Review

Author(s): Kristin G. Congdon

Review by: Kristin G. Congdon
Source: The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 112, No. 443 (Winter, 1999), pp. 108-110
Published by: American Folklore Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/541416
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108 Folklore
JournalofAmerican
Most, however,will find much to admirein
a book so wide rangingandso engaginglywrit-
ten. At itsbest,Marcus'sprosemanagesitsown
deadpaneffectsas subtlyas the songs he cele-
brates.Justhow, for example,is a referenceto
"anavant-gardegreetingcardcompany"to be
read (p. 96)? Even enthusiasticappreciators,
however, will have trouble with other spots.
The ShakerleaderMotherAnn Lee, for exam-
ple, is accordeda back cover portrait,along
with Ashley, Edwards,Hutchison, and Harry
Smith,but she appearson only one page of the
book (p. 180), and there the comparisonof
Boggs's"PrettyPolly" to "Come Life, Shaker
Life"isunconvincing.
The weakestpassagesin InvisibleRepublic are
clustered at the very beginning. The book
opens in ponderous hyperbole-"Once a
singerstoodataworldcrossroads"(p. ix)-and
proceeds to extended idolatry: "he was no
longermerelya singer,or a songwriter,or even
a poet. ... In a signalway, he wasthe Folk,and
alsoa prophet.As he sangandwrote he wasthe
slaveon the auctionblock, the whore chained
to her bed" (p. x). This messianicfigure is of
courseBob Dylan,andit showsno disrespectto
Dylan'scomposing and performingtalentsor
to his remarkablecapacityfor self-reinvention
to note that this is a ludicrouslyoverblown
characterization, fanzineprose from an author
who has dashedoff too manyblurbsand liner
notes, genresin which one hits the groundin
thesuperlativeandaccelerates.Thereis another
howlernot farahead,too, whereone ofDylan's
earlyhalf-electricconcertsis alsoelevatedto the
world-historicalstage--"ForestHills Stadium
now the OdessaSteps"(p. 16).
This is not an auspiciouslaunching, cer-
tainly,but thingsquickly improve, as Marcus
introducesmoremodestlypresentedstars.One
of theseis F. O. Mathiessen,authorof American
Renaissance(New York: Oxford University
Press,1941),a book asimportantto studentsof
Americanliteratureasthe Anthology hasbeen to
studentsof music.Anotheris D. H. Lawrence,
creditedasone of the firstto appreciatethatany
numberof soberlydressed,poker-facedAmeri-
canswere substantiallyweirder than anything
producedby the self-consciousmodernismsof
Europeanorigin.Which surrealistshow-offor
Dada prankster,Marcus asks, projects more
thana fractionofthe extremityor strangenessof
Buell Kazee'squiet line from "EastVirginia"
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112 (1999)
("I courteda fairyoung lady / What was her
name, I did not know") or Dock Boggs's
"CountryBlues"("WhenI amdeadandburied
/ My palefaceturnedto thesun")?
Invisible then, is a rich, demanding,
Republic,
occasionally overheated, deeply stimulating
work, insistingon the continuing power of
"thewish andneed for utopiain the American
story"(p. 209). Marcusendsby secondingJus-
tice Stevens, therebyrejecting the atomizing
analysisofJusticeClarenceThomasanddeny-
ing David Whisnant'sassertionthat the very
idea of a truly"national"experiencehas"long
since been rendereduselessby carefulanalyses
of regional,gender, racial,class,and occupa-
tionaldifferencesin the body politic"(p. 213).
ForMarcus,such differencesdo not in the end
reduceDock Boggs'svoice to thatof"a white
male working-classVirginiaminer" (p. 213).
For him, "when Dock Boggs, or Clarence
Ashley,or Geechie Wiley, or, in certainhours
in the basement,Bob Dylan sang,the contours
of the country's aspirationsand failures ...
couldbe heard"(p.213). Whatis mostaffirmed
in InvisibleRepublicis the republic itself, the
"Old WeirdAmerica"of Winthrop,Jefferson,
andMartinLutherKingJr.,asheardin the mu-
sic of "historical-traditional" singers.The last
wordin thebook is "unfinished"(p.223).
Spirit Poles and Flying Pigs: Public Art
and Cultural Democracy in American
Communities. By ErikaDoss. (Washington,
D.C.: SmithsonianInstitutionPress,1995. Pp.
x + 278, preface,prologue,79 illustrations,
epi-
logue,notes,indexes.)
