fbpx
Wikipedia

Ralph Griffin

January 01, 1970

Ralph Griffin (1925–1992) was an American sculptor known for his sculptures made from tree roots.

Ralph Griffin
Ralph Griffin with one of his sculptures in Girard, Georgia
Born1925
Burke County, Georgia
Died1992(1992-00-00) (aged 66–67)
Girard, Georgia
NationalityAmerican
Known forRoot Sculpture
MovementModern Art

Life edit

Ralph Griffin was born on September 22, 1925, in Girard, Burke County, Georgia on a cotton farm. He began school at Girard Elementary School.[1] He attended school until the ninth grade, then began to work full-time on his family's cotton farm.[2] At 22 years old, on January 13, 1947, he married Loretta Gordon and together they raised five daughters and one son. When he was thirty years old, "'the boll weevils did all of the work' on his family's farm" [1] and Griffin went bankrupt. After he left the farm, he began to travel without destination around the southeast coast of Georgia. After 5–10 years of traveling and working odd construction jobs to support his children, Griffin resettled in Girard, GA and took a second-shift custodian position at Murray's Biscuit Company.[1][3] He retained this job for twenty-three years, finally retiring in 1989 to pursue art full-time.[2]

Career edit

Griffin began making sculptures in 1979 with a piece called Midnight. Midnight is the figure of an anteater, which some believe Griffin was inspired to make because ants were infesting his house and others believed it was an homage to his return at midnight from his shift at the biscuit factory.[3][4] He was first recognized by an art collector and dealer that had seen his root sculptures displayed in the front yard of his home. His work grew in acclaim from then on and Griffin retired from his factory job in 1989 to focus on sculpting.

Process edit

Griffin's artistic process was inextricably linked to the Savannah River that flowed through the outskirts of his property. It was in this river that Griffin found the roots and drift pieces of Poplar that he used to make his sculptures. He would "take a root from the water, have a thought about it, what it looks like, then [he would] paint it red, black, and white, to put a bit of vision on the root."[2] He always began revealing the essence within the root by finding the eyes. "When I get his eye, I can make him come out of it, then make heads on heads. it seems like a dream until I get it made."[2]

Inspiration edit

The roots that Griffin ultimately chose to paint were ones that he believed contained a "deep feeling." To him, these roots were older than the United States and dated back to the days of Noah's flood.[5] Their primordial spirituality was revealed to him through the Savannah River's clear water, which he also believed held atavistic qualities. "There's a miracle in that water, running across them logs since the flood of Noah. Them logs-- they been there since Noah's time, when the flood got out all the water. This is the water from that time."[2][6]

Unlike his peer, Bessie Harvey, Griffins sculptures were more confounding and intimidating than whimsical. The gnarled branches make his figures seem contorted and blur the lines between human, animal, and celestial creature. Some of his works depict indistinguishable monstrous or supernatural forms. Others, such as Wizard[7] and Little Wizard,[8][better source needed] black figures shrouded in what appear to be Klansmen's robes, are a perplexing commentary on semantics and southern race relations.[3] Still others clearly depict the world surrounding Griffin as others also see it, like John Getting Graduated[9][better source needed] and Woodpecker.[10][better source needed]

Interpretation edit

Many scholars have associated Griffin's artistic process and inspirations with West African animism and religious rituals. Griffin's focus on the purifying, shaping qualities of water and the powers of roots to conjure otherworldly characters is a translation of Kongo and Bakongo spiritual practices.[11] Through black, white, and red paint applications, Griffin "fashioned figures out of tree roots dredged from a river, eliciting the hidden shapes of spirits by way of an idiosyncratic divinatory ritual."[5] Griffin's power to release dormant characters inside of the roots made him known among his neighbors as a conduit or "root doctor." His neighbors would ask him to intuit their dreams or predict winning numbers, but he refused, saying "I don't go that far."[2][3]

