Writing 6 (blog posts) Artist Lecture

Today I attended the lecture of Gwen Walstand and Sarah Perkins, as well as visiting the gallery of their work. I LOVE COLLABORATIONS! Mostly because I'm not very good at them and I admire anyone who can work together peacefully to make something beautiful. This particular exhibition is a study of the town of Cairo, Illinois. Which is the title of the show, a collab of vessels created by Sarah Perkins and photographs captured by Gwen Walstand. 

An example of the works shown here.

The town of Cairo is at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio River. This was a booming prosperous town, with traffic from trains, boats, and on land. Post Civil War slaves lived there, and the town was divided by race. Resulting in horrific lynchings and violence throughout it's history. Even in the 1970's, white business owners refused to hire African American workers. because of this tension and violence, the current Cairo is left in a state of disrepair. 

Something that I found particularly interesting was the fact that the town of Cairo was once a place of commerce, success, and culture. A beautiful place with grand buildings, full of progress. It's amazing how hate can stop all of that. How intolerance and a lack of understanding can halt such beauty and growth. I think that it was very fitting to capture this once beautiful, once ugly, place with art. One of the most beautiful and expressive venues mankind has created. 

The vessels are metalsmithing with enamel, showcasing the architecture captured in the photographs. 

One thing that Ms. Perkins mentioned was that she had gone to the town before Mrs. Walsand and taken photographs. Later when they were comparing their images, they found that they both took a picture of the same building. This building had been painted white. In the time between taking their separate images, someone in the town had painted more of the building, and filled in some of the chipping areas of paint. I think it;s so poignant that there are residents in this town that can look past its violent history, and still love the town and try to make it a little bit better every day.