Search results | Digital Grinnell

Title: Behind the Trees
Description: The center image of this block provides the viewer with a window into the world of Haiti before the revolution. Framed by lucious trees, this view shows the rolling hills and lush landscape of the island, including an expansive plantation near the bottom of the frame. In the foreground stands a muscular plantation worker, squinting up at the viewer from beneath his straw hat. This image is one of many prints and paintings that were circulated in Europe in the 18th century depicting the colonization of the island of Hispaniola, one of many Caribbean islands whose people were enslaved by French and British colonizers for the mass production of sugarcane and molasses. As we peer into this scene, we are put into the shoes of the Europeans who confronted slavery and racism from thousands of miles away. Some endorsed this violent exploitation and commended the officers deemed brave enough to consort with savages, while others silently disapproved, and even fewer spoke out in opposition. Today, as we confront issues of privilege and race in different and more nuanced ways, we must stop and think: are we content to quietly oppose, or is it our duty to speak out against racism and violence? As artists, activists, and students we must push aside the lush leaves and trees and see racism and oppression for what it really is.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25504

Title: Bondage and Freedom
Description: This block memorializes the pain and violence inflicted on black bodies in both Haiti and America during the time of slavery. The artist has placed drawings of an active foot and hand, body parts most commonly immobilized by chains and ropes during slavery, at the center of this piece, and surrounded them with leaves, flowers, keys, broken chains, drops of blood, and long-lost pieces of jewelry, items evocative of a past left behind and destroyed at the hands of slavery. These items appear to rotate in a circle around the foot and hand caught in the moments before taking a step or lifting the page of a book, giving the piece an element of movement and the feeling of ceaseless change. This piece encourages the viewer to remember the terribleness of physical bondage and enslavement, yet it also celebrates the liberation from these chains and the physical freedom many of us have come to take for granted. Furthermore, it reminds us to always keep moving towards a brighter future no matter what we may have left behind.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25502

Title: Captured
Description: This block aims to capture the ironic nature of the institution of slavery. This block includes an image of slaves on a plantation, framed by various found objects. The artist has incorporated a crucifix into the design, signifying the use of christianity as a means justify the enslavement of bodies. The image conjures a feeling of darkened antiquity and tarnish, further accentuated by rusty keys and other metal objects which surround the photograph, alluding to how the people in the image were utilized for the purpose of profit and industry with no attention paid to their human needs. When we consider visualizing freedom we must consider the nexus of capital and material and its effects on the enslaved body, a topic unfortunately still relevant in capitalist America today.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25485

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: 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 Honor of Mary Touvestre
Description: This block honors Mary Touvestre, a freed slave who risked her life to protect the Union army from a disastrous naval attack. This block includes an image of the plans for the Confederate ship The Merrimack, plans that were once stolen by Mary Touvestre, a housekeeper for a Confederate engineer in Norfolk. After hearing the engineer speak about the importance of the ship, Touvestre recognized the danger it imposed upon the Union’s naval forces who were blockading Norfolk’s supplies from Europe, imploring her to steal the plans for the ship and embark on a 195 mile trip through enemy lines to inform the Department of the Navy in Washington of the impending danger. In this block, the danger posed by the ship is highlighted by nails embedded around the head of the warship. The tangling string that weaves through the block depicts the length of the journey, and the risk shouldered by a black woman traveling on foot through Confederate lands. Touvestre report urged officials to speed up plans for constructing an ironclad ship for the Union army, saving them from an ugly attack for which they would not have been prepared. If Touvestre had never provided the intelligence, the USS Merrimac would have been given several more unchallenged weeks to quite possibly disrupt the Union’s blockade of Norfolk. The purpose of this block is to celebrate and honor the countless slaves and freed blacks living within Confederate regions who risked their lives to serve the Union army. In this piece, we also recognize the wider sacrifices made by black people to support a country that has continued to deny them humanity and safety.
Date Created: 2017
PID: grinnell:25508

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