, NYC Re: Letter of Recommendation for Enrico Miguel Thomas Dear Selection Committee, This is a letter of recommendation for Mr. Enrico Thomas. I understand Mr. Thomas is interested in applying for your Artist in Residence Program. Mr. Thomas was a student of mine at Pratt Institute some years ago. He took two courses with me at the time. One of them, an anthropology course titled Modernity and Magic was a particularly memorable course in which Mr. Thomas produced very creative work on the topic of possession and magic in anthropological discourse. I recall Mr. Thomas being my most engaging and innovative contributor out of a group of thirty students. Mr. Thomas came prepared for the lectures and asked searching questions that were thoughtful and curious. At the time, Mr. Thomas was only beginning to shape a career for himself at the interface of art therapy, artistic practice and public art. It pleases me to see that Enrico has persisted with his distinctive talent as a public art practitioner and created a professional life that is serious and sustaining as a life style. Mr. Thomas is a gifted individual. His artistic portfolio communicates the range and breadth of his interests which includes both a critique of modern industrialization as well as an artists reintegration of technology into the landscape of American culture. Mr. Thomass paintings are visual pulses of our time. They expand our understanding of how an architectural imagination shapes urban morphologies while persistently querying the role of human occupation within these abstract and idealized dreamworlds. Unlike the fashionable Left stance to abhor corporate culture, Mr. Thomass work appears to take on the corporatization and mechanization of urban life at its fullest. His artwork probes the crevices and still points of city culture, drawing our attention to the overlooked gestures and moments of quietitude that make urban life livable. I understand from Mr. Thomas that his work has been received very well and is gaining international recognition. This is wonderful news. I have no doubt that if he were to get the opportunity of being an artist in residence at the Studio Museum, he would bring a verve and imagination that is invigorating and in touch with the timbre of the street. Mr. Thomass opus is a rich and luscious sweep of contemporary urbanization. His work reminds me of Jacob Lawrences stylized observations about modernization while also

capturing the particular and idiosyncratic movements of New York City street life. Some of Mr. Thomass works have the broad sweeps of a Charles White, and hark bark to a social engagement reminiscent of the WPA era of social consciousnes in art. Mr. Thomas is an upcoming, young artist who would greatly benefit from the affiliation with a renowned organization such as The Studio Museum. I do think Mr. Thomas would make a fine addition to the esteemed roster of artists that have passed through the Studio Museums galleries. I consider Mr. Thomass work both of a public nature, as well as avant garde in its aesthetic formality, granting him an affinity with other Studio Museum artists of the past such as Faith Ringgold and Elizabeth Catlett. At a personal level, Mr. Thomas has fought great personal adversity and trauma to create a publicly engaged and personally challenging life for himself as an artist of New Yorks urban street life. As Enricos former teacher, I am proud to see how far Enrico has come as a professional artist, and wish he gets this unique opportunity to work at your distinguished institution as an Artist in Residence. This recognition would be an insurmountable achievement for Mr. Thomas, and a vindication of his singular commitment to his artistic calling. I submit my letter with my heartiest endorsement of Mr. Thomass talents for your consideration. Sincerely yours, May May Joseph Professor of Global Studies, Department of Social Science and Cultural Studies Pratt Institute May.joseph@earthlink.net