Charleston, SC – The Gibbes Museum of Art has organized a groundbreaking exhibition entitled Landscape of Slavery: The Plantation in American Art  to offer a comprehensive, interdisciplinary examination of plantation images in the American South. The exhibition is currently on view at the University of Virginia Art Museum in Charlottesville, VA from January 25 – April 20, 2008, and will then be on view at the Gibbes in Charleston, SC from May 9 - August 3, 2008. Following the Gibbes, the exhibition will travel to the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, GA where it will be on display from August 23 – October 19, 2008.  
 
Todd D. Smith, Executive Director of the Gibbes explains the inspiration for the project, “The mission of the Gibbes is to tell the story of the visual culture of the South and the plantation has been (and still continues to be) a defining characteristic of the history and present state of the region. The museum’s collection includes several important works related to the subject, and we were inspired to lead an effort to unravel the realities and fictions that surround the subject matter.”  
 
Curated by Angela D. Mack, the museum’s Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs, the exhibition features over 100 paintings, works on paper, photographs, mixed media and installation works.  The three venues each offer a unique installation and presentation of objects and a complete list of objects in the exhibition is available at www.gibbesmuseum.org.  Through the eyes of a range of artists such as Eastman Johnson, Winslow Homer, William Aiken Walker, Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, John Biggers, Edwin Harleston, Carrie Mae Weems and Kara Walker, Landscape of Slavery examines depictions of plantations, plantation views and related slave imagery in the context of the history of landscape painting in America. “More than a history of the visual imagery related to the plantation, the show invites one to consider the impact that this imagery has had on race relations for three centuries,” says Mack.
 
A genre predominantly tied to the Southern region of the United States, the plantation view has traditionally received marginal attention in the study of American landscape art.  Previous work on the plantation subject has emphasized the debt the genre owes to 18^th century British aesthetic theories and styles.  In recent years, however, art historians have worked to identify general shifts in plantation iconography that reflect specific historical events. Meanwhile, plantation views have attracted the attention of social historians who have identified the genre as a rich source for exploring issues of wealth, power, race, memory and nostalgia.  Landscape of Slavery seeks to bring these current discussions on the topic together for the public’s consideration.
 
About the Book
"Landscape of Slavery: The Plantation in American Art" Edited by Angela D. Mack and Stephen G. Hoffius (University of South Carolina Press) Serving as a companion to the exhibition of the same name, Landscape of Slavery draws upon art history and social history as it illustrates the complexities of the American South.  Landscape of Slavery undertakes an original study of plantation images from the eighteenth century through the present to unravel the realities and mythology inherent in this complex and often provocative subject.
 
Through ninety-two full-color plates, sixteen black-and-white illustrations and six thematic essays, the book examines depictions of plantation structures, plantation views and related slave imagery and art in the context of the American landscape tradition, addressing the impact of these works on race relations in the United States. Contributors to the volume are Alexis L. Boylan, Michael D. Harris, Leslie King-Hammond, Angela D. Mack, Maurie D. McInnis, Roberta Sokolitz and John Michael Vlach.     
 
 
GIBBES MUSEUM OF ART
Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858 (celebrating 150 years in 2008), the Gibbes Museum of Art opened its doors to the public in 1905.  Located in Charleston’s historic district, the Gibbes houses a premier collection of over 10,000 works, principally American with a Charleston or Southern connection and presents special exhibitions throughout the year. In addition, the museum offers an extensive complement of public programming and educational outreach initiatives.  As the aesthetic heart of the Lowcountry, the Gibbes serves the community by stimulating creative expression, increasing economic vitality through tourism and improving the region’s superb quality of life.