Kutztown Alumni e-Newsletter : February 2005

For a casual observer of the arts, it only takes a few minutes with Dane Tilghman to understand – artists don’t have to be starving. Tilghman, a 1979 graduate of Kutztown University’s communication design program, spent two days back on campus in January, talking with students and delivering a keynote address to the campus and community.

Tilghman calls art his life – his means of living and his way of living. A means of living for Tilghman means marketing his art in some very unique venues. You’ll find his depictions of African-American individuals and families on everything from coffee mugs and mouse pads to funeral home fans and church bulletins.“You go where the market is,” Tilghman said. “I’m always looking for that new market that is meant especially for my art.”

And Tilghman has found churches and funeral homes that traditionally serve African-American families are a particularly great market for his work.And while Tilghman’s art is truly one-of-a-kind, it’s his business mind that never stops working. When he started selling his art on hand fans to funeral homes, he was having the cutting and assembly done off-site. Then he figured out that if we bought his own equipment, he could cut costs and improve profits. With a big grin, Tilghman said, “You have to learn how to work it, you know what I mean?”

And during his career, Tilghman is a man who has worked it. Since his graduation from KU in 1979, Tilghman’s work has appeared everywhere from the “The Cosby Show” to Sports Illustrated. He established himself as the premiere painters of African American golf art and Negro League baseball images.He has exhibited his work in galleries and exhibitions all over the country, and commissioned a project for Turner Stadium in Atlanta and has exhibited twice at the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum in Philadelphia.

For more information on Tilghman and his work, visit his website at www.tilghmanenterprises.com.