Exhibitions edit

  • Even the Deep Things of God: A Quality of Mind in Afro-Atlantic Traditional Art. 18 Aug.- 30 Sept. 1990. Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.[12]
  • Living Traditions: Southern Black Folk Art. 17 Aug- 27 Oct. 1991, The Museum of York County, Rock Hill, SC.[12]
  • African-American Folk Art: From the Collection of Dr. A. Everett James. 18 Oct.- 31 Dec. 1991, Van Vechten Gallery at Fisk University, Nashville, TN.[12]
  • Passionate Visions of the American South. 1993–1995. Traveling exhibition at various museums.[13]
  • Pictured In my Mind: Contemporary American Self-Taught Art from the Collection of Dr. Kurt Gitter and Alice Rae Yelen. 1995, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL.[14]
  • Testimony: vernacular art of the African American south: the Ronald and June Shelp Collection. 2001–2004. Traveling exhibition. MI, SC, NY, GA, FL[2]
  • The Life and Art of Jimmy Lee Sudduth. 15 Jan.- 27 Mar. 2005. Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. Montgomery, AL.[15]
  • Our Faith Affirmed: Works from the Gordon W. Bailey Collection. 10 Sep.2014- 8 Aug. 2015, University of Mississippi Museum, Oxford, MS.
  • A Cut Above: Wood Sculpture from the Gordon W. Bailey Collection. 14 May- 30 Oct. 2016, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA.[16]
  • Revelations: Art from the African American South. 3 Jun. 2017- 1 Apr. 2018, de Young Gallery at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.[17]
  • The Original Makers: Folk Art from the Cargo Collection. 16 Jun.- 30 Dec. 2018, Birmingham Museum of Art. Birmingham, AL.[18]
  • Soul of the South. Jul 2018-Jun 2019, Capitol Park Museum, Baton Rouge, LA.[13]

Permanent collections edit

Griffin's work can be found in the permanent collections of the High Museum of Art[19] and the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.[20]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Museum of American Folk Art encyclopedia of twentieth-century American folk art and artists". Choice Reviews Online. 28 (9): 28–4882. 1991-05-01. doi:10.5860/choice.28-4882. ISSN 0009-4978.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Conwill, Kinshasha H. (2002). Testimony : vernacular art of the African-American South : the Ronald and June Shelp Collection. Stewart, Tabori & Chang. ISBN 0810944847. OCLC 48109126.
  3. ^ a b c d Coker, Gylbert Garvin; Arnett, William (2001). "Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art of the South". African American Review. 35 (4): 660. doi:10.2307/2903291. ISSN 1062-4783. JSTOR 2903291.
  4. ^ "Midnight | Souls Grown Deep".
  5. ^ a b Wertkin, Gerard C. Verfasser (2004). Encyclopedia of American Folk Art. New York: Routledge. pp. 8, 533. ISBN 9780203644485. OCLC 999123349. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ McWillie, Judith. (1990). Even the deep things of God : a quality of mind in Afro-Atlantic traditional art. Center for the Arts. OCLC 33025274.
  7. ^ http://www.soulsgrowndeep.org/artist/ralph-griffin/work/wizar [dead link]
  8. ^ "Little Wizard | Souls Grown Deep".
  9. ^ "John Getting Graduated | Souls Grown Deep".
  10. ^ "Woodpecker | Souls Grown Deep".
  11. ^ Kuyk, Betty (2003). African Voices in the African American Heritage. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. p. 130. ISBN 0-253-21576-5.
  12. ^ a b c Sellen, Betty-Carol. (2002). Outsider, self taught, and folk art annotated bibliography : publications and films of the 20th century. McFarland. ISBN 0786410566. OCLC 47297681.
  13. ^ a b "On exhibit: 'Soul of the South' at Capitol Park Museum". inRegister. 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  14. ^ "Pictured in my mind: contemporary American self-taught art from the collection of Dr. Kurt Gitter and Alice Rae Yelen". Choice Reviews Online. 34 (7): 34–3693. 1997-03-01. doi:10.5860/choice.34-3693. ISSN 0009-4978.
  15. ^ "High's Folk Art Curator Organizes Sudduth Exhibition | The Folk Art Society of America". folkart.org. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  16. ^ "High Museum of Art receives significant gift from the Gordon W. Bailey Collection". artdaily.com. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  17. ^ "Revelations: Art from the African American South". de Young. 2017-08-04. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  18. ^ "The Original Makers | Birmingham Museum of Art". June 2018. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  19. ^ "Big Bird".
  20. ^ "Noah's Ark - Ralph Griffin". 2019-01-10.

