Working with basket makers from Charleston and Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, historian Dale Rosengarten has been studying African-American baskets for over 20 years and brings her research up-to-date with interviews of artists and the results of recent historical inquiry. Anthropologist Enid Schildkrout draws on her research in West Africa and museum collections around the world to explore the African antecedents of Lowcountry basketry. Geographer Judith A. Carney discusses the origins of rice in Africa and reveals how enslaved Africans brought to America not only rice seeds but, just as important, the technical know-how that turned southern coastal forests and swamps into incredibly profitable rice plantations. Historian Peter H. Wood discusses the many skills that enslaved Africans contributed to the settlement of the Old South and at the same time used to resist the conditions of their servitude. John Michael Vlach, a leading authority on African American folk art, discusses the history of visual depictions of plantation life. Fath Davis Ruffins, a specialist on the imagery of popular culture, sheds light on the history embedded in old photographs of African Americans in the Charleston area. Cultural historian Jessica B. Harris explores the tradition of rice in American cooking and the enduring African influences in the southern kitchen. Anthropologist and art historian Sandra Klopper sketches the history of coiled basketry in South Africa, illuminating its evolution from utilitarian craft to fine art, parallel to developments in America. Anthropologist J. Lorand Matory traces the changing meanings of Gullah/Geechee identity and discusses its appearance as a significant force on the American cultural scene today.
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Book Description
Through the prism of America's most enduring African-inspired art form, the Lowcountry basket, Grass Roots guides readers across 300 years of American and African history. In scholarly essays and beautiful photographs, Grass Roots follows the coiled basket along its transformation on two continents from a simple farm tool once used for processing grain to a work of art and a central symbol of African and African American identity. Featuring images of the stunning work of contemporary basket makers from South Carolina to South Africa, as well as historic photographs that document the artistic heritage of the southern United States, Grass Roots appears at a moment when public recognition of the Gullah/Geechee heritage is encouraging a reexamination of Africa's contribution to American civilization.
--This text refers to the
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About the Author
Dale Rosengarten is curator of special collections at the College of Charleston library. Theodore Rosengarten teaches history at the College of Charlestona and University of South Carolina. Enid Schildkrout is chief curator and director of exhibitions and publications at the Museum for African Art, New York.
--This text refers to the
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
GRASS ROOTS: AFRICAN ORIGINS OF AN AMERICAN ART
GIBBES MUSEUM OF ART
CHARLESTON, SC
AUGUST-NOVEMBER 2008
NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER
CINCINNATI, OH
FEBRUARY s-APRIL 20, 2009
FOWLER MUSEUM AT UCLA
LOS ANGELES
OCTOBER 3, 2009-JANUARY 9, 2010
MCKISSICK MUSEUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA, SC
FEBRUARY 13-MAY 8, 2010
MUSEUM FOR AFRICAN ART
NEW YORK
2010 EXACT DATES TO BE DETERMINED
"Grass Roots" was organized by the Museum for African Art in partnership with Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston, McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina, and the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival Association. The exhibition was supported, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for... --This text refers to the Digital edition.
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new sweetgrass basket catologue,
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This review is from: Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art (Paperback)
Great new book about sweetgrass baskets by authority Dale Rosengarten based on recent exhibit at the University of South Carolina.
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