ALABAMAARTS · ALABAMAARTS Volume XXII, Number 1 State Arts Awards Issue 2007 179365cover 5/9/07 11:29 AM Page 3

ALABAMAARTSVolume XXII, Number 1 State Arts Awards Issue 2007

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MembersAlabama State Council on the Arts

REBECCA T. B. QUINNCHAIRMAN

Huntsville

RALPH FROHSIN, JRVICE CHAIRMAN

Alexander City

JUDGE VANZETTA PENN MCPHERSONSECRETARYMontgomery

EVELYN ALLENBirmingham

JULIE HALL FRIEDMANFairhope

JIM HARRISON, IIITuscaloosa

FRANK HELDERMANFlorence

JULIAN W. JENKINSAnniston

ELAINE JOHNSONDothan

DORA H. JAMES Opelika

VAUGHAN I. MORRISSETTEMobile

DYANN ROBINSONTuskegee

LEE SENTELLMontgomery

CEIL JENKINS SNOWBirmingham

CAROL PREJEAN ZIPPERTEutaw

Opinions expressed in AlabamaArts do not necessarily reflect those of the

Alabama State Council on the Arts or the State of Alabama.

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STATE ARTS AWARDS 2007 • ALABAMAARTS • 1

Volume XXIINumber 1

STATE ARTS AWARDS 2007

In this Issue2007 State Arts Awards

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ALABAMAARTS

Library of Congress Card No. 74628447

Greetings from the First LadyPatsy Riley, First Lady of Alabama

Celebrating Forty “Years of Alabama Arts”Al Head, Executive Director, ASCA

Roberta GambleArts Icon Brings Broadway to a Small TownAngie Long

NallAn Artist’s PilgrimageJeanie Thompson

Kathy ChanA Lifetime of Artistic and Philanthropic AchievementsDr. Wilson Luquire

Thomas HindsA Commitment to Community Music MakingDr. Mark Benson

Paul LooneyThriving on the Creation of DreamsMark Hughes Cobb

Jerry McCainBluesmanAnne Kimzey

The Quilters of Gee’s BendSuperstars of American Folk ArtJoey Brackner

Year of Alabama Arts Exhibitions 2007

On the Cover: A red camellia provides the focal point for Alabama Arts by Nall, recipientof the 2007 Alabama Distinguished Artist Award. The mixed media piece was completedin 2005 and is 39 1/2” x 31” x 4”. From the collection of the Alabama State Council onthe Arts.

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2 • ALABAMAARTS • STATE ARTS AWARDS 2007

When Bob and I were raising four bright children inrural Clay County, we felt it was important to stimulatetheir interests in the arts. We frequently drove them toplays, concerts and arts festivals in the major towns ofEast Alabama as well as going to Birmingham andAtlanta on occasion.

The extra effort paid off. Our son and three daugh-ters participated in choral groups and school plays in highschool and broaden their horizons when they moved on tocollege. I helped organize an arts council that has broughtmore cultural opportunities to our home town of 2,000 ofthe sweetest people on earth.

Our state has always been known for its storytellers,authors, actors and singers. Tallulah Bankhead, HarperLee, Truman Capote, Zelda Fitzgerald, W.C. Handy,Erskine Hawkins, Dinah Washington, Hank Williams, Nat“King” Cole, the Commodores, Jim Nabors, Lionel Richie,Winston Groom, Fannie Flagg and the Alabama band—just to name a very few—have fans around the world.

This awards program and the “Year of Alabama Arts”highlight the amazing wealth of talent that we shouldappreciate throughout the year. Birmingham is home tothe largest free art museum in the Southeast. TheAlabama Shakespeare Festival is revered throughoutAmerica. Symphonies, dance companies and art museumsabound in our cities. Most recently, the terms “AmericanIdol” and world-class folk art have become synonymouswith Alabama. The amazing quilts coming from the isola-tion of Gee’s Bend have delighted the international artworld. Events with the interesting names such as Panoply,Kentuck and Bluff Park have reputations far beyond theirlocal environs.

Our state has so much to be proud of and to sharewith the rest of the world. I am delighted to support effortsof the Alabama Bureau of Tourism & Travel and theAlabama State Council on the Arts to expand audiencesof the myriad of art festivals and concert series open to thepublic. These events improve the quality of life in ourcommunities and elevate the appreciation of arts amongall generations.

As busy as my husband and I have been since hebecame governor, we set aside time in our schedules to

participate in the cultural affairs of Alabama. I encourageyou to do the same.

You will enrich your life and move our state closer torealizing the potential of our citizens while we foster a newgeneration of talent that will bring more joy to the world.

Patsy Riley

First Lady of Alabama

Greetings from The First Lady

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This year, 2007, is significant for a number of rea-sons. It is the 40th anniversary of the creation ofthe Alabama State Council on the Arts. The

Council was established by legislation in 1967 to supportthe diversity of artistic expression and otherwise pro-mote the rich cultural resources of Alabama. This year isalso the “Year of Alabama Arts” having been proclaimedso by Governor Bob Riley. The focus on the artsstatewide is a partnership between the state Bureau ofTourism and Travel, the State Council on the Arts andthe multitude of artists, arts organizations and arts-alivecommunities in every part of Alabama. The year 2007 isalso a time when the Council calls attention, through along-standing awards program, to some talented, dedi-cated and giving individuals who have made significantcontributions to the arts landscape of Alabama and, inmany cases, far beyond.

In the forty-year history of the Council, 13,305grants have been awarded, totaling over $68,600,000.Education programs reaching hundreds of thousands ofstudents in schools and alternative arts spaces have beensupported. Major cultural institutions have been awardedon-going operational support, making outreach, touring,education and outstanding professional programs possible.World-class artists have been given fellowships and show-case opportunities. Community festivals, exhibitions, con-certs, plays, and the widest range of performances havebeen given financial support at critical junctures in pro-

gramming. Statewide artsservice organizationshave been establishedand supported so thatthe quality and quantityof arts opportunitiescould be maximized inall parts of the state.Cultural diversity hasbeen funded and cele-brated. Traditional artsand folklife, so identifiedwith Alabama, has beenpreserved, presented anddocumented for theenjoyment and enlightenment of generations to come.The Council has also begun providing grants for thebuilding and renovation of art facilities. It’s not too muchto say that the State Council on the Arts has had a signif-icant impact on the growth of the arts in Alabama overthe last forty years.

So, what is the “Year of Alabama Arts” about? Whywould dedicating a year for such an “enterprise” be need-ed, desired or deemed important? Well, the state doeshave an incredible number of outstanding artists, in everygenre of work. It has an exciting array of arts programsthroughout the year and in all regions. Alabama has art-rich communities that are exciting to visit and live in.

Celebrating Forty

“Years of Alabama Arts”

by Al Head

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Unfortunately, the arts in Alabama may also be a bestkept secret, taken for granted by too many Alabamiansand simply not known about by out-of-state folks. Withthis undeserved obscurity in mind, 2007 becomes a greattime to show off the state’s cultural resources and bragabout people, places and things that make the arts inAlabama so engaging. The “Year of Alabama Arts” logo,an image taken from the Pine Burr Quilt (official statequilt) by Qunnie Pettway of Gee’s Bend, is being proudlydisplayed at programs, in publications, in windows and onbanners as part of celebrating the unique quality of life weenjoy in the state.

Speaking of celebration, the Council’s award pro-gram is designed to be just that. It is a time for the artscommunity to gather and pay tribute to a group of specialpeople who, in different ways, make our state a betterplace to live. The recipients of the 2007 awards representartists, educators, patrons and community leaders whohave had a major impact and have made positive changea reality. Their highlights of effort range from interna-tionally acclaimed exhibitions to performances that bindentire communities, and from famous stages reserved forluminaries to classrooms filled with young people whorepresent our future. The awards event, however, is also arallying time for all those visionaries, volunteers, support-ers, public officials and creators who can, and do, makethe arts happen in Alabama. Recognizing special peopleamong us from time to time inspires others to pick up theflag and follow those who lead and made a difference.Awards on the one hand say, “thank you and well done,”but also to others, “follow in these footsteps, much stillneeds to be done.” To all of the 2007 recipients weextend a “hearty congratulations.” To the rest we issuethe challenge, “let’s do more to support the arts andartists of Alabama.” We do have a lot to be proud of andto celebrate.

Al Head is the

Executive Director

of the Alabama State

Council on the Arts

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She’ll tell you she’s beengiven too much creditfor her accomplish-

ments. Many would tell youotherwise. Those who havesat in her classroom andbeen directed by her onstage; the fellow arts enthusi-asts who have been inspiredby her vision and “joie devivre” all agree: this is oneremarkable woman.

Roberta PeacockGamble, better known as“Miss” Bobbie, was chosen asThe Greenville AdvocateCitizen of the Year for 2007.In 2006, the stage of the RitzTheatre in Greenville—atheater that would “likely be a park-ing lot” without Roberta Gamble,her fans say—was named in herhonor during her surprise 80th birth-day gala. She served what shedescribes as 12 “wonderful, life-changing” years on the board of theAlabama State Council for the Arts.

This year, Gamble has beenchosen to receive the Johnnie DeeRiley Little Lifetime AchievementAward from the Alabama State

Council for the Arts. The Floridanative, born to Scots immigrantsand raised in Lakeland during thedepths of the Great Depression,learned to love all things artistic atan early age. “My mother was inter-ested in theater, music and dance. Inspite of those difficult times, we tooklessons in tap dance, piano and whatthey called ‘elocution’ back in theday,” Gamble recalls. “Where myparents came up with the 75 cents aweek it must have cost for those

lessons, I don’t know.” Herearliest stage memories goback to Central AvenueGrammar School. “It was1931, and I played ‘DawnDelight, Queen of theFairies,’” Gamble remem-bers with an impish smile.

