A photography display by Selma native Jerry Siegel, will open at Troy University’s International Arts Center on Friday, Jan. 20.
The exhibition, “The Promise of Living/The Tender Land,” combines portraiture of Southern artists and residents of Alabama’s Black Belt with Siegel’s street and landscape photography. An artist’s reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Jan. 26 where visitors can fulfill Siegel, admire his work and delight in refreshments.
The exhibit’s title come from an opera composed by Aaron Copeland upon seeing Alabama during the Great Anxiety through the book “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men” by Walker Evans and James Agee.
Jerry Siegel’s self portrait on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge
“Siegel’s exhibition unlocks for discussion in our neighborhood for a wide variety of subjects including influential Southern artists, as well as the Alabama rural landscape,” stated Carrie Jaxon, Director and Curator of the International Arts Center. “As Siegel’s images show a prevalent rural southern environment, visitors will entrust to an extended awareness of the beauty found in their own personal environments that may not have been seen before. Visitors and individuals will likewise have the ability to find out more about the vibrant range of southern artists we have in our area.”
Paul Barrett, the manager of the exhibit, has actually worked thoroughly with Siegel, along with many other extremely respectable artists of the area. Barrett will be producing a totally free publication as a result of “The Pledge of Living/The Tender Land” tour and associated activities.
Barrett said Siegel demonstrates excellent sympathy for his topics with his continuous series of color photographs working as “an understated love letter to the artist’s rural upbringing.”
In addition to the artist’s reception, other events related to the exhibit are planned for February.
A free, in-person and online conversation with Richard McCabe, photography manager for the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, will occur from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 23. Visitors can participate in the panel conversation in-person at the International Arts Center or see it on the IAC Facebook page. Drinks will be served at the in-person occasion.
The February ArtSPARK session, set for 9 to 11 a.m. on Feb. 25, will use an art workshop for kids based on Siegel’s exhibition. The kids will also have the ability to participate in story and snack time, an art scavenger hunt and outside activities.
The exhibition and associated activities are supported by generous grant funding through South Arts and the Alabama Liberal Arts Alliance.
- Picture of Darius Hill
- Portrait of Yvonne Wells
- Landscape photo “Sweep”