Winter 2008

C A R O L I N E M A R S H A L L D R A U G H O N

CENTER FOR THE ARTS & HUMANITIES

Albert Murray is a singular voice in

American culture, art, and music, and

we are pleased that the conference will

be held in the state that has exerted

such imaginative and critical force on

his writings.

The Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities, in cooperation with Tuskegee University, will hold a symposium this January to celebrate the life and works of Alabama native and Tuskegee graduate Albert Murray. Scholars and protégés of Murray’s work will gather for a day-long meeting at Auburn’s Dixon Hotel and Conference Center on January 23, 2008. Nationally acclaimed Ralph Ellison scholar and editor of Trading Twelves: The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison and Albert Murray, Dr. John F. Callahan of Lewis and Clark College, will give a keynote address at 7 p.m.

Albert Murray, who received the Distinguished Artist Award from the Alabama State Council on the Arts in 2003, is the author of thirteen works of cultural criti-cism, fiction, and poetry. He is a unique theorist who has orches-trated a comprehensive vision of American aesthetics emphasizing the centrality of African-American contributions to American identity

and art in such works as The Omni-Americans: New Perspectives on Black Experience and American Culture (1970), South to a Very Old Place (1971), The Hero and the Blues (1973), The Blue Devils of Nada: A Contemporary American Approach to Aesthetic Statement (1997), and From the Briarpatch File: On Context, Procedure, and American Identity (2001). Using blues as his primary metaphor for the American disposition of affirmation in the face of adversity, Murray has eloquently elevated his Alabama-bred perspectives to elegant statements of universal rel-evance in twenty-first century aes-thetic discourse.

The public is invited to attend both the symposium and the lecture, but those interested are asked to register online at http://www.auburn.edu/cah.

ALBERT MURRAY AND THE AESTHETIC IMAGINATION

OF A NATION JANUARY SYMPOSIUM

The public is invited to attend both the symposium and the lecture

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e thank our many partners and funders for their support of the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities. We could not accomplish our work without them.

Alabama Center for Civic Life, Alabama Historical Association, Alabama Humanities Foundation, Alabama Power Foundation, Alabama Public Library Service, Alabama State Council on the Arts, Alabama Writers’ Forum, Alabama Water Watch, Arts Car Tag Fund, Auburn University College of Agriculture, Auburn University Libraries, Auburn University Vice President for Outreach office. Jule Collins Smith Museum, Kettering Foundation, Landmarks of Montgomery, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Old Alabama Town, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Puffin Foundation, Rosa Parks Museum, Southern Poverty Law Center, University of Alabama Press.

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

WFUNDERS AND

PARTNERS INCLUDE

As many of you know, this summer we celebrated the naming of the Center in honor of former Auburn University first lady Caroline Marshall Draughon. As it ushered in a new era for the Center, that happy day offered us an opportunity to reaffirm its mission to strengthen the bonds between the academic community, the arts, and the general public through quality programs in schools, towns, and communities around the state.

In this newsletter, youʼll find updates on the programs that accomplish our mission, including announcements of new initiatives and features on the people and events that make it all happen.

Among the most exciting new initiatives is the inauguration of a partnership with the University of Alabama Press to publish books that grow out of or contribute to our outreach mission. The Pebble Hill Books imprint series will launch this spring with a community history by Frye Gaillard. Based on a research project funded by the Kettering Foundation, In the Path of the Storms: Bayou La Batre, Coden, and the Alabama Coast will feature photographs by Sheila Hagler and by the students that she and Peggy Denniston have worked with in their award-winning Merging of Cultures project. Other titles are already in the pipeline, and we are enormously excited by the opportunity the series offers to capture the Center s̓ work and share it more widely than ever.

Other projects that have kept us busy this year include “This Goodly Land: Alabama s̓ Literary Landscape.” This online map can be found at www.alabamaliterarymap.org. Project manager Midge Coates has worked to create entries on a long (and growing) list of writers and to develop educational materials and exciting add-ons, including a “this day in Alabama literary history” feature and podcasts of authors and scholars. Oh technology!

This fall, Leah Atkins wrapped up her lecture series on the history of the Alabama Power Company, and “Learning to Talk” has focused on the role of deliberative decision-making in communities. The award-winning Alabama Gets Caught Reading poster series debuted with a second round of noted Alabamians reading their favorite book. Thanks to the Alabama Power Foundation and the Alabama Public Library Service, every school and library in the state received a set of the posters.

