Information for Children's Hospital Of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham, AL

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Children's Hospital Of Alabama

Name: Children's Hospital Of Alabama Address: 1600 Seventh Avenue South Birmingham, AL 35233 Phone: 205-939-9100 Beds: 219 Web Address: http://www.chsys.org

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Bessie on the Hudson...
05/21/2012

Thanks to Film Forum, you can catch the only big screen appearance of blues legend Bessie Smith tomorrow night (8/10) .

This conjures my own memory of Bessie...and the photo I took, during a road trip thru the MS Delta in 2001, of the room where she died.

The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith is playing now at St. Luke's Theater. Click here for tickets.

North Carolina to ban gay marriage, sharing the story of the Loving family became more relevant than ever.

"Forty-five years ago, sixteen states still prohibited interracial marriage. Then, in 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court considered the case of Richard Perry Loving, a white man, and his wife, Mildred Loving, a woman of African American and Native American descent, who had been arrested for miscegenation nine years earlier in Virginia. The Lovings were not active in the Civil Rights movement but their tenacious legal battle to justify their marriage changed history when the Supreme Court unanimously declared Virginia's anti-miscegenation law—and all race-based marriage bans—unconstitutional. LIFE magazine photographer Grey Villet's intimate images were uncovered by director Nancy Buirski during the making of The Loving Story..." (source)

Although the ICP exhibit in now closed, its related documentary film is still available on HBO GO. While watching it I found myself wondering what I would have done in a similar situation. My husband and I are not an exact match either (age and religious differences). He tells me I give up too easily and sometimes he's right.

How far would you go to fight for something you believe in? How far would you go to fight for love?

In the meantime, here's a list of the southerners who took home awards last night:

BOOK:

ANew Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen

by Hugh Acheson

(Clarkson Potter)

WRITING:

MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award

John T. Edge

Saveur

“BBQNation”

And the biggies:

BEST CHEF: SOUTH (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS)

Chris Hastings

Hot and Hot Fish Club

Birmingham, AL

BEST CHEF: SOUTHEAST (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)

Hugh Acheson

Five and Ten

Athens, GA

Linton Hopkins

Restaurant Eugene

Atlanta

AMERICA’S CLASSICS (Presented by The Coca-Cola Company)

Jones Bar-B-Q Diner

219 West Louisiana St., Marianna, AR

Owners: James and Betty Jones

I think in a bigger city there is more work to be had and there is a trust that people have for you as a designer.

Working from a small town, the first question people wonder is “if you’re such a good designer why are you living in a small town in Alabama/” It’s not something they come out and ask but it’s an underlying thing they think until they work with you and then they realize it's a lifestyle choice and not a setback. Most of our clients see it as an asset. They feel like we give them something fresh that the designers in the bigger cities can’t give them.

You talk a lot about “slow design.” Can you explain what that is?

Slow Design approaches design from a holistic (individuals, society, and environment) view, with consideration to the social factors as well as the short and long term impacts of the design and materials used. We use the Slow Design as a way to rethink not only the design but the needs of the client.

Traditionally Slow Design has these six components (defined by the slow lab project) 

1. Reveal:  Slow design reveals spaces and experiences in everyday life that are often missed or forgotten, including the materials and processes that can easily be overlooked in an artifact’s existence or creation.

2. Expand: Slow design considers the real and potential “expressions” of artifacts and environments beyond their perceived functionality, physical attributes and lifespans.

3. Reflect: Slowly-designed artifacts and environments induce contemplation and ‘reflective consumption.’ 

4. Engage: Slow design processes are “open source” and collaborative, relying on sharing, co-operation and transparency of information so that designs may continue to evolve into the future.

5. Participate: Slow design encourages people to become active participants in the design process, embracing ideas of conviviality and exchange to foster social accountability and enhance communities.

6. Evolve: Slow design recognizes that richer experiences can emerge from the dynamic maturation of artifacts and environments over time. Looking beyond the needs and circumstances of the present day, Slow Design processes and outcomes become agents of both preservation and transformation.

Who else in the south is doing notable design work and what is it about their work that you find unique or appealing:

From crafting to farming, Southern tradition cultivates beauty. Good design stimulates intellect and elevates the lives that exist around it. Here are a few examples of Southern High Design:

Belle Chevre: This goat cheese from rural Alabama is sold in Beverly Hills and Dean & Deluca in New York City. Tasia Malakasis is the face of this passionate company. Tasia has so much vision for her cheeses. Not only are the cheeses innovative (she has a whole line of breakfast cheeses) but the packaging is hip, with an appeal to a younger demographic. Her goal is to sell cheese back to the French and she will do it. For a small town Alabama Cheese she is already sold on the east and west coast of the U.S. 