The Peacocks also puton their own productions,with Mrs. Peacock makingthe costumes and the chil-dren creating their ownprops. Later, at Robert E.Lee High School inJacksonville, Gambleserved as student directorof her senior play. The 17-year-old high school grad,

truly bitten by the acting bug, leftFlorida to come to the University ofAlabama in Tuscaloosa to studyspeech and theater. “I had lots ofmarvelous roles those first twoyears,” she recalls. “Unfortunately, Iended up having to take all myrequired courses my junior andsenior years, which meant I had tostop being on stage so much.”

A member of the NationalCollegiate Players, Gamble played

THE JONNIE DEE RILEY LITTLE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Roberta GambleARTS ICON BRINGS BROADWAY

TO A SMALL TOWN

by Angie Long

Gamble’s love of dogs and language led her to link up with former student and long-time friend, Priscilla Davis, a noted photographer, to create the delightful and well-received book, “Southern Dogs.”

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the lead in “Antigone” during hercollege days. She also served as agraduate assistant in Alabama’sspeech and theater department. Thestriking, dark-eyed brunette envi-sioned a glittering career on theGreat White Way. Instead, courtshipand marriage to a Greenville native,retired Circuit Judge Arthur “Bub”Gamble, brought her to the smallsouth Alabama town she has calledhome for nearly 60 years—a townwithout much of a theatrical history.

In her early years inGreenville, Gamble did somesocial work; however, according toa former co-worker, most of thesoft-hearted Gamble’s salary wentto items needed by her clients. Shealso hosted a local radio show,“Betsy Camp Calling,” chattingwith housewives who had gotten

their husbands and childrenoff to work and school.Gamble’s primary focus, shesays, was caring for the cou-ple’s only child, Eugenia(Genie). “My daughter hada lot of health problems as achild, and I certainly want-ed to be there for her. I’dhave to say I’ve had a bit ofa ‘checkered career,’”Gamble says with a wrysmile. Gamble eventuallywent to Troy StateUniversity and obtained ateaching certificate, becom-ing a history teacher at

Greenville High School.

“There was no drama depart-ment at the high school when I firststarted teaching. We had some mar-velous senior plays, but they were

directed by other people, not byme,” Gamble recalls.

“In the early ’60s, I was teach-ing history all day long—and direct-ing beauty pageants.”

She may not have actuallybeen teaching drama, but Gamblecertainly had a dramatic effect onher history pupils. “I never reallyliked history until I took MissBobbie’s class,” former history anddrama student Sara KilloughTorruella of Foley recalls. “She madethe subject come to life for us.Reading the poignant story ofRachel and Andrew Jackson aloudto us was just one way Miss Bobbieenlivened the topic.” By the late1960s, speech and drama had beenincorporated into the GHS curricu-lum, and added to Gamble’s roster

Gamble shares a triumphant moment with husbandArthur “Bub” Gamble, following his victory at aGreenville Country Club tournament in the 1950s.

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Gamble poses with an exuberant group of her Greenville High School students from the early ‘80s.During her time at the school, she directed 17 plays and musicals and hundreds of scenes for drama festivals.

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of classes. By then, public schools inAlabama had undergone a dramaticchange—integration. Gamble saysshe has never been an overtly politi-cal person. Nevertheless, theteacher, whose husband prosecutedcivil rights cases as a district attor-ney during the turbulent ’60s, saysshe believes support of public educa-tion and integration “was the rightthing to do.”

She proved it in her actions asshe put on the first integrated stageproduction in the city, the musical“Hello, Dolly” in 1970. “I did notrealize it at the time, but MissBobbie was teaching us great lifelessons that went far beyond thestage production experience,” saysGamble’s former student NancyMiller Idland, executive director ofthe Greenville Area Arts Council.“By bringing black and white stu-dents together and demanding thevery best that each of us had to offer,she was teaching us we couldachieve great things by workingtogether.” Gamble recalls watchingwith pride as students from all walksof life came together to paint props,work on scenery and grab a sandwichtogether. “It was just a beautifulthing to see them all, black andwhite, working together and havinga good time. Thank goodness we hadforward-thinking administrators whosaw what theater could do for stu-dents, male and female, black andwhite alike.” Gamble’s effortsinspired some students to do morethan they ever thought they could.

“Imagine a quiet, shybookish girl like me—actually singing, dancingon and acting on stage infront of hundreds of peo-ple,” Torruella, who per-formed in the chorus ofthe early ’70s productionof “Oklahoma,” marvels.

Frank Phelps, whoplayed Emile DeBecquein Gamble’s 1985 produc-tion of “South Pacific,”says this of his teacherand director: “The dictionarydescribes a mentor as a ‘wise, loyaladvisor,’ but for someone like MissBobbie, that doesn’t even begin tofill the bill. She would put on a showwith 80 or 90 people involved…what

Miss Bobbie did with high schoolkids was phenomenal.”

From “Hello, Dolly!” to the“The Sound of Music,” from“Oklahoma!” to “Annie, Get YourGun” and many other shows,

Gamble is surrounded by the young cast members of “Urban Cowboy” during the after-show reception of theGreenville Area Arts Council production in February 2007. The Greenville Area Arts Council, for which“Miss Bobbie” has been a guiding light, is in its 25th year bringing quality productions to small-town Alabama.

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A radiant Gamble poses in her Greenville High School classroom in 1982.

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Gamble directed her Old GymPlayers at GHS in many memorableperformances, not to mention mak-ing a 16 mm comic silent movie andguiding her students through “hun-dreds of individual scenes” for dramafestivals along the way. Browsethrough Gamble’s old photos of herdirecting days, and you will noticesomething frequently missing—

Gamble. “I was usually in the bal-cony working the spotlight. It savedon hiring someone else to do it, andI wanted to keep the focus on thekids. I wanted it to be their time toshine,” Gamble says with a shrug.Even as she was directing students intop-notch productions that drewattendees from other cities, Gamblewas dreaming of an arts council anda community theater in Greenville.

Charlie Kennedy, a notedGreenville musician and former

mayor, looks back to the early ‘80s,recalling a small band of arts sup-porters searching for a home for sucha theater.

The Ritz Theatre downtown,once a stylish Art Deco moviehouse, had been closed for severalyears by then. Nothing was playingon its stage “except rats, pigeons androaches,” Kennedy says. “I think

people thought we hadlost our minds. Theplace was an absolutewreck.” Gamble,Kennedy and crew sawthe possibilities beneaththe cobwebs and dustand persevered. Evenbefore an arts councilwas officially formed,future members couldbe found investingsweat equity in fixingup the “uninhabitable”building. After the citypurchased the theater in1982, the newGreenville Area ArtsCouncil truly kicked

into high gear, preparing for theAlabama Shakespeare’s touring pro-duction of “Romeo and Juliet” ascant three months later. “We tapedup those seats with the springsshooting through and went on withthe show,” Gamble laughs. Kennedycalls his friend the “steamroller whobegged and cajoled and pushed toget the money and supplies we need-ed to give us the ‘new’ Ritz Theatre.”Twenty-five years later, those effortshave certainly paid off.

Over the years, the Ritz’s origi-nal, vibrant Art Deco décor hasbeen restored, its stage enlarged andnew dressing rooms added. Newheating and cooling and new seatingwere installed. Reception and con-ference rooms and additionalrestrooms now flank the theater aspart of the Ritz complex.

The theater is home to severalquality GAAC productions eachyear, featuring shows normally onlyseen in much larger venues. Thisspring, the GAAC is putting on anall-singing, all-dancing musicalfundraiser showcasing local talent.Idland is directing the show, butsays she is looking to her belovedmentor Miss Bobbie to show herthe way. “Miss Bobbie is designingthe costumes for this show anddoing a fabulous job. Even in her80s, her enthusiasm and leadershipis alive and well,” says Idland.“Miss Bobbie is the reason there isa GAAC. Hundreds of people havebenefited from her constant com-mitment to bringing the arts intoour community.”

Angie Long is an award-winning

Lifestyles reporter

for The Greenville Advocate

and a member

of the Greenville Area

Arts Council.

In March 2006, Gamble was honored with a surprise 80th birthday gala atthe Ritz Theatre. A show was mounted with many former drama studentsand GAAC members singing, clowning and sharing their love for “Miss”Bobbie. A fabulous cake re-created the exterior of the Ritz and featuredsigns from the many shows she put on in Greenville.

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From the Mobile Museumof Art to the newly-opened Troy Cultural

Arts Center, from the harborof the Principality of Monacoto the sacred Basilica of St.Francis of Assisi, Nall, hon-ored as the 2007Distinguished AlabamaArtist, has made his mark in asingular way.

A multi-talented fineartist, Nall has traveled theworld, studying diverse cul-tures and exploring art,architecture and indigenouscraft. Although classicallytrained, Nall is not a con-ventional artist who followstradition regarding the use ofmedia, style or subject.Always a seeker, he has fol-lowed his own path which hasled him to remote locations inNorth Africa, India, theMiddle East, South America andMexico, but brought him back tohis roots in Alabama.

