View source for V. L. Cox

{{Short description|American artist}}
{{use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox artist
| name             = V. L. Cox
| image            = <!-- use the image's pagename; do not include the "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and do not use brackets-->
| image_size       =
| alt              =
| caption          =
| birth_name       = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1962|7|14}}
| birth_place      = [[Shreveport, Louisiana]]
| death_date       = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| death_place      =
| nationality      = American
| alma_mater       = [[Henderson State University]] (BFA)
| known_for        = [[Mixed media]]
| notable_works    = ''End Hate'' installation series
| style            =
| movement         =
| awards           = <!-- {{awd|award|year|title|role|name}} (optional) -->
| elected          =
| website          = {{URL|https://www.vlcox.com/}}
}}
'''V. L. Cox''' (born 1962) is an American multimedia artist based in [[Arkansas]] and [[New York City|New York]].<ref name="High Profile">{{Cite web|title=Artist V. L. Cox Opens Doors to Let Everyone In|last=O'Neal|first=Rachel|url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/may/10/v-l-cox-20200510-1/|access-date=2021-05-01|website=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, High Profile Section|date=2020-05-10|language=en}}</ref>
==Early life and education==
V. L. Cox was born on August 14, 1962, in [[Shreveport, Louisiana]]. She originally attended [[Arkansas Tech University]] in [[Russellville, Arkansas]] to study engineering but later transferred to [[Henderson State University]] in [[Arkadelphia, Arkansas]], receiving a BFA in computer graphics in 1991. Her father was an illustrator and engineer, and her great-grandmother from [[Washington, Arkansas]], Louise Virginia Betts Pilkington, was a painter who graduated in 1909 from [[Lindenwood College for Women]] in [[St. Charles, Missouri]] with a degree in fine art, and whose work is now in the permanent collection of the [[Historic Arkansas Museum]].<ref name="High Profile" />
==Career==
Cox started out doing corporate work, pursuing her artistic endeavors on the side. Most notably, in 1995, she designed, constructed, and painted sets and backdrops for the [[Los Colinas Film Studios]] and [[Dallas Theater]] productions of [[The Nutcracker|''The'' ''Nutcracker'']], [[The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)|''Phantom'' ''of'' ''the'' ''Opera'']], and [[Walker, Texas Ranger|''Walker,'' ''Texas'' ''Ranger'']]. The following year, she designed and painted the theme and background for the National Civil Rights Humanities Awards in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], where [[Leah Rabin]], widow of slain Prime Minister [[Yitzhak Rabin]], presented the Award for Freedom.<ref name="VL">{{Cite web|title=About page of Website of V. L. Cox|url=https://www.vlcox.com/theartist|website=V. L. Cox|language=en-US|access-date=2021-05-01}}</ref> By 1997, she was able to quit her corporate job and become a full-time artist.<ref name="High Profile" />
In 2020, Cox was one of twenty artists in the nation to be featured in "Ministry of Truth: 1984/2020," a [[New York City]] billboard project providing “a platform for artists to comment on the current state of US politics and increasing polarization just in time for the election.”<ref name="renamed_from_1984_on_20210503053936">{{Cite web|title=An Orwell-inspired Billboard Project Considers the State of US Politics|last=Sharp|first=Sarah Rose|date=2020-09-08|url=https://hyperallergic.com/590719/ministry-of-truth-1984-2020-billboards/|access-date=2021-05-01|website=Hyperallergic|language=en}}</ref>
==Awards==
* Selected for the 1999 Women's Works, [[Chicago, Illinois]]. Juried by [[Susan Sensemann]] (1999).
* Selected for the 50th Delta Exhibition, [[Arkansas Arts Center]], [[Little Rock, Arkansas]] (2007)
* [[U.S. State Department]] Invitation, Art in Embassies Program, [[Democratic Republic of Congo]] (2008)
* Arkansan of the Year, [[Arkansas Life]] (2015)
* Distinguished Alumni Exhibition/Artist, Henderson State University (2015)
* Best Artist, Best of Arkansas, [[Arkansas Times]] (2019).
==References==
{{reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* {{Cite web|title=V.L. Cox's Search for Forgotten Rationality|url=https://www.littlerocksoiree.com/post/128378/vl-coxs-search-for-forgotten-rationality|access-date=2021-05-21|website=Little Rock Soiree}}
* {{Cite web|title=V.L. Cox|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/v-l-cox-11748/|access-date=2021-12-17|website=CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, V. L.}}
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American women artists]]
[[Category:21st-century American women artists]]
[[Category:Artists from Arkansas]]
[[Category:Henderson State University alumni]]
[[Category:People from Arkadelphia, Arkansas]]