Life > February 7, 2008

By By Ae’Jay Mitchell | Contributing writer

Every summer I would visit my great-grandmother’s “happy shack” in rural north Louisiana. As we – my mother, two siblings, and I, – drew closer to her house, we would begin to hear her deep alto voice singing.

My sister and I would smile for we knew her voice brought homemade ice cream and a cold orange soda water.

At the end of the dirt path, we saw her sitting on her wooden porch rocking back and forth in her rocking chair sewing a quilt.

This was a quilt we knew would be used to keep us warm on a cold night during our annual Christmas visit.

Never, however, did I see the quilt as art; not until the opening of Reynolda House art exhibit Ancestry and Innovation, Feb. 1.

The exhibit, which debuted in 2005 at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City, features the works of African-American self-taught artists of the 20th century.

The artwork gives viewers insight into the simplicity of the artists’ lives.

Each artist tells the story of their culture, their community, their ideals and their struggle through simple brush strokes and everyday objects.

The work of Clementine Hunter, an artist from Natchitoches, La., dominates the exhibit.

Her two-dimensional works of oils on cardboard to oils on canvas are simple in technique but extraordinary in their ability to depict the rituals of her community and her faith.

Her work “Funeral” (c. 1950) drags the viewer into a grief-stricken funeral without leaving one gloomy.

By adding flowers and three layers representative of the transcendental Trinity prevalent in Christianity, she depicts death as a new beginning.

The statues of Newark, N.J., native Kevin Sampson shine brightly in the exhibit.

They left me simply mesmerized. Sampson uses what many would consider junk to become a mixed media genius.

After the sudden death of his wife, newborn son and cousin, Sampson work from grief, using broken glass fragments, decaying wood and even the backbone of a cow to produce beautiful pieces.

This beauty is apparent in his work “Mother Oatman” (c. 1970) where deep colors of brown and bronze are pleasantly intermixed with dabs of colorful shards.

Quilter Nora McKeon Ezell’s pieces guide me to the comfort and simplicity of childhood.

With every stitch, my thirst for creativity is quenched.

Her work “Star Quilt” (c. 1977) drives me to bask in the never ceasing universe.

I was warmed by the striking colors presented in her work.

The exhibit also includes works from Mozell Benson, Elijah Pierce, father and son Thornton Dial Sr. and Jr., William Edmondson, Sam Doyle, Nellie Mar Rowe, Willie LeRoy Elliot, Lucinda Tommer, Dennis Jones and David Butler.

Even though the artists hail from different areas, each piece has massive influence through simple media.

This show is a must-see for all.

The show will run until Apr. 13 at the Reynolda House. Gallery Hours are Tuesday -Saturday 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Sunday 1:30 – 4:30p.m. Admission is free for university students.

For more information, you can visit the Reynolda House online at www.reynoldahouse.org.