CityLine November 8 Segment Two
The Cooper Gallery exhibit 'Black Chronicles II'
CityLine November 8 Segment Two
The Cooper Gallery exhibit 'Black Chronicles II'
WEBVTT KAREN: WELCOME BACK, THE HUTCHINS CENTER COOPER GALLERY IS NOW SHOWING A CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED EXHIBITION, IT SHOWS LACK SUBJECTS IN 19TH-CENTURY BRITAIN. THESE ARE ON VIEW FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE UNITED STATES, THEY DEFY AND IDENTIFY RACIAL STEREOTYPES OF PEOPLE OF COLOR IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND. WE ARE JOINED BY THE GALLERY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. GIVE US MORE BACKGROUND ON WHAT WE WILL SEE IN BLACK CHRONICLES TO? I HAVE TO TELL YOU, AS IMAGES ARE EXQUISITE. THE EXPERIENCE OF ENCOUNTERING THEM IN THE VALLEY -- IN THE GALLERY, YOU REALLY WANT TO COME AND JOIN US FOR THIS. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MOVED BY THESE. THEY WERE UNDER THREE SUDDENLY, IT IS PART OF AN ONGOING RESEARCH PROJECT . THEY ARE GIVING US A GIFT . WE BROUGHT THEM OVER HERE AND THEY WERE ON DISPLAY IN LONDON LAST YEAR AND IT HAS BEEN THRILLING TO SEE THE RESPONSE. KAREN: TELL US HOW THIS FITS INTO THE BIGGER INITIATIVE AT HARVARD TO COLLECT AND DISPLAY IMAGES OF PEOPLE OF COLOR THROUGHOUT HISTORY. THE CENTER ITSELF IS INVOLVED IN THIS ONGOING RESEARCH DEALING WITH AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES AND ON A POSTGRADUATE LEVEL, THERE ARE MANY PORTIONS THAT DEAL DIRECTLY WITH IMAGERY. I THINK THE MOST WIDELY RENOWNED IS THE IMAGE OF THE LACK AND WESTERN ART PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS. THAT PROJECT CAME TO US FROM THE -- FOUNDATION AND WAS RECENTLY REPUBLISHED BY HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS. THEN WE WENT INTO THE 20TH CENTURY AND THAT WAS WHEN ART WAS RECLAIMED BY THE BLACK SUBJECT AND ARTIST. IT IS A SIMILAR PROCESS. KAREN: LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT ONE OF THEM, THEY ARE FASCINATING. TELL ME ABOUT THIS ONE? WHAT IS THE DATE ON THIS? PETER JACKSON, HE IS SO WONDERFUL. I THINK THIS PHOTOGRAPH COMES FROM THE 1870'S, AS OPPOSED TO THE MATURITY OF THE ONES ON THE AFRICAN CHOIR. PETER JACKSON WAS BORN IN ST. CROIX IN THE MID-19TH CENTURY, A DANISH COLONY, BUT TODAY IT IS IN U.S. POSSESSION. YOU SEE THE FLUIDITY BEHIND THE STORIES. KAREN: AS I LOOK AT HIS STYLE OF DRESS, HE IS VERY WELL PUT TOGETHER WITH A TOP HAT AND THE WATCH CHAIN, A BEAUTIFUL SUIT. I THINK MANY OF THE IMAGES OF AFRICAN AMERICANS THAT WE SEE FROM THIS TIME ARE SHARECROPPERS OR PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST BEEN RELEASED FROM SLAVERY. THIS IS AN INTERESTING JUXTAPOSITION. YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. THAT IS WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE THEY COUNTER THE FLOOD OF DEGENERATE AND DIMINISHING PHOTOGRAPHS THAT WE NORMALLY SEE OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THE 19TH CENTURY. FIRST OF ALL, YOU NEVER SAW SOME OF THESE BEAUTIFUL IMAGES OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS THAT ARE IN OUR OWN ARCHIVES. SCHOLARS ARE WORKING TO PULL THOSE UP AND SOME OF THEM ARE AVAILABLE, IT IS AN ONGOING PROJECT. BUT PETER JACKSON WENT TO LONDON, HE HAD A CAREER AS AN ATHLETE, HE WAS A HEAVYWEIGHT BOXER AND ENDED UP IN AUSTRALIA, HE WAS A MAN ABOUT TOWN. HE WAS A WELL-TO-DO TRAVELING ATHLETE AND HE STOPPED TO TAKE A STUDIO PORTRAIT IN LONDON. SO THE DRESS AND THE FINERY SHOWS THAT THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE OF COLOR MOVING ABOUT IN THE WORLD IN A GLOBAL FASHION WHO WERE WELL-TO-DO. WE DIDN'T GET TO SEE THOSE IMAGES IN THE UNITED STATES SO THAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BRINGING THEM OUT HERE FROM LONDON. KAREN: LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE NEXT IMAGE. TELL ME ABOUT THIS ONE? THIS IS ONE OF THE IMAGES , THERE ARE TWO SETS OF VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS AND THEY ARE PULLED FROM PRIVATE COLLECTIONS, THEY ARE THINGS WE ARE LEARNING SOMETHING ABOUT AND SOME OF THEM ARE ANONYMOUS. WE KNOW RIGHT NOW IS THAT THE PROJECT WILL CONTINUE, PEOPLE CAME FROM LONDON TO HAVE THEIR PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN. THEY MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE MISSIONARY EFFORTS. SERVANTS WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE, SOLDIERS WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE AND OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE A REASON TO BE IN THE HALL IN THE CITY. KAREN: WE HAVE ONE MORE PHOTO THAT WE WILL SHOW IN THIS SEGMENT. I WANT TO SEE THIS ONE. THIS IS BEAUTIFUL. THIS IS FANTASTIC. THIS IS ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE AFRICAN CHOIR, THEY ACTUALLY SAW THE FIFTH CHOIR JUBILEE SINGERS OF SOUTH AFRICA, THEY CREATED THEIR OWN GROUP OF SINGERS TO RAISE MONEY FOR COLLEGE. YOU CAN SEE THEM AS THEY WERE PERFORMING IN LONDON IN 1891. KAREN: I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS EXHIBIT. IN THE FIRST SEGMENT WE TALKED ABOUT UNTOLD STORIES ABOUT PEOPLE OF COLOR APPEARING IN THE BAYSTATE BANNER. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR THESE IMAGES OF AFRICANS TO BE WIDELY DISPLAYED? FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND HISTORY? THE AFRICAN-AMERICANS HAVE FACE AN OVERWHELMING CAMPAIGN OF DENIGRATION THROUGH CARICATURE. THERE IS A HAUNTING OF IMAGES THAT WERE TAKEN TO JUSTIFY SLAVERY. IMAGES THAT WERE TAKEN TO SHOW ONLY A NEGATIVE PRESENTATION AND THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE HAD TO LIVE WITH FOR YEARS. THESE IMAGES COUNTER THEM BEAUTIFULLY AND THEY ARE RAISING MANY WAYS WE CAN DO RESEARCH AGAINST THE VISUAL ARCHIVES. KAREN: THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. NEXT SUNDAY AT THE COOPER GALLERY, THEY WILL HOST A FREE EVENT CALLED 19TH-CENTURY LACK FASHION. THERE IS A DISCUSSION, CB STYLES AND PORTRAITS OF BLACK CHRONICLES TWO. UP NEXT, A MUSICAL ABOUT A WOMAN RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY OF THE 1960'S TOP HITS.
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CityLine November 8 Segment Two
The Cooper Gallery exhibit 'Black Chronicles II'
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