Nall has contributed to projectsall over the world. After H.S.H.Prince Albert II of Monaco sawNall’s mosaic work, he commissionedNall to create two monumentalflower mosaics for the Grimaldi

Forum in Monte Carlo. These twolarge-scale works were featured onofficial Monaco postage stamps inDecember 2005. Also, under theHigh Patronage of H.S.H. PrinceAlbert II, Nall has seen his workinstalled in the Monaco Cathedraland above the Monaco harbor, situ-ated next to the Theater PrincessGrace. Nall’s work is in numerous

museums and private collectionsworldwide, including theMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston,which acquired several of Nall’sline engravings for their perma-nent collection, and the Muséedes Beaux Arts, Nice.

But one must look beyondthis artist’s impressive biographyto find the essence of Nall, anartist and an Alabamian who isfueled by a personal quest. Nallwould like the world to knowthat Alabama, his home stateand a place known as the cradleof the Civil Rights Movement,produces some of the richestartistic and intellectual talent inthe world.

Like many young pilgrims,Nall had to first leave his contro-versial home to find it. Born inTroy, Alabama, in 1948, Nall,graduated from the University ofAlabama in 1970, fled the state,

and took up residence in Paris tostudy the great art of Europe. Unableto speak French, Nall auditioned forand was admitted to the Ecole desBeaux-Arts in Paris and later was anapprentice of Symbolist painterSalvador Dali, who advised him to“Draw from life, draw again andagain…” He financed his life and

THE DISTINGUISHED ARTIST AWARD

NallAn Artist’s Pilgrimage

by Jeanie Thompson

Nall has traveled the world studying diverse cultures and exploring art ofthe body and spirit. His latest projects have taken him to the home ofGiacomo Puccini and the sacred Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

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education in Europe with return tripshome in the summers to paint andsell his work. His career as a painterand master engraver flourished andhe published many of his engravings.

By the early 1990’s Nall hadpurchased the studio of JeanDubuffet in Vence, where he latermet and married his wife Tuscia.Envisioning a place where artistsmight live and work near the FrenchRiviera, Nall and Tuscia purchasedthe grounds of the former KarolyFoundation, and transformed it intothe N.A.L.L. (Nall Art and LifeLeague) Foundation as a haven forartists, writers and musicians. In1997 Nall opened his museum at theFoundation, which includes a studio,living quarters and grounds.

Imbued with a strong workethic and the desire to pass it on,

Nall invites apprentices to spendtime at the N.A.L.L. Foundation.Proceeds from Nall’s various projectshelp finance the opportunity foryoung artists, many from the South,to apprentice with Nall in Vence.

In 2000 Nall launched a pro-ject he christened “Alabama Art”which started as a way for him toshow his French friends and neigh-bors a bit about his home state.After gathering a core of photogra-phers including Kathryn TuckerWindham and Chip Cooper, he wasencouraged by others in Alabamaarts to include more artists. Thegroup show of 13 featured both fineand outsider artists, with familiarAlabama names like FrankFleming, Clifton Pearson, YvonneWells, Charlie Lucas, and JimmyLee Sudduth.

Alabama Art debuted in theperched village of Tourrette SurLoup, France, a few miles fromVence, in the summer of 2000.Alabama Art, published by BlackBelt Press, won the Mary EllenLopresti ARLIS/SoutheastPublishing Award for “Best ArtBook” in the Southeastern USA.The phenomenon of Alabama Arttook on a life of its own, traveling toother venues in Alabama under theauspices of Troy University.

In 2005, Nall and Dr. DavidBronner, Chief Executive Officer ofthe Retirement Systems of Alabama(RSA), conspired to take the visionof Alabama Art to New York City.Dr. Bronner invited Nall to bringthe entire Alabama Art 2000 exhibi-tion to 55 Water Street, aManhattan financial district building

H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco and Nall cut the ribbon of the monu-mental bronze Peace Frame in September 2006.

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From the book, Alabama Art, Nall juggling twelve Alabama artists.

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owned by RSA. During a galaevening, Alabama artists and writers,state dignitaries, and a host ofAlabama and New York friendsenjoyed an evening of Alabama Art.

A concurrent retrospectiveexhibition of Nall’s work at theNational Arts Club included finelydetailed drawings from his earlyAlice in Wonderland series, botanicalpaintings and prints, complexmosaics, graphite portraits encasedin elaborate frames, intricate lineengravings and watercolors. For theopening night event at the NationalArts Club, Nall and Tuscia hosted arecital featuring Puccini Festivalmusicians who performed selectionsfrom La Fancuilla del West, andrevealed a glimpse of Nall’s upcom-ing costumes for Puccini’s“American Opera.”

La Fancuilla Del West represent-ed perhaps the most challengingcommission of Nall’s life to thatpoint. At the request of the PucciniFestival in Torre de Lago Puccini,Tuscany, Italy, Nall designed sets andcostumes for the Festival’s 2005 pro-duction of La Fancuilla Del West forthe 51st season.

Soon after, Nall was introducedto Father Vincenzo Coli, the head ofthe Franciscan Monks in Assisi,Umbria. After viewing and beingmoved by Nall’s etchings and earlierworks, Father Coli stated that hebelieved the Alabama artist under-stood the “wounds of humanity” andwas therefore an appropriate artist tocreate liturgical work for Assisi. Nallthen created the monumental

bronzes and icons making use of ear-lier works on paper that made upwhat came to be called Violata Pax,or Wounded Peace, which would be

exhibited for hundreds of thousandsof Assisi pilgrims.

Violata Pax was on view fromMay - August 2006 at the Basilica of

The Puccini Festival located in Torre de Lago Puccini, Tuscany, Italy, commissioned Nall to design sets and cos-tumes for La Fancuilla del West (The Girl of the Golden West), known as Puccini’s “American opera,” in Summer2005. Nall was the first American to be invited to participate in Sculpting the Opera.

Nall’s massive retrospective Alchemy, a400-page book with text by Hugues de laTouche published in summer 2006, is themost complete compendium of his life andwork to date, documenting his work fromearly Paris student days to the present.

An elegant, large format art book calledsimply Nall—Violata Pax, documents theconception, design and installation of ViolataPax, Nall’s major liturgical work installed inthe sacred Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi; inthe Cathedral of Monaco; in Menton, France;in Pietrasanta, Tuscany, Italy, and finally inMobile, Alabama.

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St. Francis of Assisi. At the sametime, a set of the monumental workswere installed in the piazza ofPiestrasanta, Tuscany, Italy, withNall’s work filling the adjacentDuomo Agostino. Further, a retro-spective exhibition in Menton,France, and an installation of ViolataPax icons in the Monaco Cathedral,completed the summer pilgrimage ofNall’s work.

To commemorate this work alarge format art book about ViolataPax’s genesis was produced, andAlchemy, a scrapbook of Nall’s morethan 30-year career, was also pub-lished. In August 2006, Violata Pax,with a new monumental bronzecalled “Bible Belt,” Alabama Art andother works were exhibited at theMobile Museum of Art.

In order to promote the 2007Puccini Festival season and Nall’sparticipation designing sets and cos-tumes for the maestro’s La Rondine,the monumental bronze dove andframe were recently installed at thePisa airport, the hub through whichmany festival-goers arrive. Travelersto Pisa Airport find the Violata Paxmonumental dove and frame in thegrassy courtyard, with images fromNall’s interpretation of Puccini’sOpera—in the airport interior. Thissummer during the opera festivalseason, the city of Piestrasanta willdedicate a square where one ofNall’s monumental frames will per-manently reside.

While his European associa-tions continue to grow, Nall hasplowed new ground back in the

The monumental bronze dove representing “wounded peace,” or Violata Pax,was installed in the upper Basilica in Assisi in spring 2006 at the invitationof Father Vincenzo Coli, head of the Franciscan Monks. Nall’s giant dove haspart of her face blown away and one foot is deformed—symbolizing thewounds of humanity embodied in one creature of nature.

Icons from Violata Pax were recently installed in the Pisa, Italy airport to publicize Nall’s 2007season collaboration with the Puccini Festival.

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USA. In early 2007 Nall spent twomonths in Miami as a featured artistduring the Art Basel and Miami ArtFair, represented by WestwoodGalleries of New York, NY. He wasArtist in Residence at Miami DadeCommunity College, the country’slargest community college, and hadwork installed in five locations ofthe college.

No matter where he travels inthe world, Nall takes Alabama withhim. In this way, Alabama’s indige-nous artistic talent becomes betterknown and opportunities may becreated for other artists to workabroad. In the coming year, youngmusicians and artists from Alabamawill travel to study with the PucciniFestival master teachers and the arti-sans of Piestrasanta. In exchange,Puccini Festival performers areexpected to tour Alabama perform-ing arts venues.

Why would an artist ofimmense talent and unprecedenteddrive extend his energies to promotehis fellow artists abroad and at home?The reason probably lies in the factthat Nall is an omnivorous consumerof human energy and love. His ownart feeds upon this energy, and hegives back tenfold to all who sur-round him.

Thankfully, Nall can alwayscome home—to Alabama—again.He and Tuscia maintain a residencein Fairhope where he has a privatestudio. They travel with theirbeloved dogs Shorty and Rosina,between Vence, Monaco andFairhope, continuing their pilgrimage

The icon called "Genocide" poignantlyevokes the wounds of humanity thatFather Coli saw in Nall's drawings.Originally created for the Italian com-memoration of La Shoa in 2005,"Genocide" references man's ultimateinhumanity to man. Barbed wirefrom concentration camps, a cup ofwater that the thirsty prisoner desires,and human skulls in the border alltouch us with their veracity. St.Francis is depicted at the top of theicon, interceding to request forgivenessfor humanity's sins.

During the summer of 2006, Nall’s two monumental bronzes were installed in thePiazza of the Duomo Santo Agostino inPietrasanta, Tuscany, Italy. Here, the giantPeace Frame, embellished with symbols andmosaic work, frames another edition ofNall’s dove of “wounded peace.”