KRISTING. CONGDON
of CentralFlorida
University
In ourcurrentpoliticalclimate,mostartsad-
ministratorsand arts supportersfear contro-
versyover publicart.A negativeresponseover
a public artwork,especiallyif it is funded by
public dollars,might translateinto drastically
reducedfundingfor the arts,both locallyand
nationally.Indeed, most analysesof the con-
tinuingtroublein sustainingthe NationalEn-
dowment for the Artscite widespreaddisdain
thatmanycitizensand elected officialsfeel to-
ward spendingpublic funds on artworksand
exhibitions that might incite discomfort, or
 Book Reviews
even rage.ErikaDoss, in her well-writtenand
thoughtful book SpiritPolesand FlyingPigs,
takesa differentperspective.Lookingatseveral
contemporarypublicartworksin diverseloca-
tions across the country which have stirred
widespreaddebate,she concludesthatthisdia-
logue is actuallygood forour society.ForDoss,
the "fiercedebateaboutpublicartis a signthat
Americansstill hold out for the possibilitiesof
culturaldemocracy"(p.vii).
In her prologue, Doss gets us involved by
setting up the scenario for BarbaraKruger's
1989 invitationby the LosAngelesMuseumof
ContemporaryArt (MOCA) to paintan enor-
mous outdoor mural. Because it faced the
northernpart of Little Tokyo and was inter-
pretedby thoseresidentsto be racist,it metwith
immediatehostility.Krugerandher supporters,
not expecting any such interpretation,were
shocked. Doss then gives the readerhighlights
of some key debates over highly publicized
controversialartworksasshedemonstrates how
funding sources have grown in the lastseveral
decades.
Six publicartepisodesaredescribedin depth
andanalyzedin thisbook. They readlikechap-
tersof a good novel. Doss startswith the 1989
SpiritPolesby Gary Rieveschl and Michael
Fotheringhamin Concord, California,and
then leadsus throughthe other five episodes:
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen's
1991 FreeStampin Cleveland,Ohio; Michael
Heizer's 1985 EffigyTumnuli at BuffaloRock
State Park, Ottawa, Illinois; Judy Baca's
1988-89 Guadalupe Muralin Guadalupe,Cali-
fornia; and Andrew Leicester's1988 Cincinnati
Gatewayin Cincinnati,Ohio. In her epilogue,
she concludes with the KrugerLos Angeles
muralshe introducedat the beginningof the
book, now describingthe negotiations that
took place until the finalversionof the mural
was installed.Repeatedly, Doss demonstrates
what she calls "the crux" of the artist'sprob-
lems-which she recognizes as perhapsthe
most important problem in contemporary
art-that is, "how to make democracymean-
ingfulin multiculturalAmerica[and]how to tie
day-to-daystrugglesanddifferingvaluesto the
broaderconceptofdemocracy"(pp.238-239).
Takingher variedselectionof artistsandar-
tistic approaches,Doss carefullyshows how
each of the artworks,theirenvironments,and
theirmeaningswereviewed differentlyby vari-
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109
ous groups of people. Some artists worked
more than others with the individuals in the
community before or after debate was spurred,
whereas others did little or nothing to accom-
modate community concerns. By showing
such a range of artists and artworks, not only
does the author help us see the importance of
the debates as illustrating different values and
ways of seeing, she also raises other related
questions, such as, Who is the public, and what
is the art for? Who should select the artworks
that are to become public, and for what reasons
should the selections be made? What kinds of
spaces are considered public areas, and by
whom? What does or should the history of an
area have to do with new kinds of interpreta-
tions and uses by an artist of that same area?
When should public art opt for the "safe"visual
answer? What motivates corporations to in-
volve themselves in supporting public art? In
raising these questions, she demonstrates that
many contemporary artists have moved away
from the idea of(fine) art as the product ofindi-
vidual genius. Increasingly, contemporary (fine)
artists are working with varying kinds of com-
munities and ecosystems; an understanding of
their traditions, worldviews, and values is
needed to be successful both in the process of
developing the work and in the ownership and
appreciation ofthe piece.
