University of Kentucky Memorial Hall mural: Difference between revisions

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Artist: Ann Rice O’Hanlon

Year: 1934

Date of Action: November 25, 2015

Region: North America

Location: Lexington, Kentucky, United States of America

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion

Medium: Painting, Public Art

Confronting Bodies: University of Kentucky

Description of Artwork: Ann Rice O'Hanlon was a 20th-century American visual artist who painted murals. An alumna of the University of Kentucky, O'Hanlon painted a wall-length mural (fresco) inside the university's Memorial Hall in 1934 as part of the Treasury Relief Art Project, with funding from the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The 11 x 38 foot fresco depicts the history of Kentucky through a series of vignettes, including explorers on the frontier, horse racing and scenes of downtown Lexington, the construction of log cabins, fishing off a bridge, passengers riding in a train, and horse training. It includes depictions of African-Americans picking tobacco in the fields, white people dancing to music played by black musicians, and a Native American peering from the woods at a white woman gathering water from a stream.

The Incident: After students of color at the University of Kentucky objected to the mural, the administration draped the work in white fabric. In a November 23 statement issued two weeks after a meeting with two dozen African-American students, University President Eli Capilouto related this comment:

"One African American student recently told me that each time he walks into class at Memorial Hall he looks at the black men and women toiling in tobacco fields and receives the terrible reminder that his ancestors were enslaved, subjugated by his fellow humans. Worse still, the mural provides a sanitized image of that history."

On November 25, 2015, the administration covered the entire fresco in white sheets. Capiluoto referred to the shrouding as an interim action, as a "long-term answer will take some time." Capilouto also created a task force made up of faculty, staff and students.

Results of Incident: The American poet, novelist, activist and farmer Wendell Berry wrote an op-ed in the Lexington Herald-Leader denouncing the University of Kentucky’s decision. Excerpts:

"I don’t believe Ann Rice O’Hanlon would willingly have painted 'a painful and degrading personification of a false, romanticized rendering of our shared history.' I don’t think she did. I don’t think, to quote President Eli Capilouto again, that 'the mural provides a sanitized image of that history' or that her 'artistic talent actually painted over the stark reality' of slavery."

More:

"The president further objects to the fresco on the ground that it reminds 'one black student... that his ancestors were slaves.' That statement has at least two arresting implications: (1) that black students should not ever be reminded that their ancestors were slaves, and (2) that white students should not ever be reminded that their ancestors were slave owners. Do students, then, study history at our 'flagship university' in order to forget it?"

The task force concluded the mural should be displayed, but with a wall text alongside it to give historical context to the work. The mural remained covered until April 2017 when the drapery was removed and the mural was once again put on display but with signage describing its history, including the concerns voiced about it over the years.

In a blog post, UK President Capilouto stated:

“Against that backdrop, the concern, for many, is that the mural does not adequately reflect the violence and inhumanity that many experienced through subjugation and slavery,” he said. “Those questions of intent, context and perception have become part of a larger conversation at UK about racial climate. And, as is so often the case, we’ve been led by students.”

Source:
• http://www.kentucky.com/opinion/editorials/article100481602.html

Victory: A Year On, University of Kentucky Uncovers Controversial Mural Depicting Slaves, NCAC, BY SVETLANA MINTCHEVA, orig. post Dec 3, 2015; Update: Apr 21, 2017

Controversial UK mural uncovered, this time with context, BY LINDA BLACKFORD, March 24, 2017

Wendell Berry vs. Political Correctness, By ROD DREHER, December 1, 2015

Op-Ed: Censors on the flagship, BY WENDELL BERRY, November 30, 2015

Moral of UK mural debate: mutual respect: Kudos for uncovering a work of art and unveiling a new commitment to a diverse, inclusive campus, Sept 7, 2016

