Wood panel installation, motifs, paintings and various other art forms all paying tribute to the musical genius that was Marvin Gaye have come together for a powerful art exhibit.

“Trouble Man” opened on April 2 at the African American Museum and Library of Oakland. The exhibit was put together by a collaborative of artists known as Soul Salon 10, which consists of artists from both the Bay Area and Southern California.

The multimedia exhibit is designed to pay homage to Gaye and his life. Each piece represented something different about Gaye’s life.

The entire exhibit was so powerful and mesmerizing that it was hard to just walk by one piece and simply glance at it. Each work draws viewers in with its own individuality and message.

One piece in particular, called “Exxxplicit Gaye Paradox,” was an installation that had a wooden bench sitting on top of white powdered mounds with paper cranes hanging over the top.

Debra Simmons, a film studies major at UC Berkeley, is a self-proclaimed avid fan of Gaye. Simmons said that each aspect of this piece represented a different part of Gaye’s life. For instance, the white powder represented his issue with drugs and the birds his ascension.

Latoya Beck, another student from UC Berkeley, said she liked the use of the mixed media because it “speaks of youth today.”

Referring to a piece called “In God’s Name (‘What’s Happenin’ Brother…’)” by Michael Coles, she said she liked how the piece showed a motif of a young soldier dead in the sand. His boots, she pointed out, showed individuality because of their design. Diagonal to the installation was a photograph of a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. There was no obvious individuality to this one she added.

Beck pointed out that if you were to juxtapose the two, the photo and the motif, it would be an attempt to find individuality.

The work produced for this exhibit is revolutionary in its style and concept. Each artist chose a different medium in their approach to the theme of Gaye’s life in their own way. According to the Soul Salon 10 art magazine, the artists grew up listening to Gaye’s music and were influenced by it.

Keba Konte is one of the featured artists and also a graduate of SF State's photojournalism program. His piece, “Bible Stories,” consists of mixed media. The piece is made up of bullets, Bibles, and photo transfers on wood panels.

Konte described the piece as a mosaic of found and reclaimed items. His theme dealt with the circumstances surrounding Gaye’s death.

“His death seemed like a biblical drama,” said Konte.

Andrea Ali, another featured artist, is a ceramics sculptor who also graduated from SF State. For the exhibit she tried mixed media for the first time.

Working with a collection of artists inspired her to venture out, she said.

“I think it’s great. It was a great collaborative effort,” said Ali.

Ali had three pieces on display. One was a synthetic birthday cake installation called “Happy Birthday Marvin” and another was called “Sanctified,” which was a ceramic sculpture of a woman on her knees surrounded by small jars of water. The third, called “What’s Going On?” had four army-issued fatigue shirts folded and placed neatly next to one another with the labels: “Vietnam,” “Desert Storm,” and “Iraq.”

Erby Foster grew up listening to the sounds of Gaye. He said that hearing the music brought back a lot of good memories. He also added that the artists had a lot of unique interpretations.

“It makes me think of things that I wouldn’t have thought of,” said Foster.

Audiences of all ages attended the opening reception. Each piece told a powerful story and brought the theme of “Trouble Man” to life even for those who did not know a thing about Gaye.

The exhibit will run until May 28. AAMLO is open Tuesday through Saturday noon until 5:30 p.m. and is located at 659 14th St. in Oakland.