Knobstoppers & Cake Vintage: Featuring paper goods and accessories for the table that are sold at retailers such as Anthropologie, West Elm, and Williams-Sonoma. They have a traditional classic stye and design. They have unique table papers for food. Classic designs used in contemporary ways. So their innovation is more with reuse than unique design.

Bella Cucina: The pleasures of dining with Bella Cucina's foods as well as their ceramics, linens and home goods are a luxury you can take home with you- or enjoy at their shopping and dining location, Porta Via in Atlanta, GA. It's hard to beat Italy when it comes to food. Smith has done a killer job with the design and his wife has done an incredible job with the food. Just look at the packaging and it evokes what is on the inside and what the whole company is about. Simple, detailed, chic.

Wesley Baker of Baker Binding: Based in Anniston, Alabama, Wesley Baker handcrafts books with quality practices and materials. It's no wonder that his clients include the famous luxury brand Asprey in London.  The craftsmanship of Wes is amazing. I love working with him and on every project he puts so much time into the smallest detail. It’s nice to have that in today’s world where you have to go with the standard. When you work with Wes there are no standards. It's all custom.

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Rausch's photography can be seen in The New York Times, Travel & Leisure, Garden and Gun, Southern Living, Ladies Home Journal, and Veranda Magazine, just to name a few. His design work can be seen at Anthropologie, Hilton Hotels, Whole Foods, Ted Montana Grill, The Waldorf Astoria, and Billy Reid.

Robert's devotion to Slow Design is evident in his work and the clients his work attracts.

He works out of a magnificently converted historic building in downtown Tuscumbia and he lives on a small farm with his wife and four children.

With his film, Booker's Place, Raymond DeFelitta gives us that chance.

On the Tribeca Film site, William Goldberg writes: "In 1965, documentary filmmaker Frank DeFelitta traveled to Mississippi to shoot a film on the subject of racism in the American South. As he went about observing life in Mississippi and interviewing the locals, Frank was introduced to an African-American waiter named Booker Wright. With utter candor and a brazen lack of concern for his own well-being, Booker appeared on tape in the documentary and spoke openly and honestly about the realities of living in a racist society. This brief interview forever changed the lives of Booker and his family, and more than 40 years later, Frank's son Raymond DeFelitta (director of City Island) returns to the site of his father's film to examine the repercussions of this fateful interview." (source)

Mr. DeFelitta answered some poignant questions for Southernist about his trip to Mississippi, what he found there, and the experience of making this film:

Is your father’s original piece still viewable anywhere?

Not at the moment. I took it off Youtube when we started negotiating with NBC for the footage to be used in Booker's Place. Hopefully we'll be able to include it as a DVD extra.

 Was this your first experience with Mississippi?

Yes, I'd never been in anywhere in the south except Florida...and that was Miami!

 What preconceived notions did you go to Mississippi with? Did any of that change as you worked on this project?

I had no preconceived notions about the people. My sense was that it was a different place from the place that my father had visited fifty years ago and that was correct, to a large extent. What I wasn't prepared for was the level of poverty. You hear about these things as statistics but until you see it up close, you don't realize that that "other America" truly does exist and it's appalling. Gives a special jolt to the whole "one-percent" bullshit and the money being spent to elect Presidents who can do nothing about the poverty I'm talking about.

It is not often that people get a chance to go back and talk about certain things that happened during that time in Mississippi. How much resistance were you met with when you first got there and how did you overcome that and get folks talking?

The people in Mississippi--at least the ones I talked with--are eloquent and interested in their own history. They've thought a lot about these issues, about their dark past and want to explore the truth of it with others since they feel (rightly) that they've been stereotyped over the years

as a land filled with Klan members and nothing else. The only thing they ever made clear that would make them uncomfortable would be if they sensed we were there to patronize them i.e. portray them as "hicks" and in some way demean them. 

What would have happened to/with this film if you had not been able to get folks to talk to you? Could you have still made this film – would the story have been worth telling – if you didn’t get the interviews you got (e.g. the judge)?

No, there's no historical retrospective possible, to my mind, without witnesses and direct testimony. It's what separates a true narrative documentary from, say, a History Channel documentary. Not that I'm knocking what HC docs, but they are a different breed than what I do and am interested in.

