Frist Exhibit Commemorates Nashville's Civil Rights Movement

By Amelia Zeller

Motlow Buzz Contributing Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Frist Art Museum is proudly displaying an exhibit titled “We Shall Overcome: Civil Rights and the Nashville Press, 1957-1968” through Oct. 14, 2018 in its Conte Community Gallery.

The Conte Community Gallery is free to everyone, and it is located in the front section of the Frist Center at 919 Broadway. The exhibit is presented in honor of the 50^th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, which occurred in Memphis on April 4, 1968. It consists of 50 black and white photos from the Civil Rights movement in Nashville between 1957 and 1968. 

King's casket being transported from Memphis to Atlanta for burial.

First day of desegregation in Nashville schools Sept. 9, 1957.

In 1957, desegregation in Nashville schools began to take place. The exhibit also includes photos from the year that King was assassinated, and both events are among the photos in the exhibit. The Nashville sit-ins, which took place in 1960 as an effort to desegregate lunch counters in the area, are another historical event included in the photos.

Agitators attack a sit-in demonstrator at a Nashville lunch counter.

All photos in the exhibit were taken by the two daily newspapers in Tennessee at the time, The Tennessean and The Nashville Banner. The exhibit displays strong photos that helped shape the public's opinion at the time.

Although much change has come since the Civil Rights movement, these photos serve as a reminder of issues that are still relevant. Race is still a common subject in American life, and it is a good time to take another look back at the brave people who stood up for change so that we could have a more equal country.

"We always try to bring in knowledgeable exhibits that are relevant to the time," said Frist Museum Visitors Center Manager Bonnie Wells. "This exhibit is important because it refreshes the public's memory of what people have been through just for equality. It shows the passion and pain that drove the Civil Rights movement."

The Frist Art Museum hosted or will host three events related to the exhibit. At noon on April 14, there was a panel discussion titled “Voices from the Front Lines” with participants from the local Civil Rights movement.

“The pictures themselves are powerful, but nothing makes the movement more real than the first-person accounts that were given at this event,” said Wells. “No one can better express the inequality of the times than the ones who were there.”

Among those who spoke were King Hollands, Gloria McKissack, and Rip Patton.

 At 7 p.m. on April 16, there was a concert titled “Songs of Freedom” in the Frist Auditorium. The concert included spirituals from slave days, freedom songs created in the civil rights era, and the jazz that resulted from these times. This event featured performances by local artists and musicians. “Songs of Freedom” was presented with the future National Museum of African-American Music in Nashville.

Another event to be held in association with “We Shall Overcome” will be a two-day educator workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 19 and 20, which is open to K-12 teachers of all subjects. This workshop will allow teachers to examine the photos in the exhibit while participating in a group gallery discussion that will allow them to gather teaching materials. The event is limited to 20 educators, and registration is due by July 16. Breakfast, lunch, studio activities, materials and gallery admission will be $50 for Frist members and $60 for non-members.

It is the perfect time to view the Frist's “We Shall Overcome” exhibit because the country is still very conscious of race relations. Those who inspired through the stormy Civil Rights era deserve recognition, and these powerful photographs take individuals from 1954 to 1968 with a whirlwind of emotions provoked by the images of the times.

The Frist Art Museum has a vision to inspire people through art to look at their world in new ways, and this exhibit brings that vision to life. Regardless of skin color, individuals can benefit humanity by learning of the heroism of people from the past and learning more about things that are important.

For more information, visit www.Fristartmuseum.org. 

Historic Samurai Collection Is Here in Nashville Till Jan.16, 2017.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is presenting a historic samurai collections including weapons, armor, techniques and the Japanese way of life to the people of Nashville from Nov. 4, 2016 to Jan. 16, 2017.

The exhibition "Samurai: The Way of the Warrior” examines the traditions of this legendary class warrior, whose political dominance affected Japanese art and culture for nearly 700 years. The collection is drawn from the rich holdings of the Museo Stibbert, a museum primarily devoted to arms and armors in Florence, Italy.

“It is considered the largest museum in the world outside of Japan in samurai collection,” said Frist Center tour guide and teacher Keith McLusky.

 The exhibition features more than 90 different functional and decorative objects created between the 15th and 19th centuries, providing information and insights about the samurai's traditions, lifestyles, morals, culture and aesthetic code. The exhibition includes a mini-cinema room that displays a small part of the program, "Samurai and Cinema".

