Sun-Ra Exhibit to visit Durham, NC this Fall
From the Herald-Sun newspaper in Durham, NC — very exciting news for us Sun-Ra fans!
Eclectic Sun Ra exhibit on its way — By Cliff Bellamy : The Herald-Sun
DURHAM — He was born in 1914 as Herman Blount, and music history books credit him as a composer, bandleader and keyboard player. He was equal parts showman, mystic and philosopher, and hence most music listeners know him by his more common name Sun Ra. From the 1950s up until his death in 1993, Sun Ra and his band Arkestra helped to define the experimental, avant-garde styles of jazz.
This fall, the Durham Art Guild Inc., in partnership with the John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies at Duke University, will present “Pathways to Unknown Worlds: Sun Ra, El Saturn and Chicago’s Afro-Futurist Underground 1954-1968″ from Aug. 21 through Oct. 18. The traveling exhibit is part of the Alton Abraham collection of Sun Ra papers at the jazz archive of the University of Chicago Library.
Sun Ra played with Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra in the 1940s, and later moved to Chicago, where he formed the Arkestra. He produced a huge body of recordings over the years, and performed the music for a short film titled “The Cry of Jazz.”
He worked outside the traditional music business, forming his own label, and was as much entrepreneur as artist, said Jennifer Collins-Mancour, director of the Durham Art Guild. “He kind of niched a market for himself,” Collins-Mancour said. “I see a comparison with [Durham's] Black Wall Street.”
Sun Ra, who claimed throughout his life that he was from Saturn, also practiced vegetarianism and macrobiotic eating long before they were widely know, she said. The exhibit includes his artwork, instruments he played, and lectures he gave. “It’s a wide range of ephemera,” Collins-Mancour said.
The exhibit also will include his original drawings for the mid-1960s albums “Art Forms of Dimensions of Tomorrow” and “Other Planes of There.” The exhibit also will include original artwork for other LPs. These consist not only of the sketches and final versions of the art, but also all steps along the way to printing the covers. They are from Ra’s tenure in Chicago, especially during mid-’50s, with his business partner and fellow mystic Abraham.
Other events related to the exhibit are planned for the fall. Other presenters will include Duke Performances and at the John Hope Franklin Center.
A pre-show Spectacle will be held Aug. 8 with an “Intergalactic Costume Creation.” The Spectacle of music, chants and “alter-ego” costumes will proceed from Durham Central Park through the streets of downtown Durham, ending at the Durham Art Guild gallery and Durham Arts Council building at 120 Morris St.
A pre-opening fundraising event will be held Aug. 20. The evening will begin at the Art Guild gallery with a wine reception and screening of the documentary “Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise,” by Robert Mugge. Dinner will follow at Revolution, Rue Cler and Piedmont restaurants. The Durham Art Guild will host the public opening reception in conjunction with Durham’s Third Friday Events on Aug. 21 from 5 to 7 pm.
September events include “Sun Ra Inspired: A Jam Session” following Centerfest on Sept. 19, showcasing tribute performances from local artists and a public showing of Mugge’s Sun Ra film at the PSI Theatre at the Durham Arts Council. On Sept. 26, The Mingus Big Band and the Arkestra will be in concert at Page Auditorium, as a part of Duke Performances programming.
Throughout the fall semester, there will also be a series of panel discussions and artist visits at the John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies.
For information on the exhibit and related events, visit www.durhamartguild.org or call 560-2713.