Research Catalog
Elijah Pierce's America
- Title
- Elijah Pierce's America / edited by Nancy Ireson and Zoé Whitley ; with contributions by Sampada Aranke, Theaster Gates, Michael D. Hall.
- Author
- Pierce, Elijah
- Publication
- Philadelphia : Paul Holberton Publishing, [2020]
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1 Item
| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Use in library | NK9798.P44 A4 2020g | Off-site |
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Details
- Additional Authors
- Description
- 206 pages : illustrations (chiefly color); 28 cm
- Summary
- Elijah Pierce (1892-1984) was born the youngest son of a former slave on a Mississippi farm. He began carving at an early age when his father gave him his first pocketknife. Pierce became known for his wood carvings nationally and then internationally for the first time in the 1970s. Accompanying a major exhibition at the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, this publication seeks to revisit the art of Elijah Pierce and see it in its own right, not simply as 'naive'. Elijah Pierce made his living as a barber; he was also a qualified preacher. Just as his barber shop was a place for gossip and meeting, so his art reflects his own and his community's concerns, but also universal themes. Through his carvings Pierce told his own life story and chronicled the African-American experience. His subjects ranged from politics to religious stories but he seldom distinguished the race of his figures - he thought of them as everyman. His secular carvings show his love of baseball, boxing, comics and the movies, and also reflect his appreciation for American heroes who fought for justice and liberty. In 1932, Pierce completed 'the Book of Wood', which he considered his best work. Originally carved as individual scenes, the completed 'Book' tells the story of Jesus carved in bas-relief. He and his wife Cornelia held "sacred art demonstrations" to explain the meaning of the Book of Wood. Exhibition: Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, USA (14.06.-07.09.2020).
- Subject
- Genre/Form
- Exhibition catalogs.
- Illustrated works.
- Note
- Published in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia from September 27, 2020 - January 10, 2021.
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 194-202) and indexes.
- Contents
- Elijah Pierce's America / Zoé Whitley and Nancy Ireson -- The Pierce effect: one artist's impact on museum practice in Columbus, Ohio / Michael D. Hall -- One nation under a groove: the USA in Elijah Pierce's hands / Zoé Whitley -- "Your life is a book, and every day is a page": Elijah Pierce's storytelling / Nancy Ireson -- Written in the wood: black life made visible / Sampada Aranke -- Preacher-barber-carver: the spiritual ecology of Elijah Pierce / Theaster Gates.
- Call Number
- NK9798.P44
- ISBN
- 9781911300878
- 1911300873
- OCLC
- 1139138639
- on1139138639
- Owning Institutions
- Columbia University Libraries