ANTIQUES AND THE ARTS WEEKLY

October 12, 2018 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 79

80 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — October 12, 2018

October 12, 2018 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 7C

8C — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — October 12, 2018

“Black Turkey” by Bill Traylor, circa 1939–42. Post- “Untitled (Radio)” by Bill Traylor, circa 1940– “Self-Portrait,” by Bill Traylor, circa 1939–40,
er paint and pencil on cardboard. The Lucas 42. Opaque watercolor and pencil on printed gouache and pencil on cardboard. Metropoli-
Kaempfer Foundation. Image courtesy of the Betty advertising paperboard. Smithsonian Ameri- tan Museum of Art, New York, promised gift of
Cuningham Gallery. can Art Museum, museum purchase through Charles E. and Eugenia C. Shannon. Image
the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endow- ©The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image
ment. Photo by Gene Young. courtesy Art Resource, N.Y.

THE ARBTeOtwFeeBnIWLLoTrlRdAs YLOR
( continued from page 1C ) and now lives and works in Chicago. in the rural world of Southern planta- made is unknown, but that any were
Art historians studying Traylor are in Marshall explores the difficult subject tion farming, staying on as a paid work- preserved was thanks to a chance meet-
much the same quandary as archaeolo- er after emancipation. The very name ing with Charles Shannon (1914–1996),
gists who try to determine the meaning of black artists lionized by white collec- “Traylor” is taken from the family who a young art student from Montgomery
and purpose of ancient artworks without tors. And he once again encourages view- owned the land. His family life and con- who saw the elder man at work on his
textual support. Although the historical ers to respond directly to what they see, nections are chronicled in great detail by drawings in 1939. In a prescient flash,
background of his life and painting “In most cases the drawings and paint- the exhibition’s companion volume. In Shannon recognized Traylor’s remark-
career has been the subject of meticu- ings, sure and direct, speak for them- the 1920s, he left the agricultural life able abilities and definitive style in cap-
lous research, determining what he selves. The more idiosyncratic images, and moved toward the state capitol of turing his environment. The younger
meant by his drawings and paintings at some surreal, others more abstract, well, Montgomery. Only in the last decades of man encouraged the artist, supplied him
the moment of creation will always these are an opportunity for viewers to his life, when Traylor was in his eighties with materials, and — most importantly
entail speculation, as Umberger clearly match wits with the imagination of the and living in extremely difficult circum- — saved the art works from destruction.
stated above. The curator chose to open maker and construct their own plausible stances on the streets of the black busi- After mounting exhibitions in Traylor’s
the catalog with a vital introductory scenarios. Leslie Umberger has provided ness district, did the artist begin steadi- lifetime, Shannon and his wife contin-
chapter, “The Beatitudes of Bill Traylor,” many tantalizing leads, but the real ly producing the drawings and paintings ued to store the drawings until the time
written by African American artist adventure of finding meaning in Bill for which he is now celebrated. was ripe for their appreciation.
Kerry James Marshall (b 1955), who was Traylor’s art is ours alone.”
born in Alabama, trained in Los Angeles The survival of these fragile works is The breakthrough show for Traylor
Born into an enslaved family in the most remarkable element of Tray- came decades later. In 1982 at the Corco-
Lowndes County, Alabama, before the lor’s complex backstory. How many were ran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, an
Civil War, Traylor spent most of his life

“Untitled (Blue Man on Red Object)” by Bill Tray- “Untitled (Yellow and Blue House with Figures “Untitled (Blue Man on Red Object)” by Bill
lor, circa 1939–42. Poster paint and pencil on and Dog)” by Bill Traylor, July, 1939. Colored pen- Traylor, circa 1939–42. Poster paint and pencil
cardboard. High Museum of Art, Atlanta, pur- cil on paperboard. Smithsonian American Art on cardboard. High Museum of Art, Atlanta,
chase with funds from Mrs Lindsey Hopkins Jr, Museum, museum purchase through the Luisita L. purchase with funds from Mrs Lindsey Hop-
Edith G. and Philip A. Rhodes and the Members and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment. Photo by kins Jr, Edith G. and Philip A. Rhodes, and the
Guild. Photo by Mike Jensen. Gene Young. Members Guild. Photo by Mike Jensen.

October 12, 2018 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 9C

Chasing Ghosts:
Bill Traylor

Filmmaker Jeffrey Wolf Discusses
His New Documentary

“Untitled (Red Goat with Snake)” by Bill Traylor, circa 1940–42. Opaque
watercolor and pencil on paperboard. Smithsonian American Art Muse-
um, gift of Judy A. Saslow. Photo by Gene Young.

