Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Richly illustrated with full-page stunning reproductions, this is a unique and original approach to the work of Bill Traylor. Born into slavery around 1853/4 on a cotton plantation in Benton, Alabama, Traylor, who died in 1949, is one of the most celebrated self-taught American artists. A sharecropper until around 1930, he moved to then-segregated Montgomery in his 80s and began to create art, layering references to religion, politics, and African American life in his many drawings and paintings. Here, Traylor specialists Valerie Rousseau and Debra Purden consider his artworks in response to one another, forming a series of intricate and consistent narratives, intriguingly cinematic in their development, to present a fresh picture of the artist.
Synopsis
Born into slavery around 1853-4 on a cotton plantation in Benton, Alabama, Traylor has become one of the most important self-taught artists of the twentieth century, and certainly one of the most celebrated African-American artists, along with Thorton Dial and William Edmondson. The story of Bill Traylor's life and work is a remarkable one. It is a story that deserves attention both nationally and internationally. This publication, generously illustrated with full-page high-quality reproductions, provides a close examination of Traylor's recurrent themes, composition schemes, favored iconography, and contextual information related to the artist's biography, creative process and tools, visual environment, and artistic mindset. Each artwork is considered in a context beyond that of an isolated image and in response to one another, forming a series of intricate and consistent narratives, intriguingly cinematic in its development. The elements of Traylor's biography are the anchors of an individual mythology. Instead of merely being a basic depiction, the subject becomes a visual statement structuring Traylor's mind, bringing together hidden symbols from Kongo Vodou, Hoodoo, Southern Baptist, Freemasonry, and Blues sources, as well as layers of references: slavery, uncensored violence in the Jim Crow era, and turbulence within the black enclave known as 'Dark Town' in Montgomery, Alabama. Text in English and French.
Synopsis
Born into slavery around 1853-4 on a cotton plantation in Benton, Alabama, Traylor has become one of the most important self-taught artists of the twentieth century. This publication provides a close examination of recurrent themes related to the artist's biography, creative process and tools. Text in English and French.