Art

Interview with artist Mary Ann Currier.

Artist and professor Bob Douglas discusses his experience as a young artist and then as a participant in the Louisville arts scene during the Black Arts movement. He discusses his experiences with racism in the workplace and his efforts to find a position. He studied at the University of Louisville, eventually attending graduate school and teaching courses in African American Art. He was one of the founders of a gallery enterprise in Louisville and was a major player in the Louisville Art Workshop. He also worked on urban renewal, improving the property rights of black people in Louisville. Douglass reflects on the impact of the Black Arts movement and the art movements he was involved in on progress for the Black community as a whole.

Duffy talks about his education, attending the Louisville Art Workshop, the Louisville School of Art, his friendships with Bob Thompson, G.C. Coxe, Fred Bond and Ed Hamlton. He discusses working at the Natural History Museum and for the Jefferson County Public Schools, creating a walking stick for a public art project, his commission for the Kentucky Arts Council, the mother and child theme in his work. He reflects on what public art is.

Duncan discusses his educational background, meeting Richard Hunt, creating Kae Mae--The Lesson from the Black Star for the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage in Louisiville, a bike stand he created at Fourth and Liberty, he reflects on public art versus art in a public place.

This is the second of two interviews conducted with Mr. Ealy in 1977. Mr. Ealy, who came to Louisville in 1918, discusses his recollections of politics, journalism and race relations in the city from 1910s to 1970s. Specifically, this interview contains information on the African American journalists I. Willis Cole (Louisville Leader), William Warley (Louisville News), and Frank Stanley, Sr. (Louisville Defender); machine politics in the city; his recollections of life in the African American community in Louisville; and his philosophy of race relations. He also describes his early life and education.

Mr. Ealy, who came to Louisville in 1918, discusses his recollections of politics, journalism and race relations in the city from 1910s to 1970s. Specifically, this interview contains information on the African American journalists I. Willis Cole (Louisville Leader), William Warley (Louisville News), and Frank Stanley, Sr. (Louisville Defender); machine politics in the city; his recollections of life in the African American community in Louisville; and his philosophy of race relations. He also describes his early life and education.

Interview with the well-known Jamaican artist on location in Brown's Town, Jamaica.

Long-time Louisville resident, C.J. Fletcher, created the Blight Out, Brighten Up project in 2012, a public art project in which community members created painted plywood boards used to secure vacant and abandoned buildings. Supported by Metro Louisville's Department of Inspection, Permits and Licenses and the Department of Public Works. Fletcher works in the Solid Waste Management Office of the Department of Public Works, Louisville Metro Government. Born in Nashville, TN, Fletcher was married to artist Eugene Fletcher. Eugene Fletcher died in 2014. More than 700 plywood boards have been painted to date. In addition to her employment with city government, Fletcher is painter who works in acrylic on canvas. Her husband, Eugene Fletcher was also an artist. C.J. Fletcher describes the project's origins, community involvement, and supporters. She discusses her art and Eugene Fletcher's art. She briefly mentions artists Ed Hamilton and William Duffy. Fletcher offers her views on public art and the creative process.

Dr Layne Porta worked in the UofL Writing Center initially as a MA student in 2013 and then returned as a PhD student to be an Assistant Director from 2016-2018. Dr. Gordon describes the challenges of learning to offer writing center help outside one’s area of expertise, and the importance of viewing consultations as collaboration rather than instruction. She discusses how she has incorporated lessons learned in the UofL Writing Center in her ongoing work at Rollins College, particularly the ideas that writing is an emotional act and that “every writer needs response,” two values she stresses when training consultants in her current role. Dr. Gordon also shares how she helped launch the partnership with Family Scholar House and took part in events like International Mother Language Day. She touches on how her time at the UofL Writing Center informed her decision to pursue writing center work and scholarship. Additionally, she recalls how she enjoyed working with Adam Robinson, Cassie Book, Amy Nichols, Ashly Bender, Jessica Winck, and Rachel Rodriguez.

Gorman talks about his background and how he became an artists, his work at the Carnegie Center for Art and History. He discusses his relationship to sculptor Barney Bright, developing a retrospective of and cataloging Bright's work, public versus private art, Brights work on the Firefighters memorial, Bright's work at Cave Hill Cemetery.