Search results | Digital Grinnell

Title: Am I Not a Man and a Brother?
Description: In this block, the artist has chosen to highlight a commonly used symbol of the abolitionist movement; a slave kneeling with chained wrists held up, begging for his freedom. Created by members of the Clapham Sect of the Church of England in 1787, the image was so popularly consumed, historians have referred to it as a “pièce de resistance” of the campaign. However, the image is controversial to some because of the subordinate and sanitized representation it gives of slavery. Rather than portraying a reality of enslavement, torture, oppression, and resistance, the image appealed to the abolitionist ideals of morality, virtue, and truth. With this block, the artists urges their audience to grapple with the impact that historically sanitized images of slavery can cause, especially on younger generations. By portraying the slave as begging his oppressors for his freedom and humility, the image has replicated the very hierarchy it is trying to combat. Nonetheless, the image is contextualized with historical importance from the role it played in the abolitionist movement. By re-assessing images of abolition and rebellion, the artist urges people to contemplate popular controversies about the glorification of confederate monuments and the legacy of slavery in shaping American national identity.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25494

Title: Collision
Description: This block is a visualization of the clash between the cosmic forces of nature and the institutions of humankind. This encounter was especially apparent during the revolution in Haiti; the very concept of slavery and the violence that grew from it defies nature in every way. The plantation economy which ran off the energy of slaves turned a lush tropical landscape into flat planes of torture. Confrontation between armed forces over these plantations wreaked havoc on the earth and the destroyed the natural landscape. In this block an image of a classical Greco-Roman building, representing the institutions of a “more civilized” people, collides with the cosmic forces of earth and nature. These forces are commonly called upon in Haitian Vodou ceremonies, making this collision not just one between man and nature but also between ideologies and philosophies.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25492

Title: John Brown’s Body
Description: John Brown is well-known for his abolitionist exploits throughout the antebellum United States. From leading armed groups in the Bleeding Kansas crisis to his near-successful raid on Harpers Ferry in Virginia, Brown made clear his staunch beliefs that slavery must be abolished and that violent insurrection was the only way to accomplish that goal. Eventually, these beliefs resulted in his downfall, as he was captured at Harpers Ferry by a United States Army regiment and later executed. What’s less commonly known about John Brown is his connection to Grinnell. While helping escaped slaves move along the Underground Railroad Brown slept at the home of J.B. Grinnell, founder of the town and supporter of the College. A photograph of this house is depicted in the lower right corner of this block, with an arrow pointing to the room where Brown stayed during his visit. Also included are two newspaper clippings from the Des Moines Register documenting Brown’s time in Iowa, including the story of a tense standoff in Iowa City shortly after he left Grinnell. At the center of the block is a portrait of J.B. Grinnell himself, found in the Grinnell College Archives. The words “John Brown’s Body” near the right edge of the block are a reference to the eponymous marching song sung by the Union Army to commemorate Brown’s sacrifice, the melody of which would go on to be reused in the now well-known Battle Hymn of the Republic. Like those who rebelled in Haiti, Brown believed that grassroots revolution could be an effective weapon against the institution of slavery and worked to advance equality for people of African descent.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25505

Title: Portrait
Description: This piece aims to honor the service of black and Haitian military men. When considering the Haitian Revolution we often tell the stories of men such as Toussaint L'Ouverture, one of too few symbols of black military power. This block places a black military leader at the center of attention, and also aims to connect his story with slavery in Haiti, America, and beyond. In this block, the image of the Haitian militia man appears beside an illustration of a cotton plant. Although slavery in Haiti was fueled by sugarcane, not cotton, an image of a cotton plant is placed here to remind the viewer that slavery is and shall remain a hallmark of American history, and issues of injustice in the military still occur today. When we consider the history of the transatlantic slave trade, we do not often think of its impact on how black people are treated in the military. Erased from history and celebration, black bodies were catalogued as equipment much like weapons and protective wear. While great progress has been made since the abolition of slavery and the integration of the military, we still have a long way to go in our quest for equal treatment of people of color as well as gay and transgender people in the military.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25490

Title: The Fire
Description: On August 16th 1791, in the eleventh month of the Haitian Revolution, slaves from the Limbé district set fire to a wealthy French estate. During their subsequent interrogation they revealed the names of rebellion leaders, further advancing the story of the revolution. As the story of the rebellion spread over the island, slaves vowed to burn as many plantations as possible. Fiery acts such as these became more common as the revolution gathered steam, harming humans and animals alike and leaving the once beautiful Haitian landscape black and smoldering. In this block, the artist has used fake flower petals, red marbles, and enlarged images of orange microscopic organisms to create the sensation of heat and flames while also incorporating allusions to nature. The block revolves around an image depicting a burning plantation and a rioting mass of people running with arms raised, a scene from the 1791 revolt. On the left, a figure wearing a crown hangs from a tree, perhaps symbolizing the persecution of the Haitian people at the hands of French colonists.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25506

Title: The First Meeting
Description: This piece aims to juxtapose Iowa’s progressive aims with its oppressive past. The centerpiece of this block is a poster publicizing an anti-slavery meeting which took place in Iowa. While anti-slavery meetings such as this one were necessary in the push towards abolition, the artist urges Iowans to explore their state’s relationship to slavery on a deeper level. The artist has incorporated chain-like strands of metal to symbolize the bondage of enslaved peoples, and depictions of genetic material captures the implications of slavery for actual living organisms. While Grinnellians may sometimes put their town on a pedestal for its historic abolitionist position and refusal to join the Confederate Army, this block calls attention to the pain and suffering that still occurred in this state at the hands of racism and white supremacy.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25483

Title: The Man, The Machine
Description: This block depicts the transformation of the cotton and slave industries after the invention of the cotton gin. It aims to capture small sober reminders that enslaved peoples were commodities in the eyes of the United States, their only intended purpose to advance capital and power within the nation. When considering how to visualize freedom we must also consider how to re-imagine profit. Representing the intersection between bodies and profit, this block asks observers a simple question: Is the slave nothing more than an outdated cotton gin?
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25491

Title: Veneer
Description: At the center of this block is a photograph of Haitian slaves harvesting sugar cane before the revolution. Look closely at the image and focus on the people’s faces. How is this photograph different from other images of plantation slavery? Look closer and you may realize that the photograph is placed on top of another image, covering everything but the outer edges. The pictures we see and the stories we tell may not reveal the entire truth, and some narratives of the past mask another’s reality. Perhaps history should not be viewed as a timeline, with one image placed next to another, but should look more like an overused scrapbook; you must peel one image away to reveal another.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25497