exhibition titled “Black Folk Art in Gallery owner Charles Hammer in Many exhibitions have an accompanying catalog, but the current Smith-
America, 1930–1980,” curated by Jane Chicago worked directly with the Shan- sonian show will feature the showing of Chasing Ghosts: Bill Traylor, a
Livingstone and John Beardsley, fea- nons to represent Traylor’s work. He 76-minute documentary about the artist’s world, created by producer/edi-
tured three dozen of Traylor’s works. remembers the excitement when he tor/filmmaker Jeffrey Wolf. The visuals assembled by Wolf are yet anoth-
The catalog for that event is still avail- first exhibited the images at a fair and er lens through which visitors can view Traylor’s artworks. The entire
able, and Traylor’s art has been includ- how collectors were drawn to view what documentary was shown at the show’s opening and will be repeated later in
ed in every exhibition of self-taught art he had available at the gallery. He feels the run, and Wolf also produced a short introductory film that plays at the
since then. By the time of the 2013 sin- that Traylor’s short working history beginning of the exhibition.
gle-artist exhibition at the American was a period of release when he felt an
Folk Art Museum, Traylor was called immense urgency to say something In an interview with Antiques and The Arts Weekly, Wolf traced his inter-
“one of the finest American artists of the about his life. When Christie’s published est in the artist back to that revelatory 1982 exhibition at the Corcoran,
Twentieth Century.” Collectors, dealers “Outsider Art: The hot list” at the begin- “Black Folk Art in America, 1930–1980”: “That show was a watershed for
and auction houses became involved ning of 2018, a bold Traylor image of the American definition of self-taught art, and it turned out to be Southern
and individual paintings and drawings man and dog led off the story, after black artists who were predominantly represented. So, that’s where Bill
today bring five and six-figure prices. bringing $137,500 in a January sale. Traylor made his first appearance to the people who were interested in this
field. I was already a collector and involved in making films.”
“Between Worlds” has made a fresh
start on understanding the artist’s work, In 2008, Wolf completed the documentary James Castle: Portrait of an Art-
rejecting unsubstantiated ideas and ist, which coincided with the exhibition “James Castle: A Retrospective,
invalid connections made by previous 1899–1977” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, October 14, 2008–January
analysts of Traylor’s art. Read the 4, 2009. He noted that, after seeing the film, visitors would often return to
detailed background, but — above all — the beginning of the show to re-view the self-taught artist’s work with a
view the art. For artists academic to fresh perspective. He said, “Following the release of that, I decided the next
abstract, creation and depression often film would be about Bill Traylor, so I made my first trip to Montgomery, Ala.,
exist side-by-side. That Traylor, living in in 2010. We started doing power point presentations at art fairs and places
what seemed to be soul-depressing cir- where the community came together. Leslie Umberger was already a friend
cumstances, should have prolifically of mine, so we talked and thought, ‘why don’t we look five years into the
expressed himself through such exuber- future and get up a Traylor show at the Smithsonian?’ I would work on the
ant art, is a tribute to his deep well of film, and she would curate the show, and whatever overlapping we can do,
creative inspiration. Beyond folk or self- we will do. The projects turned out to be extremely complimentary to one
taught labels, Traylor remains a classic another, because we overlapped in a lot of our research.”
artist, in the sense that finished works
poured from his hands, regardless of Wolf described the painstaking process, “I did a lot of ‘archaeology’ and you’d
physical circumstances or immediate be surprised at the things that turned up. Names we were looking for, people
monetary rewards. who were sprinkled through the story came to light. I have archivists who did
a lot of research to find the proper images. I uncovered a 1941 film by some-
Journalist Karla Klein Albertson one in the Army, who had walked around Montgomery one day and shot foot-
writes about decorative arts and design. age in the neighborhood that Bill Traylor worked in — no one had ever seen
anything close to that. I found glass negatives taken by a Mary Morgan Keipp
“Yellow Chicken” by Bill Traylor, (1875–1961), a pioneering woman photographer in the 1890s who took photo-
circa 1939–40, gouache and pencil on graphs of sharecroppers living on the farms near where Traylor was born. I
cardboard. Museum of Modern Art, was able to shoot the same fields that were in the photographs.”
New York, gift of Charles and Euge-
nia Shannon. Digital Image ©The He continued, “The first time I went to Montgomery, I was told, ‘why both-
Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by er going there? Montgomery has been decimated. You’re not going to find
SCALA/Art Resource, NY. anything.’ So, my writing partner and I went there and visited all the loca-
tions that had been documented as places where Traylor had worked or
“Mean Dog (Verso: Man Leading Mule)” by Bill Traylor, circa 1939–42. lived. And they were all parking garages — the buildings that were there
Poster paint and pencil on cardboard. Collection of Jerry and Susan Lau- in his time had been knocked down.” Persisting in his research quest, he
ren. Photo by Matt Flynn ©Smithsonian Institution. took his crew to the historic Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church
and was directed to a fountain down the street that was familiar from
Traylor’s drawings: “The fountain was earthshattering because we hadn’t
seen it before — that started the idea of ‘hidden in plain sight.’

“Traylor did many drawings that clearly used the fountain as a backdrop.
And then we found that someone had done their dissertation on cotton press-
es, so we compared those to the drawings. We looked at the Alabama State
Capitol building, and we saw figures in the drawings that reflected the shape
of that structure. And it was only a four- or five-block radius that we’re talking
about. He would have passed these landmarks every day on the way to where
he was going. As we continued to look at the drawings, we realized these were
real things, real places — he’s chronicling something that he experienced. We
saw that he may have held those memories within — there was a kind of
transcendent longing — that he stored this material up and it came out later.”

The genius of the film is how it presents the art against the historical and
biographical background. In a more formal statement of his goals, Wolf
wrote: “The documentary departs from standard practice by weaving
together a wide variety of elements, including original cinematography,
archival footage and photography, music and dance performances, dramat-
ic readings of prose and poetry... Perhaps most important, the film promi-
nently features Traylor’s magnificent drawings and paintings, whose
genius resides in their ability to tell their own stories.”

Jeffrey Wolf is planning to submit the documentary to Sundance and
other film festivals with the hope that there will be further theatrical
showings in the future. See pictures of Traylor and learn more about the
documentary at www.billtraylorchasingghosts.com.

10C — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — October 12, 2018 Proof: [email protected]
P:\a&a COLOR Section\10-12-18\Green River 1-4 page

October 12, 2018 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 11C

12C — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — October 12, 2018