Margaret Mitchell House Features Artwork Series by Robert Claiborne Morris
ATLANTA, GA – The Margaret Mitchell House is honored to host Slavery by Another Name: Paintings and Assemblages by Robert Claiborne Morris, a mixed media art exhibition inspired by the Pulitzer-Prize winning book by Douglas A. Blackmon. Morris began to re-examine his understanding of race in America after reading an early proof of Blackmon’s book, Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II, which explores the little-known practice of leasing African American convicts to private individuals and corporations – a practice that continued in some Southern states until after World War II.
The revelation that involuntary servitude continued until after World War II changed the way Morris saw his native South. He began an odyssey in search of the images, objects, and artifacts related to this “Slavery by Another Name.” From Georgia to North Carolina, he canvased the junkyards, flea markets, and historical societies, hunting and collecting, in the hopes of finding a medium that could both incorporate found objects and project images to artistically convey the spiritual darkness of involuntary servitude.
Slavery by Another Name: Paintings and Assemblages by Robert Claiborne Morris, on display at the Margaret Mitchell House November 15, 2014 – March 1, 2015, includes artifacts, images, portraiture, digital media, and the beautiful yet tragic photographs from this era allowing the viewer to emotionally engage the lives of those who were so inhumanely exploited after emancipation. This exhibition is presented as part of the Atlanta History Center’s Civil War to Civil Rights series of exhibitions, programming, and partnerships designed to continue the exploration of our American history from the 1860s through the 1960s, and explore how these pivotal events shaped Atlanta, and ultimately our nation.
Incorporated in Morris’ works are portraits, maps of the slave mines, courageous articles and images published by the Atlanta Constitution, blood money, letters to the Department of Justice pleading for mercy and implements of bondage and torture ranging from words to ropes, locks and chains. From a portrait of President Lincoln that incorporates burlap and the tin from the roof of an abandoned sharecropper's shack, to shackles from a slave vessel that sway before the figure of an anonymous worker, this collection of art has helped bring to light this little-explored and less-understood chapter in American history.
The collection also helps to stimulate conversation, by engaging the viewers in a visual dialogue. In the end, the art seeks to inspire the viewer to look into the past with greater understanding, and empathy. Morris’ hope is that the series of overlapping mediums awakens complex emotions and promotes reconciliation.
Blackmon, in the introduction of Morris’ Slavery by Another Name: Paintings and Assemblages, wrote “Nothing has inspired me more than seeing this history stir the intellects of artists and scholars to probe yet further—whether into historical archive containing still more empirical evidence of the events or, as Robert Claiborne Morris has done, into the souls and minds of the era of one of the America’s greatest and least remembered crimes.”
The series is comprised of thirty-four works and has been on display at over ten locations since 2009, including the Telfair Academy in Savannah, Cincinnati Museum Center, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C., and most recently at the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama.
Over the course of Morris’ previous exhibitions in various cities, after greeting and speaking to hundreds of people he has experienced that art has a power that must be directed to the improvement and reconciliation of man’s soul. Morris believes that art has a greater strength when focused on the soul of man, asking us to search deeper into the things that comprise our own history.
“What has been most gratifying to see is how people respond,” Morris says. “What I have learned is this: post-Civil War slavery is everyone's story and viewers from every age, race, socio-economic background, nationality, etc, have been moved, often to tears, but more often to awareness in a way only art can bring. When people come into contact with images of the actual re-enslaved people, objects once used in the practice of slavery, articles, documents, telegrams, bills of sale, proving beyond a doubt this happened on a very, very wide scale, they are drawn to ask questions, questions about their previous assumptions, about American history in general, Reconstruction in particular and what impact this period had on generations of people to come.”
Hosting the exhibition at the Margaret Mitchell House is particularly meaningful because Margaret Mitchell, Douglas Blackmon’s research, and Robert Morris’ art are infused with the themes of endurance and survival. At the time of her book’s publication, Mitchell wrote, “What makes some people able to come through catastrophes and others, apparently just as able, strong, and brave, go under?” It happens in every upheaval,” Mitchell continued to write “Some people survive; others don't. What qualities are in those who fight their way through triumphantly that are lacking in those who go under...? I only know that the survivors used to call that quality ‘gumption.’“
Margaret Mitchell, in fact, addresses the subject of convict labor in her writing. Scarlett exploits African Americans after the Civil War by hiring convict labor to work in the sawmill she owns and later manages. Scarlett knows that the Freedman’s Bureau will not interfere with her treatment of convict labor as they would with paid employees. She is determined to make more money, and she is not averse to the harsh treatment of laborers as a means to achieve a greater profit.