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to new venues for Nall’s artistic vision.When they are not mounting new showsor researching materials for his art,Tuscia and Nall participate in charitableevents such as the Sacred Music Festivalof the Monaco Cathedral and auctions toraise funds for animal shelters in Vence.

Even as an honoree in the 2007Governor’s Arts Awards, Nall encom-passes a vast amount of human energyand enterprise. Speaking from his studioin Vence, Nall mused about what itmeans to receive the DistinguishedArtist Award during the Year of AlabamaArts. “I think this award certainly hasbeen won not just by me but by all myfriends and supporters,” he said.

“I want to accept it for all the peo-ple I’ve worked with throughout mycareer—all the museums, galleries,clients, the Jack Warners, the RedBlounts, the Mobile Museum of Art, theHuntsville Museum, the BirminghamMuseum of Art, the MontgomeryMuseum of Fine Art. And I want toaccept it for all the other artists whowere part of Alabama Art. I proudlyreceive it for all of my artist friends andall the other friends and associates whohave been with me in my career.”

Jeanie Thompson is executive director of

the Alabama Writers’ Form and a faculty

member of the Spalding University Brief

Residency MFA Writing Program

(Louisville, KY)

Material from Westwood Gallery’s website wasused with permission for this article.

A generous, public man in many ways, Nall craves moments of introspection and nurturance provided byhis family and his homes in Europe and Alabama. Four-legged friends Shorty and Rosina travel extensive-ly with Nall and Tuscia who raise money for homeless animals as part of their many charitable endeavors.This spring Nall and Tuscia are sponsoring the Blessing of the Animals in the Cathedral of Monaco with asacred music concert, proceeds from which go to aid the children of Darfur.

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“Carpe Diem, Seize the Day.This is my philosophy aboutlife. I believe it also applies

to civic and community work. Oneshould live fully, work hard, and help

wholeheartedly in whatever theybelieve in.”—Kathy Chan, 2007.

Linguist, artist, musician,dancer, fashion designer, humanitar-ian, international jeweler, world

traveler, gourmet cook, volunteer,organizer, instigator, and philan-thropist are but a few of the wordsthat could be used to describe KathyChan. She is both an artist who hasproduced numerous creations in sev-eral genres for the world’s stage, aswell as being a major philanthropistproviding millions of dollars to vari-ous worthy causes, including educa-tion/scholarships, cultural and artis-tic gifts, and human services gifts.Her contributions over the yearshave been so numerous that only afew select highlights can be present-ed in this article.

Kathy Chan was born inShanghai, China. Her family immi-grated to Brazil when she was onlynine years old. As a teenager inBrazil, Kathy met her husbandTony. At that time, he was aLondon college graduate on holidayin Brazil. Tony soon returned toEngland to pursue his doctoratedegree. Kathy dropped out of herhigh school and followed him toEngland, claiming she needed toperfect her English. Before long, thetwo were married and their first sonwas born in England. FromEngland, the two moved to Turkey.It was there that their second child,a daughter, was born.

THE GOVERNOR’S ARTS AWARD

Kathy ChanA Lifetime of Artistic and Philanthropic Achievements

by Dr. Wilson Luquire

Kathy Chan painting in her studio.

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Following Turkey, Tony and Kathy moved toCalifornia, where Tony taught at the University ofCalifornia. In San Diego, Kathy obtained her GED allow-ing her later to attend Purdue University. While living inCalifornia, their third child, a son, was born.

In 1970, Tony and Kathy moved for the last time,and came to Huntsville. After seeing her children off toschool, Kathy enrolled at the University of Alabama inHuntsville (UAH) and earned two degrees, one in Frenchand a second in Fine Art. Utilizing her artistic instinct,Kathy taught herself how to make fine jewelry. Withinfive years, she won her first of many international awardsfor jewelry design. Kathy, her husband Tony and their Pei-Ling Chan Charitable Trust have made many remarkablecontributions to society, providing literally millions ofdollars to scholarships, university programs, civic pro-grams, education programs, and other cultural andhumanitarian programs.

Kathy elaborates on how her background has helpedto shape her artwork: “Since childhood, I have lived inmany different countries, and for this reason my jewelryhas a multi-cultural flavor. When I design, sometimes Isimply extract only the essence of a form—an orientalinfluence, or sometimes the design is very colorful—aSouth American influence, other designs are very styl-ish—a European influence. The past also inspires mywork at times. I love to create works with granulation, anEtruscan influence. It accents my jewelry design, and is amodern twist on an ancient technique.”

Kathy has managed to make quite a name for her-self, despite relatively little formal training in the field ofjewelry design. As she says, “My experience with jewelrydesigning comes from experiments and natural instinct. Iam a self-taught artist in the field; but in many ways, nothaving a formal training has been an advantage for me.The horizon is wide and there are no limits in my mindabout what I am able to do. I am very involved with mydesigns from the time of conception to production, andeven marketing. I have a real passion for jewelry makingfrom start to finish. For this reason, each piece has a life

Kathy Chan at the University of Alabama in Hunstville’s 25 Anniversary.

Kathy Chan’s first International Award-winning jewelry piece from1986: a topaz, pearl, diamond and gold pendant-necklace, whichtransforms easily into five different necklaces and three differentbrooches.

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of its own, whether it is a veryintricately detailed design or justa simple, bold one.”

Her prominence on theworld’s jewelry stage is evi-denced by the numerous cita-tions and awards that she hasreceived for many, many yearsin competitions and cities allover the world. She hasreceived dozens of prestigiousawards which have coveredthree decades. Among them are14 International AwardWinning entries, which includeher work as an artist workingwith precious metals, pearls andgemstones. These 14 AwardWinning Pieces will be includedin a 2007 exhibit entitled “The World of Kathy Chan” atthe Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts inGadsden, Alabama. This exhibit will also feature severalother jewelry creations, paintings, and dresses designedby Kathy Chan.

Kathy Chan’s work is full of symbolism and mean-ing. She has created several pieces to commemoratevarious historical events including the Space ShuttleChallenger explosion of 1986, the Reaching out forDemocracy “Tiananmen Square Event” of 1989, theCalifornia Earthquake of 1989, the Huntsville Tornadoof 1989, and the Persian Gulf War of 1991. Accordingto Kathy, “In this short lifetime of ours, it is importantto me to leave an impression and do something posi-tive. Consequently, my designs are filled with symbol-ism, purpose, and meaning. My goal has always been tomake my unusual creations as strong and as flawless aspossible, while at the same time making a quiet and ele-gant statement to the beholder. I strive to achieveamong my design concepts a harmonic balance of com-fort and high quality with durable precious materialsand impeccable workmanship”.

Kathy Chan’s artistic creativi-ty knows no bounds. As shesays, “People often ask me if Isimply dream up my designs.Actually, the answer is “no!” Ifind inspiration for my cre-ations from all of my sur-roundings, everyday. Everywaking second brings a delugeof new ideas to my mind.Whether it is the softest whis-per of the wind or an enor-mous earthquake, a freshflower in bloom or a busybumble-bee working, natureprovides me with endless

inspiration. As long as I amable, I hope to continue totransform these inspirational

wonders into beautifully crafted and jeweled pieces of fineart.” Kathy continues, “Just like a poet or a writer, I amalso encouraged by everyday happenings. Instead ofrecording history in writing, I record history with theexpressions of my jewelry. All my jewelry creations arebreathtakingly beautiful,and some include a verydeep symbolism and philos-ophy about life.”

Kathy has been andcontinues to be involvedextensively in Huntsvillecivic activities and hasreceived several “Volunteerof the Year” awards. She ini-tiated the Chinese schoolfor children in Huntsville,designed the logo for theHuntsville Arts Council,and has helped organize andsupport charitable events formany non-profit organiza-

International Award-winning BlackSouth Sea pearl, diamond and seedpearl brooch by Kathy Chan. Thisdesign was the only American winnerin 1991.

Kathy Chan models one of her creations, a metallic fabric dress, at afundraiser for the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, holding an emu eggadorned with South Sea pearls, jade, and citrine.

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tions, including the HuntsvilleMuseum of Art, the HuntsvilleBotanical Garden, the HuntsvilleSymphony, the Huntsville HospitalFoundation, the Huntsville ChamberMusic Guild, the University ofAlabama in Huntsville, the Mary G.Hardin Center for Cultural Arts inGadsden, the Savannah College ofArt and Design (Savannah,Georgia), Hospice of NorthAlabama, the American Red Cross,the Constitution Village Park, andmany other organizations too numer-ous to mention.

Her history of communityinvolvement is quite extensive. In1986, she designed and constructedthe set for the Grand Finale of theArmed Forces Celebration “Partnersin Peace.” The friendship bridge thatwas a part of the set was used by BobHope in celebration of his 80thbirthday. On June 11 and 12, 1989,Kathy supported and guided Chinesestudents in a march in WashingtonD.C. to demonstrate against blood-shed and oppression in China. In1993-1994, she provided interest,money, and support for the PoliceDepartment to be able to buy back

literally hundreds of guns,which, without her support,would still threaten us all.When she learned that thePolice Department was out ofmoney to buy back more avail-able guns, she immediately pro-vided the buy-back money.Around this same time, Kathycreated a sculpture in honor ofUAH’s 25 years of autonomy,and received the UAH

Outstanding Alumna of the YearAward. In 1998, she participated inthe “Behind Bars For Good”

Muscular Dystrophy Associationfundraiser. The National Conferenceof Community and Justice honoredKathy for her race-relations work in1999. This same year, she againdonated $10,000 to support theGuns for Life gun buyback programin Huntsville.

