At Vulcan Park through August 26 in the Linn-Henley Gallery, The Music Lives On: Folk Song Traditions Told by Alabama Artists celebrates the Year of Alabama Music, a campaign launched in January by the Alabama tourism department. Some of Alabama's best-known folk artists (Lonnie Holley, Joe Minter, Thornton Dial, and others) are part of this statewide touring exhibit in which visual artists interpret through various media the musical traditions of the state and the region.
All of these African-American artists are self-taught and work in a variety of media and styles. Inspiration for their works in this particular case derives from a number of local musical settings, such as live performances of old-time music, hymns, and gospel favorites sung in church, or well-known recordings of landmark folk songs. The songs reinterpreted by these artists may have origins in popular music around the nation as well. Thornton Dial's Strange Fruit: Alabama Grapes, for example, is a mixed media work inspired by the legendary Billie Holiday hit "Strange Fruit," which can fairly be said to exist as the single most affecting and memorable song about race relations ever recorded.
Admission to the exhibit is $6 adults; $5 seniors; $4 children 5–12. Vulcan members and children age 4 and under are admitted free. Includes entrance to Vulcan Center Museum and Observation Balcony. Vulcan Park, 1701 Valley View Drive. Details: 933-1409 x. 30 orwww.visitvulcan.com.
