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: 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: From Prosecution to Presidency
Description: “A Great Grandson of Slaves Leads Grinnell College” reads the title of an interview on Iowa Public Radio with current Grinnell College President Raynard Kington. This block is centered around an image of Kington’s ancestors, forcing viewers to contemplate the journey from slavery to abolition. Though the 13th amendment may have legally abolished slavery in 1865, the path towards freedom has yet to be fully realized. To this day, the legacy of slavery is a prominent and undeniable feature of American institutions and identity. In this block, the artist used many embellishments and layered images to represent the many lenses and layers through which we examine our complex and overlapping histories. In some instances, stories obscure and silence others. In other cases, they bring new dimensions to known histories and help us re-examine our past. The artist’s hope is that this artwork will lead viewers to examine what lenses they might ascribe to their personal histories relating to slavery and abolition.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25486

Title: Generations
Description: This block depicts two parallel scenes: the photograph on the right captures a class of school children, and the photo on the left shows a group of people at some celebration. The figures in the photo on the left are wearing formal attire even as some kneel in the grass in the foreground. Is this really a celebration? If so, what are they celebrating? Although it is difficult to ascertain who these people are and why their photographs were being taken, the two photographs call to mind the nonstop progression of generational change. The polka-dots, stars, and diamond-shaped flower petals appear to rotate around the two photographs in a circular motion, creating the sensation of a whirlpool in constant revolution. In what ways do generational shifts impact how we visualize freedom today?
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25484

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: The Father of Grinnell
Description: Grinnell’s history in relation to slavery often points to the man pictured in this block. J.B. Grinnell was a known advocate of abolition, and founded the very town of Grinnell on anti-slavery principles. He worked with the Underground Railroad to help slaves escape to Canada and served in Iowa’s Congress, even though his views on abolition made him quite unpopular amongst many Midwesterners. In the process of researching the life of J.B. Grinnell, the creator of this block was directed to a letter written by L.F. Parker describing an “incipient mob” driving five fugitive slaves out of the town of Grinnell. This letter encourages us to unpack the many layers of white abolitionist intention, and make distinctions between theory and action. While J.B. Grinnell had clearly intended for his town to be a space to live the tenets of the abolitionist movement, in practice this was not always the case. By showcasing this story, the artist urges viewers to contemplate the many phases and evolutions of freedom and abolition, knowing that good intention has yet to be enough.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25487

Title: The Journey
Description: This block was created around the theme of the journey. We all go through different journeys in our lives, some longer and more challenging than others, but every journey is important and demands courage and strength. This block honors those who were challenged by a specific journey unique to American history and relevant, even more specifically, to the state of Iowa; the story of the Underground Railroad. This block is comprised of a map of the Underground Railroad in the South, framed by a smattering of screws, pill capsules, buttons, stars, and other found objects. It also includes a photograph of the Lewelling House, a popular anti-slavery meeting house and renown safe stop on the Underground Railroad in an area of the Midwest particularly unfriendly to slaves and freed blacks during the years before the Civil War. Although the area of the South portrayed in the map is, of course, miles from the Lewelling House, the experience of black people in America is part of our entire country’s history, not just the areas most ravaged by institutional slavery and injustice. Although we often associate slavery with the American South, we must not forget that slavery was a national issue which demanded the attention of every city, small town, and individual, much like issues of racism still demand every person’s attention, no matter their race, today. The strewn nails and capsules surrounding the images in this block allude to journeys of different kinds, both physical and emotional. As our eyes follow the paths drawn by these loose objects we may be reminded of journeys we have taken in our own lives.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25495

Title: The Lewelling House
Description: The goal of this block is to awaken in the viewer the historical ache that is the legacy of slavery in Iowa. Superimposed over an image of Iowa is a road map of the Underground Railroad, with squares and circles placed along the routes to indicate safety for runaway slaves. In the upper right hand corner of the state the artist has placed an image of the Lewelling house of Henry County, Iowa, a meeting place for abolitionist activists and one of the stops on the Underground Railroad. The stones and flowers which surround Iowa, vibrant and glimmering, allude to the power of preservation. With preservation in mind, we must ask ourselves: How can artists and activists revisit the historical bondage of our ancestors while attempting to move onwards to freedom? J.B. Grinnell founded Grinnell with abolition as one of his key tenets. As we peer into the history of Iowa we confront the question of whether Grinnell College continues to protect the freedom of the individual, or whether we have fallen into neoliberal agendas that serve our oppressors. The evocation of discomfort through the topic of slavery serves as a reminder of the necessity to reimagine the realities of imperialism within and without the U.S.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25482

Title: Women of the Revolution
Description: The story of the Haitian Revolution is steered by powerful characters such as Toussaint L'Ouverture, Henri Christophe, and Jean-Jacques Dessalines, military commanders and monarchs who facilitated the Haitian independence movement during the French Revolution. However, these men were not the only people involved in the dramatic uprising. Haitian women, too, played a large role in the rebellion, and this block honors the female freedom fighters who often go unnoticed in modern tellings of the story. In the lower center of the block the artist has placed a Haitian ten gourd banknote, featuring sergeant and lieutenant Sanité Bélair who fought bravely under the command of Toussaint LOuverture. To her left is a depiction of Marie-Jeanne Lamartiniére, a Haitian soldier who fought in male uniform and is said to have greatly boosted the spirits of her male counterparts with her invigorating bravery. On the right hand side of the block we see an image of Cécile Fatiman, a mambo (Vodou priestess) said to have participated in the Vodou ritual at Bwa Kayiman, a ceremony during which the first slave insurrection was planned. Although these women, and others like them, have not made it into many history books, this block honors the sacrifices they made for the freedom of their people and country.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25518