Kathy Chan’s artistic and phil-anthropic works continue into the

current decade. In 2001, she provid-ed three unique works of jewelry tobe displayed at the UAH SalmonLibrary. In 2002, she was named anAlumni of Achievement by UAH,and helped sponsor a performance ofthe Shanghai Ballet. Bliss Magazinefeatured Kathy on its cover in 2003.This same year, she also donated a$6,000 necklace to be raffled in ben-efit of the Huntsville Museum ofArt, and was awarded a certificatefrom the Huntsville InternationalCultural Organization. In 2004,Kathy designed a pin given to mem-bers of the Millennium Society ofHuntsville Hospital. Kathy and herhusband Tony sponsored a concert inHuntsville featuring superstar cellistYo-Yo Ma the following year. In2006, they were both recognized fordonating $100,000 to the GadsdenCultural Arts Foundation. In March2007, the opera Lucia diLammermoor was performed inhonor of Kathy Chan, along with anauction of her work. Clearly, KathyChan is a very deserving recipient ofthis award, and her works will surelycontinue to benefit North Alabamaand the world for years to come.

Dr. Wilson Luquire

Dean of the Library

University of Alabama

in Huntsville

Tony and Kathy Chan with Yo-Yo Ma in Huntsville, 2005.

Kathy Chan appears on the cover of BlissMagazine in 2003.

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In an age when we read all toooften about reduced support forthe arts and failed orchestras, the

story of the Montgomery SymphonyOrchestra qualifies as a genuine suc-cess. Newcomers to the orchestra’sconcerts are often surprised to learnthat the ensemble is a communityorchestra, comprised primarily ofvolunteers, rather than professionalplayers. The level of playing farexceeds the standards of most com-munity orchestras in the countrybecause of the commitment MusicDirector Thomas Hinds has made tothe orchestra, and the commitmentto music making he has inspired inits members.

Born in Oklahoma and raisedin Minnesota and North Carolina, itwas not at all obvious that ThomasHinds was destined for a career asan orchestral conductor. “My par-ents were musical,” he says, “butthey didn’t listen to much classicalmusic. They sang in the choir andloved to listen to jazz. They taughtmy brothers and me how to singwhen we were very young, and trot-ted us out to entertain guests.” Insixth grade, Hinds heard his firstlive orchestra performance when theNorth Carolina Symphony gave ayoung person’s concert at his school.


Thomas HindsA Commitment to Community Music Making

by Dr. Mark Benson

Maestro Thomas Hinds prepared to lead the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra.

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“I knew then that classical musicwas something I wanted to learn,”he recalls. Later, Hinds learned thetrumpet—“in order to play likeHarry James”—and also the bassoon,the orchestral instrument thatwould become his major instrumentin college.

In 1966, Hinds enrolled at theUniversity of North Carolina atChapel Hill to major in physics. Heexplains, “My father was an engineerand my mother was a pilot, so itseemed natural to major in science.Eventually I realized that my reallove was music, and that I had bettergive it a try while I was still youngenough to pursue it. My parents werehorrified when I announced that Ihad changed my major, but theyeventually got used to the idea.”After graduating, Hinds spent a fewyears as a free-lance musician, but in1972 he won an audition for a bas-soon position with the Alabama

Symphony Orchestra, with whom heperformed for the next ten years.Midway through his tenure with theorchestra, he began to investigateseriously the possibility of becominga conductor.

“With a pristine ignoranceabout how to go about it,” Hindssays, “I began to explore everythingthat might be useful in a conductingposition. At one time or another, Ivolunteered to be music librarian fora ballet company; orchestra contrac-tor, backstage chorus director andgeneral gofer for an opera company;and technical assistant with theAlabama Symphony. I even drovethe technical truck when the orches-tra went on tour.” He also beganstudying with noted conductingteachers, including Charles Bruck atthe Pierre Monteux Domaine Schoolin Maine, and Harold Farberman atthe American Conductor’s GuildInstitute. In 1981, he studied with

noted conductor Sergiu Celibidacheat the prestigious MunichPhilharmonic Conductor’s Course.Eventually, he earned conductingengagements with Birmingham’s RedMountain Chamber Orchestra,Johnson City (Tennessee)Symphony, the Southern RegionalOpera Company, and theBirmingham Civic Opera.

Thomas Hinds was namedmusic director and conductor of theMontgomery Symphony Orchestrain 1983. Only seven years old at thetime, the orchestra was still trying tofind its identity. “We wanted tobuild an orchestra that representedthe people of Montgomery,” saysHinds, “and it was decided not tomove toward a fully professionalorchestra, but to keep the ensemblea volunteer organization.” HelenSteineker, the Symphony’s long-timemanager comments, “We knew itwould be a slower road, artistically,

Rehearsal for Broadway Under the Stars, a free outdoor concert held on the grounds of the Blount Cultural Park at Summer's end.

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but Tom’s expertise on the podiumbrought out better music each year.”

Hinds also had some ideasabout how to speed up the process ofmaking the orchestra better. First,the Orchestra initiated a scholarshipprogram to assist its players in pay-ing for private lessons. Second, aYouth Orchestra was created, offer-ing the opportunity for high school-age players to perform symphonicmusic. The Montgomery Symphonycurrently includes several “gradu-ates” of that orchestra.

It was Hinds who suggested theSymphony’s Fellowship program, inwhich national auditions are heldeach year to select a young, profes-sional violinist or cellist to be theorchestra’s principle players. “Iwanted our community to hear howmusic sounded when played at avery high level,” he remarks. It wasalso his belief that young profession-als leading the string sections wouldlead by example and instruction,and inspire a commitment to excel-lence in performance among theorchestra’s members. This is exactlywhat has happened. In addition,each the Symphony’s Fellows arefeatured every year in a solo perfor-mance with the orchestra, and inthree solo recitals.

“We knew we could offer youngprofessionals things that full-timeorchestras couldn’t. Since ourrehearsal schedule is relatively light,they have time to practice and travelto other important events and com-petitions. And we could providethem with regular solo performance

opportunities—exactly what a youngprofessional musician needs.” Thusthe Fellowship program has benefit-ed many young professional players,most of whom have gone on tocareers as professional musicians andteachers in the United States orabroad. In return, the Fellows havegiven Montgomery audiences highquality performances, greatly enrich-ing the cultural climate of the city.

Hinds is the first to admit thatsuccesses of this kind are not com-pletely his own doing. “I work with aBoard of Directors that is the envy ofmy conductor colleagues,” he says.Steineker adds, “Tom and the boardhave always been on the same page.They look at the orchestra and itsmission and they see the same thing.”Hinds prefers to ask questions andpose suggestions rather than makedemands, and his self-effacing per-sonality has endeared him to boardmembers and audiences alike.

An attitude of cooperation isalso evident in the relationshipbetween Hinds and the orchestra’smembers. Hinds sees music makingas a collaborative venture. His man-ner in rehearsals is that of a teacherwho suggests ways to improve, andwho guides players through theprocess of getting things right. He isquick to praise a job well done,whether in concerts or rehearsals. Itis this atmosphere of shared musicmaking that brings 70 volunteersback to rehearsal week after week,season after season.

The spirit of cooperationbetween the conductor, the board,

Thomas Hinds perfecting each note.

Thomas setting the intensity and mood.

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and the orchestra’s members has ledto many successful artistic endeavors.A performance of Beethoven’s NinthSymphony in 1994 involved 285instrumentalists and singers in themost ambitious musical performancein Montgomery’s history. The annual“Broadway under the Stars” pops con-cert brings thousands of River Regionmusic lovers to a free outdoor concerton the grounds of the Blount CulturalPark each year. The Orchestra’sBlount-Slawson Young Artists com-petition is one of the most prestigiouscompetitions for teenage performersin the United States.

Success in Montgomery has ledto other opportunities for Hinds. In1992, he was named the very firstconductor of the GadsdenSymphony Orchestra, a post he heldconcurrently with the one inMontgomery for several years. Hehas been invited to conduct the Ft.Worth Civic Orchestra, theQueensland (Australia)Conservatory Orchestra, and manyothers. Most recently he was musicaldirector for the AlabamaShakespeare Festival’s highlyacclaimed productions of Man of LaMancha and Beauty and the Beast.

Despite the many opportuni-ties that come his way, Hindsremains devoted to the MontgomerySymphony. “It’s the people,” he says.“How can you not love to come towork with players who give sounselfishly of their time in order tomake music?” His motivation is thesame today as when he first took theposition nearly twenty-five yearsago: “When I first heard the orches-tra, I knew there was the potentialfor playing great music, and I want-ed to be the one to bring it out.” Hestill gets more satisfaction in theorchestra’s achievements than hedoes in the applause he receives forhimself. “My most rewardingmoments are probably not the sameones our audience might expect,”he says. “I remember the concerton which we played GustavMahler’s Fourth Symphony andMaurice Ravel’s Scheherazade, andthinking ‘this sound is the rightone for Mahler,’ and ‘this is theway to play Ravel.’ I remember theconcert when I realized that theorchestra now knows how to playBeethoven, and the rehearsal whenthe orchestra achieved the perfectsound for Debussy.”

“I know that my real legacy isthe Montgomery SymphonyOrchestra,” explains Hinds. “I thinkwe’ve created a heritage of commu-nity music making in Montgomery.A heritage is not only what we’vebeen given, but what we hand down,and it makes me happy to see sonsand daughters of symphony memberscontinue the tradition, playing inour orchestra.”