For folklorists, this book could lead the way
toward a new professional opportunity, the
kindJane Beck called for in her 1996 American
Folklore Society presidential address. Beck
urged folklorists to "influence the mainstream
and lay claim to solving some of the important
issues of the day [by making] a conscious effort
to move away from the margins" (Journalof
AmericanFolklore, 110[436] 1997, p. 123). Al-
though it is clear that most public art is not cre-
ated by tradition bearers, it is also true that the
community values these artistsmust work with
are greatly informed by folklife. Ifwe believe in
a cultural democracy that can create a public in-
terested in more than just shopping malls and
sports events, perhaps Doss is correct in helping
us focus more on the potential of civic engage-
ment of public artwork rather than its negative
consequences (such as a community divided or
a funding source in jeopardy). The author
maintains that much of the conversation that
has taken place surrounding these artworks has
been instrumental in helping to formulate a
110 Journalof AmericanFolklore112 (1999)
community identity. AlthoughDoss does not
explicitlysayso, she hasidentifiedanimportant
placeforfolkloriststo employtheirskills.Folk-
loristscould be valuableassetsatartscouncil ta-
bles, not only to assistdecision makersabout
selectionsappropriateto communityconstitu-
encies but also to facilitatea useful dialogue
aboutcommunityidentity,diversevalues,and
ways to engage a public artisticallyand posi-
tively. ErikaDoss makesa good point in Spirit
PolesandFlyingPigs.The greatissuesurround-
ing public arttoday is culturaldemocracyand
how we can createcommunitiesthatdialogue
for understandingand collaborativesolutions
insteadofmoving towardfragmentation.
Black Texans: A History of African
Americans in Texas 1528-1995. By Alwyn
Barr. (2nd ed. Norman: University of Okla-
homa Press, 1996. Pp. x + 294, preface, 16 illus-
trations, bibliographical essay, index.)
REDELLR. HEARN
SoutheasternLouisiana University
The overwhelming task of documenting
Black history often tempts scholars to cover a
broad range of history in a limited number
pages. In Black Texans: A History of African
Amnericansin Texas 1528-1995, Alwyn Barrex-
amines the issue of race and acceptance
throughout the history of Blacks in Texas. By
focusing his attention on one area, the author
sets the stage for an in-depth discussion ofBlack
history, people, and events unique to Texas.
Each of the seven chapters is divided into sub-
categories: "Politics, Violence and Legal
Status"; "Labor and Economic Status"; "Edu-
cation"; and "Social Life." The text is comple-
mented by 16 illustrations, which begin with an
1891 painting of the 9th U.S. Calvary Regi-
ment. The 9th Calvary and 10th Calvary, better
known as the "Buffalo Soldiers," were two
groups of soldiers, described by Retired Gen-
eral Colin Powell in My Americanjourney(New
York: Random House, 1995), sent to "help
white folks acquire and defend land that Blacks,
for the most part, were not allowed to own"
(1995:61).
BlackTexanscontributes to the much needed
documentation of Black history, both in the
United States and in the state of Texas. Two
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significant highlights in the book are the men-
tion of the legendary Bill Pickett and the his-
toric celebration known as "Juneteenth." Bill
Pickett, whose name graces today's nationally
acclaimed Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, be-
came widely known at the turn of the century
for perfecting the technique of "bulldogging,"
the act of "throwing" a steer by seizing its horns
and twisting its neck. Juneteenth (19 June
1865) is credited as the date that freedom ar-
rived officially for Black Texans when General
Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas,
with a regiment of Union Army soldiers. Wil-
liam H. WigginsJr., reading from General Or-
der Number 3, remarks, "The people of Texas
are informed that in accordance with a Procla-
mation from the Executive of the United
States, all slaves are free" ("Juneteenth: Track-
ing the Progress of an Emancipation Celebra-
tion" Anierican Visions, June/July 1993:28).
Although all enslaved persons did not receive
the news on time, Black people around the
country celebrate this official date duringJune-
teenth celebrations, which are a vital part of
Black culture today. Unfortunately, there are
conflicting statements in the book as well, start-
ing with the questionable date Barruses to mark
the arrivalofAfricans to the New World.
Barr maintains that his research "restson the
works of other scholars" (p. ix), yet he appar-
ently ignores scholars who provide alternate
perspectives on the arrivalof people of African
descent in the region. For example, he begins
his book with the 1528 arrivalof a Black Moor
of Azamor, Morocco, by the name of Estevan
(p. 1) and ends the book paying tribute to those
whose writings influenced his "interpretations
of various periods and events" (p. 248). Ironi-
cally, among these literary influences is John
Hope Franklin, who, in Fronm Slaveryto Freedom
(New York: McGraw Hill, 1988), dates the ar-
rival of Africans as early as 1501 (1988:30). The
date of the firstarrivalis significant because it al-
lows for a broader reading of the lives of Afri-
cans in the Americas and because it would
position both free and enslaved outside of the
standard roles as "slaves" to European immi-
grants. Barr's imprecision makes for an intro-
duction and conclusion that are both awkward
and unsettling. For example, Barr writes,
"Black people have lived in Texas, though not
continuously, for more than four hundred
years" (p. v). Not only does he contradict the