The selective collection includes up to nine full suits of armor, 12 expressive samurai helmets or so-called "Kabuto", and spectacular helmets or "Kawari Kabuto". While the samurai armor’s main function is to protect its wearer, it is also incredibly visually stunning, constructed from materials such as bearskin, silk, buffalo horns, and horsehair. The armors display the power, elegance and proudness of the individual samurai. The armors are usually displayed at home when they are not in use.

The sword of the samurai (Katana) is widely recognized and popular across the globe for its aesthetic design, cutting-edge technology, effort in its craftsmanship, and its performance. The katanas are not always the same. They vary in many sizes and designs and have their own purposes. However, the katana is not the only main weapon of the samurai. The long bow (Yumi) is also a very effective weapon of the samurai. The bow is incredibly tall, typically over 2 meters. Since the Yumi is not that much different from other types of long bows in other cultures, it is not as widely known as the katana.

The term samurai refers to elite warriors who played an important role in Japanese politics and society from the late 12th century until the mid-19th Century. The samurai is incredibly brave, courageous, honorable and loyal.

"Samurai are elite fighters, very well-trained,” said Keith McLusky. "They live to fight. Even if samurai don't fight anymore, they still train, wear uniform and armors, and get involved in civil life and politics. They will still display their armor and wear their uniforms at home to show that they are proud samurais, fighters."

The admission to the First Center is free for visitors that are 18 or younger and $12 for adults. College students with ID only need to pay $9. The Frist Center is open seven days a week on the following schedule: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday; and 1 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information about the exhibit “Samurai: The way of the Warrior”, visit www.fristcenter.org/calender/detail/samurai-the-way-of-warrior.

Frist Center To Showcase New Exhitbits For Spring

By Brandi Kornguth

Motlow Buzz Reporter

         NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The Frist Center for the Visual Arts will be running three exhibitions through May and June 2014, with one showing Eastern influence on Western artists and the others expressing different artists’ perspectives on history and war.

   

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts

      The “Looking East: Western Artists and the Allure of Japan” exhibition, organized by the Museum of Fine Arts of Boston, showcased a variety of pieces from early Japanese culture. The exhibition also showed works by legends such as Monet and Van Gogh, who were heavily influenced by Japanese culture and art. Van Gough’s “Postman Joseph Roulin” was also a particularly interesting piece, as it showed an infusion of Japanese art and his own personal style of painting.

            Local Nashville artist Lain York’s  “Selected Works” was a featured 

exhibition as well. The exhibition showcased contemporary pieces that displayed 

an abstract interpretation of political stories and events in American history. 

York hopes that people who may not have a lot of experience with abstract 

painting will still have a good experience with the work.

            “I feel it is very important to open up a conversation,” said York, “For the work on the wall to be a catalyst for the viewer to bring his or her own experiences into that conversation.”                      
             The Francisco Goya “Disasters Of War” collection expressed different  aspects of the Peninsular War of 1808-1814. According to Motlow Art Instructor Angela Burks, the collection expressed the “harsh realities of war in a very relentless way”. The images were overwhelming, both visually and emotionally, but displayed an honest perspective of the destruction of war.               

  “Steven Mumford’s War Journals 2003-2013” showcased the drawings, journals and paintings by the New York artist, chronicling his visits to war zones in the Middle East over its 10-year occupation. His works spoke to the human experience, showing people in their most vulnerable and candid moments. It displayed the humanity the public wouldn’t often be shown on news telecasts of war coverage, which was particularly fascinating and humbling.

   In comparing the latter two collections, Mumford’s was much easier to digest and take in for a long period of time than Goya’s, almost like a palate cleanser. Goya’s work evoked emotions of anger and intensity, whereas Mumford’s collection brought up fewer negative feelings, despite also containing images of war.

         “Going from Goya to Mumford was similar to getting a much-needed commercial break,” said Burks.

“Looking East” will be on exhibit in the Ingram Gallery, and Lain York’s “Selected Works” will be displayed in the Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery, both showing through May 11. “Steven Mumford’s War Journals” and Goya’s “Disasters of War” will be on display through June 8.
          Admission is regularly $10, but students with their ID will receive $3 off the regular price and free admission on Thursdays and Fridays from 5-9 p.m. Admission will allow access to each of the galleries.
          The Frist Center is a non-profit museum that opened in 2001 and has become an integral part of Nashville’s ever-growing art scene and culture. For more information, please visit http://www.fristcenter.org    

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