In the Spirit of Martin is a traveling exhibition organized by the Smithsonian and includes a huge array of artwork- photos, posters, paintings,collage, sculpture, over 115 works. The show opened in Mpls (at the Weisman Art Museum) on Saturday and runs through April. Diverse artists from Jacob Lawrence, Gordon Parks, Norman Rockwell, Faith Ringgold, Andy Warhol.... The art shows the struggle, and the stories are amazingly told (my head is kind of spinning today because its my 11th day of work in a row kicking this thing off. I am running on adrenaline.) - slavery daguerotypes; images commemorating the Amistad; Emmett Till; ironic documentary images of post WWII segregation;Brown v Board; Little rock 9; Ruby Bridges; Montgomery bus boycott; Birmingham; 4 little girls; SNNC and Freedom Summer; Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner vs KKK; Kings assassination in Memphis; mourning. Powerful images from realistic to abstract. The diversity of images works well together. Iconic images- like the photo of Selma to Montgomery marchers carrying the flag (the opening used in the Eyes on the Prize film series), or the famous photo of the segregated water fountains are hung next to work inspired by and quoting those images. So there are rich comparisons. And the show does an important thing in bringing depth beyond the annual King soundbyte, looking at how his ideas play today. Some of the images the shine light on terrorism and human rights abuses are looking mighty fresh and powerful in 2003.
Hereis link to a bit of info on the show.