Search results | Digital Grinnell

Title: Chicago and North Western Train Wreck, April 23, 1908, De Witt, Iowa, Silver Creek
Description: View of the wrecked train. On April 23, 1908, southwest of DeWitt, Iowa, at Silver Creek, flooding weakened a bridge and gave way to stock train 132 where an engine and 17 cars of cattle fell into the water. Three crewmen perished in the wreck.
Date Created: 1908
PID: grinnell:16950

Title: Foundations
Description: When confronting the reality of plantation slavery in America, aspects of life which seemed normal in the early 1880’s are often difficult to conceptualize today. In this block, the artist calls attention to the tradition of child raising, in which slaves were given the task of nursing and raising their master’s progeny. It seems counter-intuitive that one could believe a slave so unworthy of human dignity, yet at the same time entrust them with the life of their child. In this block, a portrait of a slave with their master’s baby is framed by a pattern comprised of enlarged images of a human cell, encouraging a contemplation of the hypocrisies present in the theoretical foundations of slavery, including the supposed biological and intellectual inferiority of black people. Most often, slaves bore responsibilities foundational to the prosperity and functioning of their owners; they were worthy of motherhood but not the recognition of full humanity. By featuring a female-bodied slave in this block, the artist also pushes the viewer to contemplate the highly gendered nature of slave work and how it reveals inconsistencies in the theoretical foundations of racial superiority in America.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25493

Title: Fragments
Description: This block is comprised of a document listing registered soldiers of the First Regiment of Iowa Volunteers, a predominately black enlistment fighting for the Union during the Civil War. Scattered around the names of enlisted men, the artist has included pieces of metallic jewellery, linking the First Regiment of Iowa Volunteers to the Haitian Revolution. In this piece, the institution of slavery is represented by fragments of broken earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. The artist aimed to capture the harsh brutality of the struggle against slavery and racism, experienced by both Haitian revolutionaries in 1791 and also by members of the First Regiment of Iowa Volunteers in 1863. At the same time, some objects (such as the metallic pencil sharpener) are intended to portray the idea that the world is changeable and can be made better, a homage to the sacrifices made by the enlisted men of the First Regiment. This block parallels the struggle experienced in Haiti with the struggle experienced in the United States, and aims to show the relevancy and tangibility of these events even in today’s world. While the struggles of Haiti and the United States are very different, similarities between the two stories show the interconnectedness of history.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25513

Title: Home
Description: At the center of the block is a nineteenth century map of the Grinnell College campus, showing familiar locations such as Mac Field and the Forum. To the right of the campus, a compass made of dorm keys shows the cardinal directions, transforming the block itself into a map and therefore situating Grinnell both geographically in an the context of a constantly evolving world. Images of Herrick Chapel and Steiner Hall, as well as the famous Louis Sullivan Jewel box bank, are also included in this block to bring familiar scenes into the piece. Embellished with metallic sequins that drift across the block like leaves floating across campus, this block serves to bring the wider story of this installation closer to the Grinnellian’s reality.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25489

Title: Homestead with horses and plow, De Witt, Iowa
Description: Men in front of home with horses and plow.
Date Created: 1910
PID: grinnell:16948

Title: In Memory of Hannibal Kershaw
Description: In this block the artists decided to honor Hannibal Kershaw and recognize the legacy he left on Grinnell during his time here as a student. Hannibal Kershaw was the first black student to graduate from Grinnell College in the early 19th century. The Iowa College Newsletter called Kershaw “an earnest, conscientious student, a fluent society speaker, and a man whom all respected for his high moral and religious character.” After graduating from Grinnell, he became a member of the South Carolina legislature and was also a teacher and a minister. Although Kershaw passed away only 4 years after leaving Grinnell, his memory is honored in the East Campus hall named for him, and now also in this piece of art. In this block, the artists have included a photograph of Kershaw along with the commemorative sign on Kershaw Hall, as well as keys and screws to symbolize not only the dorm, but also Kershaw’s commitment to building respectful race relations at the college and the symbolic doors he opened as the first black graduate of Grinnell. The artists also included a bird in flight, meant to remind viewers that while loved ones may be gone, their legacy will be remembered forever. Lastly, a piece of twine placed between these images reminds us of how connected the struggles of people of color are all over the world. Although Kershaw never set foot in Haiti, he certainly knew the pain and legacy of slavery and colonization, and felt the burn of racism even in Grinnell.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25515

Title: Looking southeast at Dewar, Iowa, Schmitt Brothers
Description: Looking southeast at the town of Delmar, Iowa, with the Schmitt Brothers hardware and implement store in the background. Frank K. Schmitt opened the business in fall of 1900 with his cousin, Frank Fritz. After Fritz's death, Frank J.'s brother Edward entered the partnership in 1902.
Date Created: 1905
PID: grinnell:16844

Title: Looking southwest at Dewar, Iowa, Mt. Zion Church, Mount Zion Church
Description: Looking southwest at the town of Delmar, Iowa, with the Mt. Zion Church in the background. The Mt. Zion Church was moved to Dewar from Bennington, Iowa, in 1905.
Date Created: 1907
PID: grinnell:16845

Title: Loving v. Virginia
Description: In 1967, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously voted to dismantle all state laws prohibiting intermarriage, overriding legal restrictions based on race written in 1883. In this block, created by studio assistant Leina’ala Voss, the first page of the Loving v. Virginia court transcript serves as a partial background on which two rings and a set of keys have been arranged; these objects symbolize the bond of marriage and evoke the feeling of a shared home. To the left of the court transcript the artist has placed a net, surrounded by metal nails, buttons, and fragments of colored flowers. Beneath the netting the words “race mixing is communism” appear as a headline above an image of a white protester, his face concealed behind dark sunglasses. This image is juxtaposed against a photograph which shows laughing children and their parents, innocent and unbothered by the chaos which surrounds them. By placing symbolic objects representative of marriage and domesticity alongside a supreme court document and Loving v. Virginia protest imagery, this block depicts how love itself has become a highly politicized issue defenseless against the noxious gass of racism and hatred. This block also reminds the viewer that even today we must not take our rings and keys, and the people we love, for granted; for there once was a time when even the love we feel for our family was unlawful in the eyes of our constitution.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25516

Title: The Greatest Lie
Description: This block was created around the theme of agriculture, an industry inextricably linked to slavery in both the Caribbean and the United States. To echo themes of agriculture, the artist included images of the cotton plant, as well as organic shapes which resemble flowers, seeds, and other found natural objects. Corn kernels, buttons, and leaves unite the realms of the home and the outdoors, as was often the case on a working plantation. The center photograph depicts slaves on a cotton plantation engaging in agricultural work, however the workers are not in motion but are posted in a triangular composition facing the photographer. The second photograph is also from a plantation, yet the subjects are household workers as opposed to field hands. These images both show life on the plantation, but only to an extent; they are purposefully arranged and therefore tell a very different story than a candid photograph might tell. These juxtaposed images are symbolic representations of the censorship applied to stories of slavery in American culture and education.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25488