Tayron Lopez , MFA

“There’s this quote that I found a while back in a fortune cookie,” said Tayron Lopez ’19, “‘When you act boldly, unseen forces come to your aid.’ I find that to be true, every time I dive into a project.”

The artist — who creates murals, sculpture, spoken-word poetry and other works under the name Taiitan — was describing his preference for sketching in ink.

“I feel like it builds trust between you and yourself,” he said. “I can’t erase marks. I have to just keep moving forward.”

The Act Boldly observation — attributed to writer Dorothea Brande, with a similar quote attributed to poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe — also captures Tai’s experience after he made a bold decision to follow his heart.

Tai has carried a sketchbook everywhere since he was a child — but when he moved to the Capital District from the Bronx, it was to study culinary arts at a local community college. 

“I was leaving class early to go to the park before the sun went down, to do observational drawing,” he said. “That’s really what I wanted to be doing, drawing. Every opportunity I got, I was drawing.”

“I just decided that, hey, I don’t want to pursue culinary as a professional thing anymore,” he said. “That started the journey toward art, which led me to Sage.”

All Art + Extended Media students at Sage receive their own studio space, and just having that space to create was extremely important, Tai said. Then, so many people offered assistance. 

Assistant Professor of 3D Art and Extended Media Billy Fillmore challenged Tai to deeply explore why he was creating what he was creating. Another professor gave him an entire wall, which became the canvas for his first mural.  Members of Sage’s facilities and public safety teams who were assigned to the Art + Design Building asked Tai questions about his work and showed appreciation.  

The director of  Opalka Gallery  connected Tai with an internship with a multi-city public art project that generated significant attention, and artist Stacey Robinson, who was part of  Opalka Gallery’s Afrofuturism-focused In Place of Now exhibit, mentored Tai through the MFA application process.

He earned a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Buffalo after his BFA from Sage.

Now a high school visual arts teacher in New York City, Tai’s long-term goal is to create what he calls an “Arts Mecca,” with residencies for working artists and programs for youth. 

“I’ve been jotting down names on who I want to teach, what kind of programs I want, what it looks like in the end,” he said. “This momentum keeps running, the building gets bigger and bigger. I’m looking forward to seeing what turns out.”

Follow Tai on Instagram @taiitan