http://ukcc.uky.edu/cgi-bin/dynamo?maps.391+campus+0049

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 |date_of_action=November 25, 2015
 |location=Lexington, Kentucky, United States of America
-|description_of_content=Ann Rice O'Hanlon depicted American Southern life in a 38 feet wide by 11 feet tall fresco for the University of Kentucky's Memorial Hall. The artist was an alumna of the University of Kentucky who painted the work in 1934 as part of the Public Works of Art project. She used bright colors, solid figures, and a large landscape view to capture a variety of visual vignettes. The mural, which covers one wall of the lobby of Memorial Hall, depicts the history of Kentucky, including explorers on the frontier, horse racing and scenes of downtown Lexington, the construction of log cabins, fishing off a bridge, passengers riding in a train, and horse training. It also depicts four African-Americans in a line bending over to pick tobacco, white individuals dancing to music played by black musicians, and a Native American peering from the woods at a white woman gathering water from a stream.
+|description_of_content=Ann Rice O'Hanlon was a 20th-century American visual artist who painted murals. An alumna of the University of Kentucky, O'Hanlon painted a wall-length mural (fresco) inside the university's Memorial Hall in 1934 as part of the Treasury Relief Art Project, with funding from the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The 11 x 38 foot fresco depicts the history of Kentucky through a series of vignettes, including explorers on the frontier, horse racing and scenes of downtown Lexington, the construction of log cabins, fishing off a bridge, passengers riding in a train, and horse training. It includes depictions of African-Americans picking tobacco in the fields, white people dancing to music played by black musicians, and a Native American peering from the woods at a white woman gathering water from a stream.
-|description_of_incident=In early November 2015, around two dozen black students expressed offense to University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto at the depiction of slavery in the mural. On November 23, 2015, Capiluoto released a statement saying,
+|description_of_incident=After students of color at the University of Kentucky objected to the mural, the administration draped the work in white fabric. In a November 23 statement issued two weeks after a meeting with two dozen African-American students, University President Eli Capilouto related this comment:
 "One African American student recently told me that each time he walks into class at Memorial Hall he looks at the black men and women toiling in tobacco fields and receives the terrible reminder that his ancestors were enslaved, subjugated by his fellow humans. Worse still, the mural provides a sanitized image of that history."
-On November 25, 2015, the entire fresco was covered in white sheets. Capiluoto referred to the shrouding as an interim action, as a "long-term answer will take some time."
+On November 25, 2015, the administration covered the entire fresco in white sheets. Capiluoto referred to the shrouding as an interim action, as a "long-term answer will take some time." Capilouto also created a task force made up of faculty, staff and students.
-|description_of_result=The novelist Wendell Berry, related to the artist by marriage and a University of Kentucky alumni, published a critique of the shrouding in the Lexington Herald-Leader, arguing, “Ann painted the Memorial Hall fresco in 1934, when it took some courage to declare so boldly that slaves had worked in Kentucky fields...Nobody would have objected if she had left them out. The uniform clothing and posture of the workers denotes an oppressive regimentation. The railroad, its cars filled with white passengers, seems to be borne upon the slaves’ bent backs.”
+|description_of_result=The American poet, novelist, activist and farmer Wendell Berry wrote an op-ed in the Lexington Herald-Leader denouncing the University of Kentucky’s decision. Excerpts:
-In addition to the cover, Capilouto created a task force made up of faculty, staff and students. They concluded the mural should be shown as a work or art, but should be displayed with wall texts that give additional context.
+"I don’t believe Ann Rice O’Hanlon would willingly have painted 'a painful and degrading personification of a false, romanticized rendering of our shared history.' I don’t think she did. I don’t think, to quote President Eli Capilouto again, that 'the mural provides a sanitized image of that history' or that her 'artistic talent actually painted over the stark reality' of slavery."
-The mural was uncovered April 2017. A sign was installed nearby that describes the history of the mural, including the concerns voiced about it over the years. UK plans on commissioning additional public art to be placed in the Memorial Hall lobby.
+More:
-In a blog post, Capilouto stated:
+"The president further objects to the fresco on the ground that it reminds 'one black student... that his ancestors were slaves.' That statement has at least two arresting implications: (1) that black students should not ever be reminded that their ancestors were slaves, and (2) that white students should not ever be reminded that their ancestors were slave owners. Do students, then, study history at our 'flagship university' in order to forget it?"
+The task force concluded the mural should be displayed, but with a wall text alongside it to give historical context to the work. The mural remained covered until April 2017 when the drapery was removed and the mural was once again put on display but with signage describing its history, including the concerns voiced about it over the years.
+In a blog post, UK President Capilouto stated:
 “Against that backdrop, the concern, for many, is that the mural does not adequately reflect the violence and inhumanity that many experienced through subjugation and slavery,” he said. “Those questions of intent, context and perception have become part of a larger conversation at UK about racial climate. And, as is so often the case, we’ve been led by students.”
@@ Line 28: / Line 32: @@
 }}
 {{DISPLAYTITLE:<span style="font-style: italic;">University of Kentucky Memorial Hall mural</span>}}
+[http://ncac.org/blog/shrouding-history-or-protecting-students-university-of-kentucky-covers-1930s-mural Victory: A Year On, University of Kentucky Uncovers Controversial Mural Depicting Slaves, NCAC, BY SVETLANA MINTCHEVA, orig. post Dec 3, 2015; Update: Apr 21, 2017]
 [http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/education/article140580518.html Controversial UK mural uncovered, this time with context, BY LINDA BLACKFORD, March 24, 2017]
+[http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/wendell-berry-vs-political-correctness Wendell Berry vs. Political Correctness, By ROD DREHER, December 1, 2015]
+[http://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article47230635.html Op-Ed: Censors on the flagship, BY WENDELL BERRY, November 30, 2015]
 [http://www.kentucky.com/opinion/editorials/article100481602.html Moral of UK mural debate: mutual respect: Kudos for uncovering a work of art and unveiling a new commitment to a diverse, inclusive campus, Sept 7, 2016]
 http://ukcc.uky.edu/cgi-bin/dynamo?maps.391+campus+0049