Check the website for information on the Draughon Seminars in State and Local History, this year featuring the indefatigable Dr. John Hall as William Bartram. Beginning in January, Alabama Voices and Helping Schools Through the Arts & Humanities will feature several noted artists and writers, including Betsy Hearne and Joy Jones. Partnerships with the University Libraries and the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art have enabled us to support local programming, including a symposium on Philip Henry Gosse and the “Discover Auburn” lecture series.

We look forward to a great year of partnership and accomplishment. As always, we thank you for your interest in and support of the Center. Hope to see you at a program soon.

The newsletter s̓ calendar notes upcoming lectures and programs. For more information on these and other projects of the Center, be sure to check the website at www.auburn.edu/cah.

NEW PERSPECTIVES ON ALABAMA ART

The Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities has developed the second in an annual lecture series on Alabama’s visual art. Encouraged by the response to last year’s programs, which sought to open a window on the vista of the state’s rich artistic heritage, “New Perspectives: “Alabama Art in the Open” will step out into the landscape to look at art created for, in, or about the out-of-doors.

“Alabama Art in the Open” will explore artists’ creative reactions to and interac-tions with their environments, in large and small scale, in public and private spaces, using particular and universal languages. Those interested in history, anthropology, art history, or Native American and African-American studies will find the lectures especially relevant and stimulating.

Georgine Clarke, Alabama State Council on the Arts, will discuss the state’s public art and its creation, placement, and pur-poses. Photography curator Julian Cox will share research from a forthcom-ing exhibit and catalogue at the High Museum of Art in “Bearing Witness: Photography and the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968.” Judith McWillie, University of Georgia, will explore the intersection of personal and cultural

values in African-American yard work. The cultural and architectural legacy of Mobile’s historic ironwork is the topic of architectural historian John S. Sledge. Kelly A. Wacker, University of Montevallo, will examine Wichahpi, a memorial in North Alabama built to honor the artist’s ancestor. She will place this physical manifestation of story and history in the context of contempo-rary Land Art.

“Alabama Art in the Open” lectures will be held as a series in Auburn and individually in Eufaula, Fayette, Jasper, Montgomery, and Sylacauga. Major funding for the series comes from the Alabama Humanities Foundation, state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Co-sponsors for the Auburn lectures are the Jule Collins Smith Museum, AU Art Department, and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. State partners include the Eufaula Heritage Association, Fayette Art Museum, Bevill State Community College, Rosa Parks Museum, and B. B. Comer Memorial Library.

“Alabama Art in the Open”

lectures will be held as a series

in Auburn and individually

in Eufaula, Fayette, Jasper,

Montgomery, and Sylacauga.

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*photo credit for top center:Morton Broffman, “Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., Leading Marchers, Montgomery, Alabama, 1965,” gelatin silver print, 13.8 x 19.9 cm, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, © Morton Broffman

© Sheila Hagler

The Reverend George Kornegay, silver-painted Construction, Brent, Alabama,

1992, photo by J. McWillie

*

C A R O L I N E M A R S H A L L D R A U G H O N

CENTER FOR THE ARTS & HUMANITIES

CALENDAR OF EVENTSCALENDAR OF EVENTS

check www.auburn.edu/cah for more info check www.auburn.edu/cah for more info

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[JANUARY]1/14 3 p.m. “ʼOh My God . . . I Wish He Was There Nowʼ: Lyndon Johnson and Civil Rights,” Martin Luther King Jr. Week lecture by David Carter, Ralph Brown Draughon Library

1/17 3 p.m. “The Irony of State Intervention: American Industrial Relations Policy in Comparative Perspective, 1914-1939,” lecture by Larry Gerber, Ralph Brown Draughon Library, Discover Auburn Lecture Series

1/23 9 a.m.-9 p.m. “Albert Murray and the Aesthetic Imagination of a Nation: A Symposium,” with 7 p.m. keynote address by John Callahan, Dixon Conference Center, Auburn University

1/26 10 a.m – 5 p.m. “Cultural Crossroads Symposium,” Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts

1/28 noon “William Bartram,” lecture by John C. Hall, Ozark-Dale County Public Library, Draughon Seminars

1/28 7 p.m. “William Bartram,” lecture by John C. Hall, Just Folk Coffeehouse and Community Arts Center, Elba, Draughon Seminars

1/29 6:30 p.m. “William Bartram,” lecture by John C. Hall, Eufaula Carnegie Library, Draughon Seminars

1/29 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. “Youth: The Real Future of the South,” community forum, Collinsville Public Library

[FEBRUARY]2/5 4 p.m. “Bearing Witness: Photography and the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968,” lecture by Julian Cox, Jule Collins Smith Museum, New Per- spectives: Alabama Art in the Open Lecture Series

2/6 noon “Bearing Witness: Photography and the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968,” lecture by Julian Cox, Rosa Parks Museum, Montgomery, New Perspectives Lecture Series

