Guyton, Tyree, 1955-....

Public artist and Heidelberg Project founder Tyree Guyton was born on August 24, 1955 in Detroit, Michigan to George Guyton and Betty Solomon Guyton. He grew up on Heidelberg Street and Ellery on Detroit's East Side near legendary "Paradise Valley." Guyton attended Ralph J. Bunche Elementary School, Miller Junior High School and Northern High School, but the accidental fatal shooting of his cousin caused him to drop out of Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in 1972 to join the United States Army.

Guyton was released from the U.S. Army in 1973. He returned to Detroit, working at Chrysler's Jefferson Assembly Plant and the Ford Motor Company. In 1980, Guyton began art classes at Detroit's College for Creative Studies and at Marygrove College, where as a painter and sculptor he was mentored by Charles McGhee. McGhee introduced Guyton to the works of Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, and Robert Blackwell. He was also greatly influenced by Al Loving, artist in residence at Eastern Michigan University. During this period, Guyton joined the Detroit Fire Department, serving there through 1984. In 1986, shocked by urban violence, he responded by painting found objects, throwing the objects into the trees and nailing stuffed animals and dolls to abandoned houses as memorials. Guyton's signature style featured bright clashing polka dots. He has been featured onNBC Nightly News,Nightlineand theOprah Winfrey Show. Through his art, Guyton succeeded in bringing the world's attention to the East Side of Detroit, largely abandoned after the 1967 riots.

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