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February Issue
2010
University of
South Carolina in Columbia, SC, Offers Exhibit Which Traces the
History of the Coiled Basket
The University of South
Carolina in Columbia, SC, will present the exhibit, Grass Roots:
African Origins of an American Art, which traces the history
of the coiled basket, on view at the McKissick Museum, from Feb.
13 through May 8, 2010.
Through the story of the beautiful coiled basket, Grass Roots:
African Origins of an American Art revisits the history of
the southeastern US and demonstrates the enduring contribution
of African people and culture to American life. The exhibition
features more than 200 objects, including baskets made in Africa
and the American South, African sculptures and paintings from
the Charleston Renaissance period. The exhibit traces the history
of the coiled basket on two continents and shows how a simple
farm tool once used for processing rice has become a work of art
and an important symbol of African-American identity.
"This is a major project for McKissick Museum," said Lynn Robertson, executive director of the museum. "We first started documenting and collecting baskets 30 years ago. The research and field work we have supported enable us now to see them in a global context. I think if you asked most South Carolinians to name the symbols of our state, the things that best represent our geography and our culture, the sweetgrass basket would be near the top of that list."
The show is co-curated by Dale Rosengarten from the College of Charleston and Enid Schildkrout of the Museum for African Art (MfAA) in New York City. It's the result of 25 years of research and a collaboration with the MfAA, McKissick Museum, the College of Charleston's Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture and the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival Association of Mt. Pleasant, SC. Thirty of the exhibition's South Carolina baskets are from the University of South Carolina's collections.
Workshops, lectures and other programs will take place in February, March, and April. For a complete listing of events and programs, visit the museum's website at (www.cas.sc.edu/mcks) or call the Museum at 803/777-7251.
This exhibition was made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and the Met Life Foundation. Additional funding for the accompanying film was provided by the Henry and Sylvia Yaschik Foundation, the South Carolina Humanities Council, the South Carolina Arts Commission and the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor.
McKissick Museum is located on the historic University Horseshoe in downtown Columbia. The Museum is fully accessible to handicapped visitors. Metered visitor parking is available in the Pendleton Street garage next to the McKissick building.
For further information
check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call Ja-Nae Epps
at 803/777-2876 or visit (www.cas.sc.edu/MCKS/).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2010 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2010 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.