It seems that your dad may have suspected that something bad happened to Booker. Was he surprised to learn of his demise?

Yes as was I.

That last sound bite on the trailer is a bit gut-wrenching. Does your father truly regret leaving Booker in? Would he have done Booker a disservice if he had left him out, even if it meant sparing his life?

I think he has mixed feelings, true ambivalence (which defined is: strong feelings in either direction). Ultimately I think he realizes that censoring Booker "for his own good" would have been just as patronizing an act as any white person had committed on Booker through his life.

What do you expect that New York audiences will think of or get from this film?

I don't think of NY audiences as a separate group than other audiences really. I hope any audience gets a chance to see the tragedy of the Civil Rights struggle through a fresh lens--that of one man, and not one of the heroes (King, Evers) but a simple working man. Personalizing the story will, I hope, give people a more nuanced perspective on the subject and how many-sided the story of the struggle was.

Is this just another sad Mississippi story? Why is this story important?

Because it's the story of a great movement but seen from the point of view of one man's life and his reactions to his everyday treatment, his life's history and how he finally broke down and spoke out.

In what ways did it seem that the fallout from the 60s was still affecting the lives of Mississippians today?

In the south it seems like every conversation eventually circles back to the subject of race. It's their original sin and they can't get away from the subject. So yes, in terms of dealing with the past and trying to move forward into the future--and making filmmakers and journalists and

other interested parties understand the complexity of their history--there is still much fallout.

Is there another narrative about Mississippi that will begin to be told one day?

Progress is slow but it's undeniable. The town of Greenwood, Miss. was a terrorist state for black people back when my father made his film. And the schools were segregated. Neither of those things are true anymore--something that none of the white community’s leaders who my father shows in his film would have ever thought possible. So even though much remains to be done, those are two major changes. I think life in the south is like life for all of us. There's an inextricable pull to events. We can't go backward so we must go forward.

Booker's Place is now available on-demand and is playing at Noho 7 in Los Angeles, CA and opens at Quad Cinema in New York, NY tomorrow.

Please also visit the blog of Booker's granddaughter Yvette for additional riveting commentary and thought provoking conversation.

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" running through my head for the past few days. The song had organically become part of my cultural currency, like so many songs that you just know although you never purposefully learned them. I never thought much about what the song addressed and why it would be important to "make General Robert E. Lee come out with all due respect." I guess sometimes your most important education about things comes from the radio rather than a book.

How did you first become familiar with Mr. Holley’s work?

I have known of Lonnie's work since the 1990s. I am originally from Birmingham, AL, where Lonnie is from.  His work is part of the Birmingham Museum of Art's collection, and he is well known in the Birmingham community. His work is also part of the Folk Art Museum's collection here in New York and other museums throughout the country.

What about his work made you want to represent him?

The work is both original and compelling. Lonnie transforms found materials into assemblages and sculptures that evoke everyday life.

Where does Mr. Holley’s work fit in with current offerings in contemporary art?

Many artists make assemblages and sculpture. What is important is to make work that is unique.

In what ways does the work of each of the three artists in the current show relate to each other (if at all)?

Each artist combines disparate materials in innovative ways, resulting in works that hover between painting, drawing and sculpture. 

How has Mr. Holley’s work (both in this show and his solo show in 2010) been received by the New York art audience?

It has been very well received, both critically and commercially.  Time Out New York and The New Yorker reviewed his solo show [in 2010] and the work has been acquired by both contemporary and folk art/outsider art collectors and by the The Progressive Art Collection.

What, if any, challenges are there in representing a Southern artist in New York City?

I don't think the challenges are any different in representing a Southern artist or one that is from any other part of the country. 

My impression is that Southern writers have reached a level of respect/acceptance beyond the region faster than other types of arts and culture being produced. What is your response to that?

That might be explained by the larger audiences that literature and music inherently have, compared to the visual arts. 

Has art made by Southerners had a harder time being seen as being beyond folk, craft or outsider? 

I would say no.  There are and have been many successful non outsider artists from the South, although the older ones usually left in early adulthood, like Robert Rauschenberg, and moved to New York.  The photographer William Eggleston has had great success and I believe he still lives in Tennessee. I show two other artists from the South, Amy Pleasant (Birmingham) and Jim Richard (New Orleans) and they have strong careers, although they are not yet well known. It's not as important for an artist to move to New York as it used to be. 


Pitch is on view at Jeff Bailey Gallery through April 28.