2/12 3 p.m. “Inventing the Cotton Gin: Alabama Perspectives,” lecture by Angela Lakwete, Ralph Brown Draughon Library, Discover Auburn Lecture Series

2/17 2 p.m. “William Bartram,” lecture by John C. Hall, Albert L. Scott Library, Alabaster, Draughon Seminars

2/19 4 p.m. “’Doing Things Right’: Traditional Signs in African American Cemeteries, Homes, and Churches,” lecture by Judith McWillie, Jule Collins Smith Museum, New Perspectives Lecture Series

2/20 noon “William Bartram,” lecture by John C. Hall, B. B. Comer Memorial Library, Sylacauga, Draughon Seminars

2/20 4 p.m. “’Doing Things Right’: Traditional Signs in African American Cemeteries, Homes and Churches,” lecture by Judith McWillie, Fayette Art Museum, New Perspectives Lecture Series

2/26 noon “Alabama’s 1901 Constitution,” lecture by Clif Perry, CLA Speakers’ Bureau, Dothan

*William Bartram portrait : Independence National Historical Park

*

C A R O L I N E M A R S H A L L D R A U G H O N

CENTER FOR THE ARTS & HUMANITIES

CALENDAR OF EVENTSCALENDAR OF EVENTS

check www.auburn.edu/cah for more info check www.auburn.edu/cah for more info

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2/26 3:15 p.m. “William Bartram,” lecture by John C. Hall, Thomas E. McMillan Museum, Jefferson Davis Community College, Brewton, Draughon Seminars

2/26 4 p.m. “Road Trip: Touring Public Art of Alabama,” lecture by Georgine Clarke, Jule Collins Smith Museum, New Perspectives Lecture Series

2/26 6 p.m. “Celebrating Mobile’s Past in Word and Image,” lecture by John S. Sledge, Eufaula Heritage Association, New Perspectives Lecture Series

2/26 Storytelling Performance/Workshop with Charles Ghigna, Cottondale Elementary School

2/26 “Youth: The Real Future of the South,” community forums, Elmore and Staton correctional facilities

2/27 noon “Road Trip: Touring Public Art of Alabama,” lecture by Georgine Clarke, B. B. Comer Memorial Library, Sylacauga, New Perspectives Lecture Series

2/27 noon “William Bartram,” lecture by John C. Hall, Bay Minette Public Library, Draughon Seminars

[MARCH]3/4 4 p.m. “Celebrating Mobile’s Past in Word and Image,” lecture by John S. Sledge, Jule Collins Smith Museum, New Perspectives Lecture Series

3/4 “The Long Walk Home: Te-lah-nay’s Journey and Tom Hendrix’s Wall,” lecture by Kelly A. Wacker, Bevill State Community College, Jasper, New Perspectives Lecture Series

3/6 6:30 p.m. “William Bartram,” lecture by John C. Hall, Decatur Public Library, Draughon Seminars

3/11 4 p.m. “The Long Walk Home: Te-lah-nay’s Journey and Tom Hendrix’s Wall,” lecture by Kelly A. Wacker, Jule Collins Smith Museum, New Perspective Lecture Series

3/27 3 p.m. “William Bartram,” lecture by John C. Hall, Ralph Brown Draughon Library, Draughon Seminars

[APRIL]4/16 3 p.m. “The Influence of Gospel Music on Early Rock ʻn ̓Roll,” lecture by Timothy Dodge, Ralph Brown Draughon Library, Discover Auburn Lecture Series

4/17 2 p.m. “William Bartram,” lecture by John C. Hall, Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, Draughon Seminars

4/18 8 a.m. “Changing Landscape of Public History,” lecture by Bob Beatty, The Shoals

4/18 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Alabama Book Festival Workshop for Creative Writing Teachers, Troy University Montgomery

4/19 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. 2008 Alabama Book Festival, Old Alabama Town, Montgomery

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Save the date! The third annual Alabama Book Festival will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 19, 2008. The site will be the grounds of Old Alabama Town in the historic district of Montgomery (www.oldalabamatown.com).

Named the top literary event for 2007’s Year of Alabama Arts www.alabama.travel/ and supported by more than 20 sponsors and partners—including the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Alabama Public Library Service, the Montgomery Advertiser, the Children’s Literacy Guild of Alabama, and Ellis-Harper Advertising —the festival is a signature event for the state and for those who love books and reading. Last year, more than 2000 people attended the festival.

