Let me kindly introduce myself. They call me MC Prince Brighton.,

2025

Let me kindly introduce myself. They call me MC Prince Brighton. This is the title, as well as the purpose, of my monumentally scaled, multi-material wall relief.

Central to the concept of this work is the role of welcoming all visitors into and through the space. Prince Brighton is a self-portrait that spans decades of my own development. It reflects the growth that took place from the moment I stepped onto my first campus at the Kansas City Art Institute until my first visit to Princeton to explore this commission. Each of those moments was epic to me as an artist. Each came at a critical point in my development as an individual, and each was made more meaningful, memorable, and possible because of the welcome feeling that was shared with me by those who inhabited those spaces. I want Prince Brighton to do that for everyone they encounter.

Prince Brighton’s soft gesture shows a humbleness of self as he relates to each visitor, ensuring a feeling of welcome and warmth despite his massive size. He meets the visitor where they are while suggesting that the importance of any human is bigger than any space they enter. He is greatness without elitism, and employs beauty, power, and vulnerability as a means to his mission.

Materially, the work is complex as well, and this is critical to the concept. Because I chose glass mosaic, wood, and cast acrylic, materials with their own very different elemental characteristics, I had to assemble the work in a way that is mindful of those differences, conveying an underlying system of connection that allows each element to interact with the others. Independence is never stifled; rather, the foundation allows the unique expansion, contraction, and growth to occur harmoniously.

Prince Brighton is central to the work and is based on a Soundsuit I made in 2008, which is comprised of found vintage textiles and toys, including a tin globe on the shoulder. They are surrounded by seven African adinkra symbols representing (counterclockwise) “welcome you,” “enjoy yourself,” “peace,” “truth,” “the King sees all,” “have courage,” and “I shall meet you again.” These are the tenets Prince Brighton wants to share with you.

Connecting these elements to each other is a radial burst representative of Prince Brighton’s ether. The ornately carved wood, which was repurposed from the elm trees that once stood on the site the Museum now occupies, was machine milled using three unique sculpted expressions generated via a high-tech mapping of “noise” and stained in the darkest of browns.

Nick Cave, artist