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The End of November: The Birds That Didn't Learn How to Fly by Thornton Dial
The painting references the black birds of the South who remained behind while relatives made the Great Migrations North.
Four Hundred Years of Free Labor by Joe Minter
The name says it all - rusted tools stand at attention, hauntingly displayed to throw stark long shadows against the dark dusty blue gallery wall.
History Refused to Die by Thornton Dial
The namesake of this exhibit earns its place - massive, imposing, and dark. The tattered and stained fabrics, okra stalks painted in pan-African colors rise up like an unattainable gate in the middle of the gallery.
Taking it all in amidst the quilts
Medallion Quilt by Loretta Pettway
The brightly-colored quilt stands proud at the entrance to the exhibit. This and other housetop quilts display the most practical and graphic works of art in the exhibit. I drew inspiration from this particular piece for a recent color story.