Here are photos taken by Christopher Jordan’s photo students who have been photographing the artists and interviewing them during their Interim course in the Black Belt of Alabama, the Black Belt Artist Project. We’ll be adding to them each day of their trip. Follow them on Instagram @ua_blackbeltproject or #blackbeltartistsproject.
DAY ONE
Students practice portrait photos on Dr. Lucy Curzon in her Garland Hall office.
Students practice portrait photos on Associate Professor Bill Dooley in his Woods Hall studio.
Associate Professor Christopher Jordan and students load photographic equipment into the car before their trip to their home base in Wilcox County, Ala.
Black Belt Artist Project members are ready to roll. From left to right is: Gordon MacNeil, Maddy O’Connor, Sam MacDonald, Aleiah Briggs, Kasandra Boor, and Christopher Jordan. Not pictured, Sarah Cheshire.
DAY TWO
After settling into their home away from home in Possum Bend, photography students Sam MacDonald, Aleiah Briggs, Maddy O’Connor, Kasandra Boor and Gordon MacNeil along with Professor Christopher Jordan go straight to work. With the help of artist Daniel Warren, they were able to learn how to conduct interviews from in front of and behind the camera before they begin official work for the Black Belt Project tomorrow.
Black Belt Artist Project members practice interviewing Daniel Warren in Camden, Ala. (left-right) Sam MacDonald, Aleiah Briggs, Maddy O’Connor, Kasandra Boor, and Christopher Jordan. Photo by: Gordon MacNeil.
Black Belt Artist Project member Sam MacDonald (left) practices interviewing Daniel Warren in Camden, Ala. Aleiah Briggs (right) is on camera. Photo by: Kasandra Boor, @kasandra_b
Black Belt Artist Project member Sam MacDonald (left) and her practice interviewee, Daniel Warren, in Camden, Ala. Photo by: Kasandra Boor, @kasandra_b
DAY THREE
The real work begins, with interviews in Gee’s Bend, Alabama.
The first official day of the Black Belt Artist Project took the team to Gee’s Bend to photograph five amazing quilters and record their stories. The students photographed and interviewed Mary Margaret Pettway, Mary Lee Bendolph, Doris Pettway, Mary Ann Pettway, and Betty Kennedy. Shown here are Aleiah Briggs, Maddy O’Connor, Gordon MacNeil, and Sam MacDonald photographing one of the artists. Photo by Kasandra Boor.
DAY FOUR
Thursday, the Black Belt Artist Project members traveled to three different locations to photograph and interview artists.
Day two of photographing took Black Belt Artist Project members first to visit Charlie “Tin Man” Lucas in his studio in Selma, Ala. Pictured: Kasandra Boor, Charlie Lucas, Sarah Cheshire, Aleiah Briggs, Sam MacDonald, Christopher Jordan, and Maddy O’Connor. Photo by Gordon MacNeil.
On day two of photographing, Black Belt Artist Project members visited Betty Bain, a basket weaver in Selma who has been working for thirty years. Pictured l.-r.: Betty Bain, Sam MacDonald, and Aleiah Briggs. Photo by: Chris Jordan.
BBAP members’ last stop on day two was to the Spencer Farms in Marion Junction, to talk with co-owner Laura Spencer, a sustainable farmer who also makes soap and candles. L.-r.: Christopher Jordan, Sam MacDonald, Laura Spencer, Gordon MacNeil, Aleiah Briggs, and Sarah Cheshire. Photo by: Kasandra Boor.
For more information about the UA Department of Art and Art History and its programs, visit our website or contact the department at (205) 348-5967.