Today we’re looking at a new piece from Jetsonorama (also known as Chip Thomas), a talented artist/activist/historian who has made a name for himself by pasting up photos of great historical and cultural significance in indigenous and African American communities, as well as throughout the broader American narrative.
What makes his installations particularly remarkable is how he repurposes unconventional spaces, whether urban or rural, to display these powerful black-and-white photographs on a larger-than-life scale. By pairing his striking imagery with rich narratives and compelling backstories, Thomas can give voice to these critical subjects in a deeply meaningful way to the communities who view them.
Here we see his new piece as a warm gathering of the Junaluska community in Boone, North Carolina, recognized as one of the earliest African American communities in western North Carolina – one spanning from the 1800s to today.
“I was invited to learn this history last summer and to be a guest artist at Appalachian State University, which I did from April 15th – 24th,” says Thomas. “The image chosen for an installation in Junaluska comes from the early 1950s and is found in Keefe’s book. While installing it, a member of the community drove by and stopped to share with my assistant, TravisDonavan (art professor at ASU), that it was her mom who found this photo in her archives and shared it with Susan Keefe.”
Chip Thomas would like to thank Sarah Donavan, Travis Donavan, Ron McCullum of Appalachian State University and Mary Anne Redding the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts for
making this project possible. Thank you also to the Junaluska Heritage Association for the
use of the image from the Chocolate Bar. #applachia #blackappalachia #junaluska
#blackjoy
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
When it comes to street art, murals, graffiti, and related events around the world last year, we were running to keep up. You may have missed some of the people, thinkers, artists, projects, and c...
Dr. Chip Thomas and his “Painted Desert” project invites you to see the new face of Whiting Motel in Gray Mountain, Arizona. Once a haven for the weary travelers on their way to the Grand Canyon or L...
We’re in the Arizona desert today where the third season of Street Artist Jetsonorama’s “Painted Desert Project” has been gently and purposefully been rolling out this summer. The wholistic blend of t...
Just in time for May 1st, International Workers Day, we find a young member of the Hopi nation planting in his grandfather’s cornfield, thanks to this new project just completed by photographer/street...
Hooray! Spring is here in New York again. That means daffodils and crocuses are sprouting up among the soda cans and candybar wrappers and cigarette butts in the park's gardens, and new proud or f...