Thomas Hinds will receive aGovernor’s Arts Award this May forthe musical legacy he is still in theprocess of creating. He is gratefulfor the recognition, and even moregrateful for the opportunities hehas received: “The people ofAlabama gave me the opportunityto do the thing I really wanted todo with my life, and for that I cannever thank them enough.”Congratulations, Tom, on receivingan award richly deserved.

Dr. Mark Benson is

Associate Professor of Music and

Head of the Department

of Fine Arts

at Auburn University

Montgomery.

He has played in

the percussion section of the

Montgomery Symphony

for eighteen years.

Thomas Hinds conducting the Montgomery Symphony at the free outdoor pops concert on thegrounds of the Alabama Archives and History building.

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Even though Paul K.Looney’s hair isthinning, it’s tempt-

ing to crawl slowly overthe skull growing out ofthat thicket just to see ifhe possesses more eyesthan the norm.

Because this onehead, nearly throbbingwith animation as it is,doesn’t seem wide enoughfor the scope of his vision.

When he paints, fig-ures in vivid hues sprawlacross canvases largerthan life; larger than some people’swalls, as he found when trying togive his outsized works homes.

When he designs for a show,the sets soar up to the rafters and outto the wings, suggesting they live onoutside the confines of the theater.

Where Looney sifted the soil ofa burgeoning community theater, hesaw a mighty oak.

Theatre Tuscaloosa, with thenurturing of Looney, with sweat, latenights and wrinkled foreheads, withcries for help—“Babes, our ox is inthe ditch!”—and the ever-presenturgent demand “Louder, faster, fun-nier!,” grew from that vision into a

heady, thriving thing of beauty—comic and tragic—with supportingtendrils sunk deep in the community.

When Looney changed thename from Tuscaloosa CommunityPlayers to Theatre Tuscaloosa about20 years ago, he crafted a symbol forthe group: an oak tree with spread-ing branches. A lot of folks whoworked with or for him over theyears thought the real face ofTheatre Tuscaloosa could be as sim-ple as Looney’s smiling mug, but thevision didn’t end at his own ego.

No, the former advertisingcompany artist and sometime paintercrafted symbolism of a life force withdeep roots and sheltering branches,

sprung from humblebeginnings.

“If I had lookedat the original boardand told them we’d bewhere we are now,they would havelaughed me out of theroom,” Looney saidshortly after announc-ing his 2002 retire-ment from the organi-zation.

“They used tolaugh at me and my

acorns. But it’s about possibili-ty, thinking to the future; the ideathat you’re stable but you’re growing,and you’re going to be here for along, long while.”

Looney was there for a long,long while, from shortly after gaininghis master’s in directing at theUniversity of Alabama in 1980, until2002, when he became artistic direc-tor emeritus of the group, which bythen had a permanent home, withtheater, rehearsal spaces, offices, ashop and more, and the largest pro-fessional staff and season of any per-forming arts group in the area.

Looney often tells the tale ofhow he and the late Charlie Dennis,then manager of downtown


Paul LooneyThriving on the Creation of Dreams

by Mark Hughes Cobb

Paul Looney with his paintings at Kentuck Galley, in Tuscaloosa, November 1999.Ph

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Tuscaloosa’s Bama Theatre, wherethe group held most of its perfor-mances until 1998, shared a desk,sitting knee to knee and dreamingaloud about the future.

At the time, the TCP wasstruggling to put on one or two per-formances a year, with varyingdegrees of success. The Bama, origi-nally a movie palace built in 1938,was slowly undergoing renovations,and even when niceties such as aworking furnace were going, wasnever quite suited to the complexi-ties of live theater.

Looney joined the staff in1980, with a background in per-forming and directing forBirmingham’s Town & Gown andUA’s theater program. With his rich

baritone and expressive body lan-guage, he’s been called on over theyears to fill roles requiring over-the-top presences in shows such as“State Fair” and “Lend Me a Tenor,”on those rare shows when he wasn’tdirecting and designing.

As a director and producer, hekneaded actors, both trained andraw, into new shapes. He soughtexperts in music and costumes, and,with Dennis, designed and builtmany of the dazzling sets that firstcaught people’s eyes to show them,in another Looney trademarkphrase, that “this ain’t amateurnight in Dixie.”

Building on the “town andgown” model, he drew on both UAand community talent. One ofLooney’s top go-to actors and dirtors

for almost two decades has been PaulB. Crook, now assistant profesor ofacting and directing at LouisianaTech University School of thePerforming Arts.

“Paul is crusty, ornery, frac-tious, loud, belligerent, opinionat-ed—and those are his good points!,”Crook said.

Seriously, Crook said passion isthe word that most sums up Looney,whether in painting, directing, chat-ting with pals or watching aCrimson Tide basketball game.

“In a world full of those who gothrough the motions and becomebogged down in the mundane repeti-tion of their lives and work, Paulmanages to attack and consume allthat he does with an overwhelmingpassion,” Crook said.

Paul and Susan Looney at the Bean-Brown Theatreat Shelton State, home of Theatre Tuscaloosa. Susanand Paul were featured in a series of stories on cou-ples who worked together.

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Paul Looney working on vocal harmonies with the Basically Broadway Singers, rehearsing for a performance atthe Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame, an event that he helped create.

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Married for 40 years to Susan,a dancer and choreographer withwhom he’s worked on numerousshows and in the offices of TheatreTuscaloosa (she’s business manag-er), the Looneys made the grouptheir child.

“They’ve babied it, disciplinedit, fed it and it has grown into anexemplary organization,” said TinaFitch, who last year took over thejob as executive producer ofTheatre Tuscaloosa.

“Paul has some crazy ideas andapproaches to the work, but no mat-ter what, you never question that hisconcern is always for the health andwell-being of this organization.”

Paul and Susan Looney com-mitted more than just their time tothe group over the years, Fitch said,making investments more literal tokeep it going, although they’d neveradmit that, she said.

“He has never blinked an eyein investing in its future,” Fitch said.

Theatre Tuscaloosa has growninto the second-largest arts organi-zation in Alabama, with a half-mil-lion dollar budget, said board presi-dent David Ford, because Looneyengaged interest from all parts ofthe community, from wealthy artssupporters to powerful politicians tohard-nosed businessmen.

“Paul has essentially created thisorganization from nothing and takenit to a height that the board neverdreamed was possible,” Ford said.

In 1998, the group realized oneof Looney’s biggest dreams by mov-

Backstage with Broadway star, Rebecca Luker at a performance of The Music Man in New York,March 2001.

Rebecca Tingle, Executive Director of theTuscaloosa Dancers collaborated with PaulLooney on a production for the Nutcrackerin November 2001. Paul taking a break dur-ing those rehearsals.

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ing into a permanent home atShelton State CommunityCollege. Theatre Tuscaloosahad long been in partnershipwith the college, so when thenew campus started going up,Looney drove fund-raising tobuild a theater and fine artscomplex onto the building’ssouth end.

(Looney proved so adeptat fund-raising, that when heretired from TheatreTuscaloosa he took over a newpost as director of advance-ment for Shelton State. He’ssince retired from that job todevote full time to painting.)

Under Looney, thegroup added touring and out-reach programs, including theprofessional Stage CentreCompany, and the SecondStage program for developingactors and directors.

Looney also helped create theAlabama Stage and Screen Hall ofFame to honor the state’s home-grown talent, from TallulahBankhead to Rebecca Luker to Jim“Gomer Pyle” Nabors.

A typical Theatre Tuscaloosaseason now includes five or six mainstage productions, with comedies,dramas and musicals in a mixdesigned to both please and chal-lenge. He’d throw up a chestnut like“The Music Man” in hopes thataudiences would let the glow carryover into an edgier work such asStephen Sondheim’s “Company.”

And even though technicallyretired, he “ain’t gone 10 toes upyet,” still directing for the group. Hismost recent shows were this spring’s“Amadeus” and Theatre Tuscaloosa’sfirst world premiere, for the musical“A Dickens of a Carol” in December.

As he edged toward handingover the reigns—he’d brought in aprofessional staff of full-time shop,costume, box office and managementpeople—Looney returned to his firstlove, even before Susan: painting.He’s since had a couple of soloexhibits at the Kentuck Gallery, andtaken sabbatical’s at Nall Hollis’French countryside retreat.

Painting is, by nature, a privatebusiness, while theater is, bynecessity, collaborative. Heenjoys the solitude, but no onecan doubt he thrives on thegroup dynamic.

And though he threatens withevery new show that this will behis last, no one who knows himfears that he’ll be able to stay outof the theater long, or that theechoes of “Hey babes!” will everdie down from the halls of theBean-Brown Theatre, the housethat Looney built.

Mark Hughes Cobb

Editor, Tusk Magazine

Writer, Tuscaloosa News

and Tuscaloosa Magazine

One of Paul Looney’s last performances as an actor. Paul Looney withNathan Gunter in State Fair. Afterwards, Paul focused his energies ondirecting plays.

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The AlabamaFolk HeritageAward, given

every two years, is thestate’s highest honor forthe folk and traditionalarts. The 2007 recipientis blues musician andGadsden native Jerry“Boogie” McCain. Bornin 1930, McCain hasplayed blues harmonicafor more than 70 years.He is a true representa-tive of the blues tradi-tion in Alabama, or ashe says it, “I am JerryBoogie McCain. I ain’tCoca-Cola, but I’m thereal thing!”

McCain said thatnobody is above theblues—that if you live longenough, you're going to get them.“The blues come from wanting, notgetting; needing, not having. That’swhere the blues come from, see,blues is a feeling. And it’s not justabout a woman leaving a man or aman leaving a woman,” heexplained. Perhaps because hespeaks the language of the blues sowell, this harmonica master andsongwriter has attracted fans world-

wide. He has toured Europe severaltimes, performs at national blues fes-tivals and has been featured on thecover of Living Blues magazine.

