V.L. Cox Interviews

V.L. Cox

V.L. Cox was born on August 14, 1962, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Her family moved back to Arkadelphia, Clark County, Arkansas, when she was a year old.

Cox earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design from Henderson State University in 1991. She painted scenic backgrounds for theatrical productions in Dallas, including the Studios of Las Colinas, and then worked for Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods advertising agency of Little Rock until she decided to pursue art full time.

Cox has combined art and activism since 2015 and has displayed her End Hate collection across the country from the base of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, to the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Arkansas. Cox has received numerous awards for her work. She has been voted the Arkansas Times artist of the year several times and was named the 2015 Arkansan of the Year by Arkansas Life magazine.

Video

V.L. Cox Interview - April 7, 2017 - 5:04:01

Audio

AUDIO-COX-VL-20170407 - 5:04:01

Transcript pending

Composite image of early photo of V.L. Cox and still frame from Pryor Center video interview © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#1: Composite image of early photo of V.L. Cox and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox's maternal great-grandparents, Ivison and Virginia Louis Betts Pilkington, and their children, Old Washington, Arkansas, 1920s © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#2: V.L. Cox's maternal great-grandparents, Ivison and Virginia Louis Betts Pilkington, and their children, Old Washington, Arkansas, 1920s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#3: V.L. Cox with her father, Harrell Lynn Cox, 1962
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#4: V.L. Cox, 1963
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox with her grandfather, Olin "Nunny" Hardman, Arkadelphia, Arkansas © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#5: V.L. Cox with her grandfather, Olin "Nunny" Hardman, Arkadelphia, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#6: V.L. Cox with her father, Harrell Lynn Cox, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, 1963
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#7: V.L. Cox with her father, Harrell Lynn Cox, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, 1963
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#8: V.L. Cox, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, 1963
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#9: V.L. Cox, second from right, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, 1963
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox with her father, Harrell Lynn Cox, and her first drawing table, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, 1965 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#10: V.L. Cox with her father, Harrell Lynn Cox, and her first drawing table, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, 1965
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox with her mother, Mary Cox, and sister, Jena, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, 1967 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#11: V.L. Cox with her mother, Mary Cox, and sister, Jena, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, 1967
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#12: V.L. Cox with her sister, Jena Cox, 1968
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox (center) with her sister, Jena Cox, and Uncle Bunn Hardman at the Hardman house, 1970 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#13: V.L. Cox (center) with her sister, Jena Cox, and Uncle Bunn Hardman at the Hardman house, 1970
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox featured in <i>Inviting Arkansas</i> magazine, August 2007 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#14: V.L. Cox featured in Inviting Arkansas magazine, August 2007
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#15: V.L. Cox with her father, Harrell Lynn Cox, 2014
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#16: V.L. Cox in her studio, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#17: V.L. Cox in her studio, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#18: V.L. Cox in her studio, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox (right) unloading the "Colored Only" door in front of the Arkansas Governor's Mansion, Little Rock © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#19: V.L. Cox (right) unloading the "Colored Only" door in front of the Arkansas Governor's Mansion, Little Rock
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox (center front) protesting HB 1228 in front of the Arkansas Governor's Mansion, Little Rock © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#20: V.L. Cox (center front) protesting HB 1228 in front of the Arkansas Governor's Mansion, Little Rock
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox's <i>End Hate</i> exhibit in front of the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#21: V.L. Cox's End Hate exhibit in front of the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox in front of the <i>End Hate</i> exhibit on the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock; March 24, 2015 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#22: V.L. Cox in front of the End Hate exhibit on the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock; March 24, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox's <i>End Hate</i> exhibit at the Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock; March 24, 2015 © Copyright Lori A. McElroy

#23: V.L. Cox's End Hate exhibit at the Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock; March 24, 2015
© Copyright Lori A. McElroy

V.L. Cox's <i>End Hate</i> exhibit at the Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock; March 24, 2015 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#24: V.L. Cox's End Hate exhibit at the Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock; March 24, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#25: V.L. Cox's first paint palette at age 14
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#27: V.L. Cox at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox on the cover of <i>Arkansas Life</i> magazine as an Arkansan of the Year, December 2015 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#29: V.L. Cox on the cover of Arkansas Life magazine as an Arkansan of the Year, December 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

V.L. Cox at the 125th Distinguished Alumni Exhibit at Henderson State University, 2016 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#30: V.L. Cox at the 125th Distinguished Alumni Exhibit at Henderson State University, 2016
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#31: V.L. Cox with Garrard Conley (left) and Pate Felts, New York City, 2016
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with V.L. Cox, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2017 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#32: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with V.L. Cox, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2017
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#33: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with V.L. Cox, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2017
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#34: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with V.L. Cox, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2017
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Still frame from Pryor Center video interivew with V.L. Cox, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2017 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#35: Still frame from Pryor Center video interivew with V.L. Cox, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2017
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#36: Still frame from Pryor Center video interivew with V.L. Cox, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2017
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#37: Still frame from Pryor Center video interivew with V.L. Cox, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2017
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas