Stephen Marc (American, b. 1954), Untitled from the Passage on the Underground Railroad Series, Detail, 2002, Archival pigment inkjet print, 18 x 52", Courtesy of the artist. |
Plantations of the South Observed in American Art |
Alice Ravenel Huger Smith (1876-1958), Mending A Break in a Rice Field, from the series, A Carolina Rice Plantation of the Fifties, ca. 1935, Watercolor on paper, 17.40 x 21.93", Gibbes Museum of Art.
Joyce Scott (b. 1948), No Mommy Me, 1, 1991, Leather and beads, 15 x 6 x 6", Hort Family Collection. |
Gibbes Museum of Art A genre predominantly tied to the Southern region of the United States, the plantation view has traditionally received marginal attention in the study of American landscape art. Previous work on the plantation subject has emphasized the debt the genre owes to 18th century British aesthetic theories and styles. In recent years, however, art historians have worked to identify general shifts in plantation iconography that reflect specific historical events. Meanwhile, plantation views have attracted the attention of social historians who have identified the genre as a rich source for exploring issues of wealth, power, race, memory and nostalgia. Landscape of Slavery seeks to bring these current discussions on the topic together for the public’s consideration. Serving as a companion to the exhibition of the same name, Landscape of Slavery: The Plantation in American Art (Edited by Angela D. Mack and Stephen G. Hoffius, University of South Carolina Press) draws upon art history and social history as it illustrates the complexities of the American South. Landscape of Slavery undertakes an original study of plantation images from the eighteenth century through the present to unravel the realities and mythology inherent in this complex and often provocative subject. Through 92 color plates, sixteen black-and-white illustrations and six thematic essays, the book examines depictions of plantation structures, plantation views and related slave imagery and art in the context of the American landscape tradition, addressing the impact of these works on race relations in the United States. Contributors to the volume are Alexis L. Boylan, Michael D. Harris, Leslie King-Hammond, Angela D. Mack, Maurie D. McInnis, Roberta Sokolitz and John Michael Vlach. Todd D. Smith, Executive Director of the Gibbes explains the inspiration for the project, “The mission of the Gibbes is to tell the story of the visual culture of the South and the plantation has been (and still continues to be) a defining characteristic of the history and present state of the region. The museum’s collection includes several important works related to the subject, and we were inspired to lead an effort to unravel the realities and fictions that surround the subject matter.” Curated by Angela D. Mack, the museum’s Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs, the exhibition features over 100 paintings, works on paper, photographs, mixed media and installation works. Through the eyes of a range of artists such as Eastman Johnson, Winslow Homer, William Aiken Walker, Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, John Biggers, Edwin Harleston, Carrie Mae Weems and Kara Walker, Landscape of Slavery examines depictions of plantations, plantation views and related slave imagery in the context of the history of landscape painting in America. “More than a history of the visual imagery related to the plantation, the show invites one to consider the impact that this imagery has had on race relations for three centuries,” says Mack. |
Thomas Coram (1756-1811), View of Mulberry, House and Street, ca. 1800, Oil on paper, 4 1/19 x 6 1/16", Gibbes Museum of Art. |