“Gone With the Wind has always stirred controversy, particularly in the United States, where critics view the portrayal of African Americans as negative racial stereotypes. They argue that both the book and the film create a nostalgic view of the Old South by romanticizing the institution of slavery,” said Don Rooney, director of exhibitions. “The racial depictions reflect the social mores of segregation that permeated the South during much of the twentieth century. Whatever the interpretations, people who are touched by the book or the motion picture, as well as Morris’ powerful collection, are compelled to reflect on a past that continues to influence our present and future.”
In honor of Margaret Mitchell and the show’s only Atlanta venue, Morris will premiere a never-before-viewed custom-made four-panel piece comprised of four portraits created on burlap and framed behind four window frames from Georgia Antebellum plantation homes. The four pieces when hung together are intended to capture something of the evolution of Margaret Mitchell's legacy as well as her importance to history and literature.
Robert Claiborne Morris studied at The Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., and Tulane University in New Orleans. His work has been included in a number of shows since 2008. Morris says that “despite a Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Douglas Blackmon and a documentary that appeared on PBS, most people who attend my openings have never before heard of this history. What makes art and museums so vital to our beloved community is that they have the ability to preserve and re-tell our history generation after generation through art.”
For more information on the Margaret Mitchell House, the Robert Morris Collection, and this exhibition and accompanying programming, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com.
Accompanying Programs:
Meet the Artist: A Gallery Guide with Robert Claiborne Morris
Saturday, November 15, 2014
11 AM – 3 PM
Join artist Robert Claiborne Morris as he greets visitors in the gallery, providing his insight and inspiration behind these stirring pieces of artwork. Tickets to the Margaret Mitchell House include access to four exhibitions, and a tour of apartment #1, where Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone With the Wind. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com
Been in the Storm So Long: Remembering 1864 and 1964 in 2014
Saturday, November 15, 2014
8:00 PM
Georgia Public Broadcasting's own Rickey Bevington hosts a stellar line-up of local scholars, poets, artists, and musicians in a far-reaching discussion of the coincident anniversaries of the 1864 Battles of Atlanta and 1964 Civil Rights Act. Panelists include
Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey; artist Robert Morris; singer-songwriter Caroline Herring; and historians Robert Pratt, Brett Gadsden, and Joseph Crespino. Come join this important public forum on how our divisive past can be transformed into collective meaning. Admission is $5 members, $10 nonmembers. Reservations are required. Call 404.814.4150 or purchase online at MargaretMitchellHouse.com/Lectures.
This panel is sponsored by Atlanta History Center, The University of Georgia History Department, The University of Georgia's Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, The Woodruff Library at Emory University.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Free Admission
Monday, Janary 19, 2015
10 AM – 5 PM
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, visitors enjoy free admission to the Margaret Mitchell House, including tours of Apartment #1, where Mitchell wrote Gone With the Wind, and access to four exhibitions, including the two newest shows, Stars Fall on Atlanta and Slavery By Another Name. For more information, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com.
ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR TO CIVIL RIGHTS SERIES: In recognition of the Civil War Sesquicentennial and the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the Atlanta History Center presents Civil War to Civil Rights – a series of exhibitions, programming, and partnerships designed to continue the exploration of our American history from the 1860s through the 1960s, and explore how these pivotal events shaped Atlanta, and ultimately our nation. The exhibitions featured in the Civil War to Civil Rights series are Turning Point: The American Civil War (permanent display); The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey; Where Art and History Intersect (closes July 13, 2014); Wilbur Kurtz: History in Gone With the Wind (July 2, 2014 – April 4, 2015); and Confederate Odyssey: The George W. Wray Civil War Collection (July 18, 2014 – April 15, 2015), and Slavery by Another Name: Painting and Assemblages by Robert Claiborne Morris. Each exhibition and accompanying programming explores the philosophies, historical figures, and activism that led the United States from Civil War to civil rights. For more information on this series and accompanying programs, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/CW2CR.
ABOUT MARGARET MITCHELL HOUSE (ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER’S MIDTOWN CAMPUS): Part of the Atlanta History Center, the Margaret Mitchell House, located in Midtown, features Apartment No. 1 – which Margaret Mitchell jokingly called “The Dump” – where she wrote Gone With the Wind. Today, the House features apartment tours, exhibitions, and an author series programs designed to honor the legacy of Margaret Mitchell. For more information, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com.
ABOUT THE ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER:
Founded in 1926, the Atlanta History Center is an all-inclusive, thirty-three-acre destination featuring the Atlanta History Museum, one of the nation’s largest history museums; two historic houses, the 1928 Swan House and the 1860 Smith Family Farm; the Centennial Olympic Games Museum; the Kenan Research Center; the Grand Overlook event space; Chick-Fil-A at the Coca-Cola Café, a museum shop, and the Goizueta Gardens, featuring 22 acres of gardens, walkways, paths and trails.
In addition, the History Center operates the Margaret Mitchell House located in Midtown Atlanta. For information on Atlanta History Center offerings, hours of operation and admission call 404.814.4000 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
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