Brooklyn Fire Proof News
METRO New York : FOLK: "Cultural Reality" (preview)
posted June 01, 2006
METRO, New York, Thursday, June 1, 2006
“Cultural Reality: ‘Folk’ exhibit looks at musicologist’s legacy”
by Amber Ray
PREVIEW
The legacy of Alan Lomax is an omnipresent force lingering over “freak folk” maven Devendra Banhart’s soulful warble and every lick off Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s blues-driven album “Howl.” Whether such neo-roots rockers realize it or not, that amped version of a Lead Belly tune – the one that always gets the downtown hipsters dancing – is thanks in part to one man’s dogged passion for documenting local cultures and traditions.
“Not kitsch”
The folklorist and musicologist is responsible for assembling an unprecedented collection of folk media, including songs, interviews and photographs of artists in their own element from the 1930s up to his retirement in 1996. And with the aid of online database the Alan Lomax Archive, Williamsburg space Brooklyn Fire Proof is set to present “FOLK,” an exhibition and performance series exploring America’s foremost purveyor of cultural traditions.
“With the current resurgence of folk music, we felt it was a great time to display the work Alan did in America, especially with a young gallery that’s into his mission,” Lomax archivist Nathan Salsburg says. “His work was definitely not kitsch – he didn’t travel around the South recording musicians to say ‘Oh, how cute.’ He thought the songs and stories were vital cultural reality. Alan devoted his life to this work because he thought everthing he collected was an important treasure of valid cultural expression.”
“Cultural equity”
Lomax admirers and the uninitiated alike will surely converge on the impressive music series accompanying the physical “FOLK” exhibit. The series features a line up of folk and roots-influenced performers, including nights of Iranian, Greek and Iraqi music and an evening with bluegrass singer Hazel Dickens and Bonny Billy (Will Oldham) with Captain Ano-moanon, offering current perspectives on musical traditions.
And Lomax’s theory of “cultural equity” – the concept that all local and ethnic cultures should be represented in media and schools – is of particular interest to Jessica Lin Cox, curator at Brooklyn Fire Proof.
“The issue of cultural diversity and making that a priority in the art world, something that can at times be dangerously one-sided, is one reason why the exhibit will be so interesting for this space,” Cox says. “A lot of people don’t realize how important Lomax is, but we hope to raise awareness.”