This year’s festival will showcase more than 50 authors, storytellers, publish-ers, illustrators, and performers. Among the authors already confirmed are fiction writers Ace Atkins and Joshilyn Jackson, syndicated columnist Rheta Grimsley Johnson, acclaimed children’s writer

Deborah Wiles, historian Stephen Berry, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and nonfiction writer Rick Bragg. The festival will feature a dedicated chil-dren’s area and offer special programs for young adult readers and writers. Exhibitors and vendors will include antique book ap-praisers, libraries, and reading promotion partners, among many others.

A teacher workshop will take place on the Friday before the festival, and plans are underway for a general writing workshop that will be open to anyone interested. More information about these special of-ferings will be announced in the spring.

In the meantime, for a general overview of the festival and information about volun-teer opportunities, vendors, and confirmed authors go to www.alabamabookcenter.org and click on Alabama Book Festival. Check back often to keep abreast of addi-tions to the program.

2008 ALABAMA BOOK FESTIVAL

*

Ace Atkins

Joshilyn Jackson

*Printer Amos Kennedy at 2007 Festival

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Barb Bondy is an assistant professor in the Art Department at Auburn University. She is a teaching artist with the

Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project. The following essay is a condensed version of a paper she presented

at the 2007 Outreach Scholarship Conference: Access through Engagement, October 7-9, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Also on her panel were Dr. Kim King-Jupiter of the Office of Outreach at Auburn University and Kyes Stevens

with APAEP.

THE ALABAMA PRISON ARTS + EDUCATION PROJECT

I guide students toward becoming creative individuals who understand

and believe that their voice is important.

The Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project has significantly informed my teaching and re-search scholarship through critical reflec-tion and discoveries that have emerged from concurrently teaching drawing in Alabama prisons and foundations level art majors at Auburn University.

I direct my teaching practices toward devel-oping drawing classes and projects with ob-jectives that align creative growth with the realities of prison life and the needs of art students whose goals are to emerge as visual communicators and cultural workers.

Currently I teach drawing at Staton Correctional Facility, a medium security men s̓ prison, and Drawing 2 at Auburn. I facilitate collaborative projects either by assigning the same topic to each group of students or by having both groups of students work on the same drawing until it is completed; in this case, I transport the draw-ings back and forth to each respective loca-tion until the artwork is completed. These collaborative efforts enable the two groups to engage in dialogue through art. A bridge is formed whereby the groups are learn-ing from each other by observing different viewpoints on assigned topics and drawing technique; students ̓perspectives are broad-ening as they see the viewpoint of others through drawing. For example, in a drawing project based on the concept of Time, the drawings revealed how life s̓ experiences frame one s̓ view of time.

The bridge between the two groups of stu-dents is beneficial on many levels; it has increased student motivation and provides an opportunity for students to get a response to their work from others. Through discus-sion and written comments by students I have observed growth in deep reflection as well as empathy and tolerance for others. Throughout the semester, while project ob-

jectives aim to address such skills as prob-lem solving, ideation, critical thinking, and working collaboratively, they also focus on developing drawing abilities and observa-tion skills.

In the prison arts and academic arts class-rooms I guide students toward becoming creative individuals who understand and believe that their voice is important. My goal is to show students how to be creative based upon what they have or donʼt have, how to create something from nothing, and how to regard anything as potential material for creativity and inspiration.

Early in the semester, I play for students recorded sounds, noises, and unique instru-mental music. While the students listen they translate what they hear into visual, graphi-cal marks. My aim is to demonstrate for stu-dents that noise, music, even silence, pres-ent a possibility for creative inspiration and drawing potential. Students learn that if one is listening and observing as a creative in-dividual, subject matter is omnipresent and easily accessible despite one s̓ environmen-tal circumstances.

The impact and measure of success is re-vealed in the transitions I see in students over the course of the classes as confidence in drawing and personal expression grow steadily and drawing skills improve.

Emancipation of the human spirit is the goal of a prison arts program. It is my belief and in-tention to fulfill this goal as one who teaches students who live in a confined space under social and living conditions that are the an-tithesis of the ideal conditions for fostering a creative spirit.

A u b u r n U n i v e r s i t y i s a n e q u a l o p p o r t u n i t y e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n / e m p l o y e r .

Caro l ine Marsha l l DraughonCenter for the Arts & Humanit iesPebble Hil l101 Debardeleben St .Auburn, Alabama 36849

Office Fax 334.844.4949www.auburn.edu/cah

Jay Lamar, Director 334.844.4946

Mildred Coates , This Goodly Land 334.844.7659

Nancy Griggs, Office Adminis trator 334.844.4946

Elizabeth Panhorst , Helping Schools through the Arts & Humanit ies 334.844.1364

Kyes Stevens, Alabama Prison Arts + Educat ion Project 334.844.8946

Mark Wilson, Assis tant Director 334.844.4948