In spite of national and inter-national attention, only in morerecent years has McCain gainedrecognition in his home state. Hehas performed regularly atBirmingham’s City Stages festivalwhere he received the Musical

Heritage Award in 1995 pre-sented at the AlabamaSampler Stage. His home-town of Gadsden has alsorecognized McCain’s contri-bution to the community’smusical roots by featuringhim in performance with theEtowah Youth Orchestra.

Jerry McCain earned thenickname “Boogie” when hebegan playing harmonica onthe streets of Gadsden at theage of five. Several of hisuncles played the harmonica,and his mother and auntplayed guitar in the church,but his real musical influ-ences were the blues musi-cians he heard on the juke-box at his father’s barbecuestand when he was growingup in the 1930s and ’40s. He

began imitating the sound of blueslegends Sonny Boy Williamson andSonny Terry. It was the music ofLittle Walter that inspired McCainto launch his own recording career.

He made his first commercialrecording in 1953 on the Trumpetlabel in Jackson, Mississippi and hassince recorded on a variety of labels,such as Excello, Rex, Okeh andJewel. In the late 1980s and ’90s he

THE ALABAMA FOLK HERITAGE AWARD

Jerry McCainBluesman

by Anne Kimzey

Jerry McCain carries 16 harmonicas (several in each key) in his harmonica case.

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made several CDs with IchibanRecords and released This Stuff JustKills Me in 2000 on Jericho. Mostrecently he worked with MusicMaker Recordings to issue two CDs,Unplugged and Boogie is My Name onhis own label, Boogiedown Records.He recorded his best-known song,“She’s Tough,” in 1960, which wascovered by the FabulousThunderbirds.

Back in the early days of hiscareer McCain traveled from town totown on what was known as the“chitlin’ circuit,” performing in jukejoints all over the South, but alwaysreturning to Gadsden. All the whilehe was developing his own perform-ing style. “I used to play like every-body. Sonny Boy Williamson, JimmyReed, Little Walter, Sonny Terry.Anybody that played harmonica,”said McCain. “Now I did that foryears in the ’50s, in the ’60s, andthen in the ’70s I started to changingmy style.” Then in the ’80s, I got myown style.”

McCain said that all blues har-monica players had started soundinglike to him, so he began modelinghis harmonica breaks after the musi-cal phrasing of jazz horn players andguitar players. “Most harmonica play-ers don’t hit those licks,” he said.

In performance, he enjoysinteracting with his fans, sometimesleaving the stage and movingthrough the crowd as he plays toindividual audience members.Another crowd-pleasing techniquehe has perfected is playing the har-

This photo was taken for an overseas tour in the 1970s.

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Jerry McCain plays bluesharmonica in an outdoorconcert at Montgomery’sOld Alabama Town.

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monica with his nose. “I play the harmonica with mynose better than a whole lot of people play with theirmouth,” he said.

Jerry McCain learned to play music by ear, and hecomposes, as he puts it, “by mouth.” He has the gift ofbeing able to write and arrange tunes in his head, whichhe then dictates into a tape recorder for someone else totranscribe. He is adept at improvisation and has beenknown to make up tunes while performing on stage.“People see me the next time I play and say, ’sing that

song,’ but if I don’t write it down, it’ s gone. I have beenin bed and songs go through my mind that’d be goodsongs. And I’ll say, ‘I’ll do it in the morning.’ When I getup in the morning it’s gone. It comes and it goes. If youdon’t write it down while it’s coming, then you’ll lose it,”he explained.

He prefers to write songs that tell a story and manyof these stories are borrowed from his own experience.True to the blues tradition, his songs have a personal sideto them, but they also provide social commentary and

Jerry “Boogie” McCain takes a break from performing on the “Alabama Jubilee” tour in Boaz, Alabama.

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McCain has performed for many years at Birmingham’s City Stages.

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criticism. Often they reveal his witand humor. Jerry McCain writesabout the world around him, as inhis song “Burn the Crack HouseDown” on his album Love Desperado.“Everywhere you go is crack,” hesaid. “I just put that song togetheron account of all this crack all overthe world. Most of my songs tell astory. I don’t like to write a song,just to be writing a song to makesome money. I must tell a story. Ihave to tell a story.”

Anne Kimzey is

a Folklife Specialist for

the Alabama State

Council on the Arts.

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“Legacy” can be defined as“a gift that is handed downfrom a predecessor.” A “liv-

ing legacy” would be such a gift thatis dynamic and continues to enrichthe lives of its beneficiaries. TheAlabama State Council on the Artsis proud to present the Living LegacyAward to the Quilters of Gee’s Bend.This group of African-Americanartists lives in Boykin, a small com-munity also known as Gee’s Bendwhere women have quilted for atleast 175 years. All indications arethat quilting will continue here formany more years. The Gee’s Bendquilters occupy an important placein the story of their unique commu-nity and have brought great acclaimto themselves, their community andthe state of Alabama.

Every once in a while theworld discovers Gee’s Bend, wherethe Alabama River makes a sweep-ing curve in northern WilcoxCounty. Antebellum planters withtheir enslaved workforce discoveredthat the rich soil would grow cashcrops. One hundred years later, NewDeal idealists sought to make thecommunity an important economicexperiment. In the 1960s, the fash-ion industry joined with CivilRights activists to harness the eco-

nomic potential of the Bend’s quiltmaking. In the early twenty-firstCentury, these same quilters havebeen celebrated in landmark exhibi-tions in some of the nation’s mostprestigious museums. Earlier thisyear, the United States PostalService introduced their popularseries of stamps based on Gee’s Bendquilts. But throughout these times,the rhythms of life continued amongthe few hundred occupants of Gee’s

Bend. They worshiped God, createdfamilies, sang songs, grew crops andmade quilts.

The Gee’s Bend communitybegan as a plantation taking itsname from the first landowner,Joseph Gee. In 1845, Mark Pettwayacquired the property. He was a largeslave owner as were other plantersalong the Alabama River. Afteremancipation, the freedmen and

THE ALABAMA LIVING LEGACY AWARD

The Quilters of Gee’s BendSuperstars of American Folk Art

by Joey Brackner

Nettie Young, Priscilla Jenkins and Katherine Millhouse at the opening of the “Quilts of Gee’s Bend” exhibit at theMobile Museum of Art.

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women of the area took the sur-names of their former masters. Tothis day, Pettway is one of the mostcommon last names in Gee’s Bend Itwas during this early period thatBend residents first began to quilt.

African-American quilting,like Sacred Harp singing, is synony-mous with Alabama. Both art tradi-tions have evolved, survived sincethe early nineteenth century, andhave brought recent positive recog-nition to the state. Alabama is thetouchstone for the current nationalrevival of Sacred Harp, an archaichymn singing tradition that boasts azealous following. Its well-organizedconventions and singing schoolshave brought it into the twenty-firstcentury. Quilting, another commu-nal exercise, has also survived,changed and prospered through thetwentieth century and into thetwenty-first. Both traditions are, likemost southern traditions, a result ofcultural contact. The Euro-

American art forms of quilt makingand congregational hymn singingwere re-formed in the multiculturalantebellum South. Whites andblacks sang and quilted, sometimesseparately and other times together.After the segregation of races fol-lowing emancipation, African-American Sacred Harp singingdiverged into a different style thanits white counterpart. Some believethis divergence may have alsooccurred in quilt making.

To say that there is an“African-American” style of quiltmaking is too simplistic becauseAfrican-American textile artists areso diverse in their backgrounds.Quilt scholars Eli Leon and MaudeWahlman, among others, have sug-gested a link between African-American quilts and West African,printed cloth patterns. Other schol-ars, such as Cuesta Benberry, suggestthat scholars have arbitrarily chosenquilts with these attributes to make

their case for an African-Americanquilt aesthetic. However, there arelocalized folk traditions in African-American quilt making representingthat community’s idea of what aquilt should look like. Women ofthese locales, many in the Black Beltof Alabama, such as Gee’s Bend,produce quilts with large patterns,accept some asymmetry in patternand overall shape and use bold col-ors with strong contrast. Quilts madeprimarily to exhibit precise quiltingstitches do not seem to be part oftheir style.

By its impressive sample size,the landmark exhibition The Quiltsof Gee’s Bend did a lot to suggest thatthe aesthetics described above docharacterize quilt making in at leastone African-American community,Gee’s Bend. The exhibition organiz-ers are to be commended for theireffort in assembling this large show.The depth of this community’s tradi-tion is underscored by the historic

A scene from the Freedom Quilting Bee, ca. 1980.

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Medalion quilt by Loretta Pettway.

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Wilcox County photo ca. 1900 bylocal photographer Edith Morgan,published on the inside cover of theaccompanying catalog/book Thephoto shows a woman airing out fourquilts on a fence. The quilts looksimilar to those exhibited in theshow including the ubiquitous house-top pattern.

Through the years, traditionalquilt making has maintained its basicprocedure. Most practitioners takepieced tops and quilt them withother women. Today, more peoplequilt alone but the tedious work ofquilting the top, batting and backgoes by more quickly and pleasantlyin a group. Nevertheless, the folkprocess of face-to-face training in acomplicated art tradition has beenmaintained in both the black andwhite communities of Alabama. Aswith all folk art traditions, improvi-sation occurs within learned practi-cal and aesthetic boundaries. In thecase of quilts, the practical bound-aries are a three-part quilted clothconstruction of a size that will covera bed. Aesthetically, the pieces satis-fy what a quilt should look likeamong a group of women who sharea demographic profile. Part of thefolk process is the introduction ofnew ideas that can be accepted orrejected by the group. Folk artists donot live in a vacuum and are notimmune to the national and interna-tional movements of art. These influ-ences can affect their work but if thefolk process persists, their productswill still reflect their community tra-ditions. At Gee’s Bend, these tradi-

Qunnie Pettway and her daughter Loretta Bennett with their Pine Burr quilt.

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Sewing a quilt, Gee’s Bend, Alabama.

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tions persisted through some veryhard times.

A series of foreclosures onBend residents during the early partof the Great Depression led to anexperimental government programto buy the land and resell it to thefamilies. Services and a cooperativecotton gin were established to helpBend residents control their cropsfrom field to market. The Rooseveltadministration also sent the photog-raphers Mary Post Wolcott andArthur Rothstein to document thecommunity. Folklorist RobertSonkin came to record African-American folk music there in 1941.The Rothstein photo of LucyMooney teaching her granddaugh-ters Lucy and Bertha Pettwaybeautifully illustrates the folkprocess of learning.

The political power of Gee’sBenders was feared during the Civil

Rights movement. As a result, theferry service from Camden was dis-continued in 1962 to discouragevoter registration. Another form ofintimidation during this period wasthreatening one’s job security. It wasthis economic threat that eventuallyled to the formation of the FreedomQuilting Bee.

The Bend’s quilts were firstnoticed nationally when theFreedom Quilting Bee in nearbyAlberta was organized in 1966 withthe help of the Reverend FrancisXavier Walter, an Episcopal priestand Civil Rights activist. The ideawas to build upon the cooperativeideas of the 1930s to help produce amuch needed income stream in the1960s through the 1980s. The quiltsmade by Bee employees, includingmany Bend quilters, were exportedthroughout the US, aided, in part,by a network of expatriate southern-

ers living in the north. Bloomindalessold their quilts and then in theearly 1970s, the Bee went undercontract to Sears to produce pillowshams. While the Freedom QuiltingBee helped bring much neededmoney into the community, it alsodirected the efforts of textile artistsaway from their traditional style ofwork. After a dormant period, theBee has recently been reorganized.The book The Freedom Quilting Beeby Nancy Callahan is an excellenthistory of this group.

Outside interest in the cultureof Gee’s Bend continued. In the late1970s, the Birmingham PublicLibrary and the AlabamaHumanities Foundation sponsoredphotographer John Reese and story-teller Kathryn Tucker Windham tofollow in the footsteps of Rothsteinand Sonkin. The duo collected pho-tos and oral histories and producedan exhibit on Gee’s Bend. A decadelater quilters from the Bend wereparticipants in the 1990 AlabamaFolklife Festival that was producedby the Alabama State Council onthe Arts and the Alabama FolklifeAssociation in conjunction with thesecond City Stages. From Fields ofPromise, a public television docu-mentary made in 1993 by JohnDiJulio, Bruce Kuerten and MikeTrend of Auburn Universityexplored the history of the Bend andincluded interviews with scholarsand Bend residents.

The most recent documenta-tion of the Bend, the exhibitionsand books Quilts of Gee’s Bend

Quilts on the clothesline, Mary Lee Bendolph’s yard, Gee’s Bend.

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(2002) and Gee's Bend: TheArchitecture of the Quilt (2006) curat-ed by a team headed by William,Paul and Matt Arnett, and organizedby the Museum of Fine Arts,Houston, has been the most success-

ful in presenting the genius of thiscommunity of artists. The exhibitionvenues have included Houston,Whitney Museum of American Artin New York, the Mobile Museum ofArt, the Jules Collins Smith Museumand many other great Americanmuseums. The efforts have alsoreceived much print and nationalbroadcast media. In describing the60-piece exhibition The Quilts ofGee’s Bend, the New York Timesreferred to the quilts as being “someof the most miraculous works ofmodern art [that] America has pro-duced.” This first show featured thework of 42 women of four genera-

tions. The second exhibition Gee’sBend: The Architecture of the Quiltmakes of point of including more ofthe younger generation of quiltersand of including essays by some ofthe artists.

These recent exhibits havebrought the community together andafforded the quilters an opportunityto not only travel to various exhibitopenings but also be guest artists atart festivals and symposia aroundAlabama and the nation. OnThursday, August 31, 2006, theQuilters of Gee’s Bend were honoredby the United States Postal Serviceat the Alabama Shakespeare Festivalin a special ceremony celebrating theissuance of ten 2006 postage stampsbased upon Gee’s Bend quilts. A fewweeks later, the ferry from Boykin toCamden reopened.

It is fitting that the Pine Burr

quilt pattern, most associated withthe late China Grove Myles, a for-mer member of the Freedom QuiltingBee was selected as the basis for thelogo of “2007, The Year of AlabamaArts.” The pattern continues to bemade by Gee’s Bend quilters as partof their living legacy to us.

Joey Brackner

Director, Alabama Center for

Traditional Culture,

Alabama State Council on the Arts

Mary Lee Bendolph addressing the crowd at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival on August 31, 2006.

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"Housetop" variation by Louisiana Pettway,

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PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS IN THE SERIES:

ALABAMA ORIGINALS: SELF-TAUGHT/CONTEM-PORARY FOLK ART. Works by artists producing art out-side the fine arts arena with a variety of materials fromhouse paint to found objects.

ALABAMA ORIGINALS: CLASSICAL APPROACHES.Art using traditional techniques in painting, sculpture,printmaking and drawing as means of personal expres-sion.

ALABAMA ORIGINALS: VISUAL ARTS ACHIEVE-MENT. Award winning art by Alabama middle andhigh school students.

UP-COMING EXHIBITIONS IN THE SERIES:

July 13-August 31 ALABAMA ORIGINALS: CON-TEMPORARY CRAFT. Fine craft pieces using materialssuch as clay, fabric, fiber, metal, wood and glass toreflect both utility and sculptural form.

September 9-November 2 ALABAMA ORIGINALS:EXPANDING PERSPECTIVES. Art expressions using avariety of materials and techniques to address broadcontemporary ideas.

November 16-January 11, 2008 CARRY ON:TWENTY YEARS OF THE ALABAMA FOLK ARTS APPREN-TICESHIP PROGRAM. Expressions of the preservation offolk skills by master folk artists teaching their art formto apprentices.

The Alabama Artists Gallery, located at the offices of the Alabama State Council on the Arts in the RSA Tower in downtownMontgomery, 201 Monroe, provides an on-going showcase of the work of Alabama artists in all media. Hours are M-F from 8 am-5pm. For additional information contact Georgine Clarke, phone: 334-242-4076, ext 250; email: [email protected]

YEAROF

ALABAMAARTS

EXHIBITIONS2007

ALABAMA ORIGINALS: A SENSE OF PLACE (May 10-June 29) is the featured exhibition in the AlabamaArtists Gallery for the 2007 Celebration of the Arts. It showcases photography by artists from throughout Alabama andaddresses themes connecting with Alabama land, community, people and custom. This exhibition is in the series ofAlabama Artist Gallery presentations organized for the Year of Alabama Arts to celebrate the diversity and strength ofthe state’s artists.

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Alabama State Council on the Arts Staff

AL HEADExecutive Director

BARBARA EDWARDSDeputy Director

RITA GRAY ALLENGrants Assistant

JACQUELINE BERRYExecutive Assistant

GEORGINE CLARKEVisual Arts Program Manager

YVETTE DANIELPerforming Arts Program Manager

WANDA DEJARNETTEGrants Officer

DIANA F. GREENArt in Education Program Manager

JOHN MEYERSGallery Assistant

BARBARA REEDPublic Information Officer

RANDY SHOULTSCommunity Arts, Design, and Literature Program Manager

DEXTER SMITHSecurity

VINNIE WATSONPrograms Assistant

Alabama Center for Traditional Culture

JOEY BRACKNERDirector

JACKIE ELYAdministrative Secretary

STEPHEN GRAUBERGERFolklife Specialist

ANNE KIMZEYFolklife Specialist

Alabama State Council on the Arts • 201 Monroe Street, Suite 110 • Montgomery, Alabama 36130-1800

Phone: 334-242-4076 • Fax: 334-240-3269

www.arts.state.al.us

179365cover 5/9/07 11:29 AM Page 5

ALABAMAARTSVolume XXII, Number 1 State Arts Awards Issue 2007

2007 Celebration of the Arts Awards201 Monroe Street, Suite 110Montgomery, Alabama 36130-1800

Phone: 334-242-4076Fax: 334-240-3269Email: [email protected]: www.arts.state.al.us

PRSRT STDU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 109

Montgomery, AL

E S T A B L I S H E D 1 9 6 7

thANNIVERSARY40

The rich quilting legacy of four generations of African-American women in ruralAlabama was celebrated when the U.S. Postal Service issued the Quilts of Gee'sBend commemorative postage stamps at the American Philatelic Society's (APS)annual convention and philatelic exhibition. These stamps are sixth in the AmericanTreasures Series, and feature the ingenuity and improvisational style of the Gee'sBend quilters.

The 10 Quilts of Gee's Bend self-adhesive stamps feature photographs chosen byart director Derry Noyes. The quilts were created between 1940 and 2001.

179365cover 5/9/07 11:29 AM Page 2

Documents

ALABAMAARTS · ALABAMAARTS Volume XXII, Number 1 State Arts Awards Issue 2007 179365cover 5/9/07 11:29 AM Page 3