January 01, 1970
ralph, griffin, 1925, 1992, american, sculptor, known, sculptures, made, from, tree, roots, with, sculptures, girard, georgiaborn1925burke, county, georgiadied1992, 1992, aged, girard, georgianationalityamericanknown, forroot, sculpturemovementmodern, contents. Ralph Griffin 1925 1992 was an American sculptor known for his sculptures made from tree roots Ralph GriffinRalph Griffin with one of his sculptures in Girard GeorgiaBorn1925Burke County GeorgiaDied1992 1992 00 00 aged 66 67 Girard GeorgiaNationalityAmericanKnown forRoot SculptureMovementModern Art Contents 1 Life 2 Career 2 1 Process 2 2 Inspiration 2 3 Interpretation 3 Exhibitions 4 Permanent collections 5 ReferencesLife editRalph Griffin was born on September 22 1925 in Girard Burke County Georgia on a cotton farm He began school at Girard Elementary School 1 He attended school until the ninth grade then began to work full time on his family s cotton farm 2 At 22 years old on January 13 1947 he married Loretta Gordon and together they raised five daughters and one son When he was thirty years old the boll weevils did all of the work on his family s farm 1 and Griffin went bankrupt After he left the farm he began to travel without destination around the southeast coast of Georgia After 5 10 years of traveling and working odd construction jobs to support his children Griffin resettled in Girard GA and took a second shift custodian position at Murray s Biscuit Company 1 3 He retained this job for twenty three years finally retiring in 1989 to pursue art full time 2 Career editGriffin began making sculptures in 1979 with a piece called Midnight Midnight is the figure of an anteater which some believe Griffin was inspired to make because ants were infesting his house and others believed it was an homage to his return at midnight from his shift at the biscuit factory 3 4 He was first recognized by an art collector and dealer that had seen his root sculptures displayed in the front yard of his home His work grew in acclaim from then on and Griffin retired from his factory job in 1989 to focus on sculpting Process edit Griffin s artistic process was inextricably linked to the Savannah River that flowed through the outskirts of his property It was in this river that Griffin found the roots and drift pieces of Poplar that he used to make his sculptures He would take a root from the water have a thought about it what it looks like then he would paint it red black and white to put a bit of vision on the root 2 He always began revealing the essence within the root by finding the eyes When I get his eye I can make him come out of it then make heads on heads it seems like a dream until I get it made 2 Inspiration edit The roots that Griffin ultimately chose to paint were ones that he believed contained a deep feeling To him these roots were older than the United States and dated back to the days of Noah s flood 5 Their primordial spirituality was revealed to him through the Savannah River s clear water which he also believed held atavistic qualities There s a miracle in that water running across them logs since the flood of Noah Them logs they been there since Noah s time when the flood got out all the water This is the water from that time 2 6 Unlike his peer Bessie Harvey Griffins sculptures were more confounding and intimidating than whimsical The gnarled branches make his figures seem contorted and blur the lines between human animal and celestial creature Some of his works depict indistinguishable monstrous or supernatural forms Others such as Wizard 7 and Little Wizard 8 better source needed black figures shrouded in what appear to be Klansmen s robes are a perplexing commentary on semantics and southern race relations 3 Still others clearly depict the world surrounding Griffin as others also see it like John Getting Graduated 9 better source needed and Woodpecker 10 better source needed Interpretation edit Many scholars have associated Griffin s artistic process and inspirations with West African animism and religious rituals Griffin s focus on the purifying shaping qualities of water and the powers of roots to conjure otherworldly characters is a translation of Kongo and Bakongo spiritual practices 11 Through black white and red paint applications Griffin fashioned figures out of tree roots dredged from a river eliciting the hidden shapes of spirits by way of an idiosyncratic divinatory ritual 5 Griffin s power to release dormant characters inside of the roots made him known among his neighbors as a conduit or root doctor His neighbors would ask him to intuit their dreams or predict winning numbers but he refused saying I don t go that far 2 3 Exhibitions editEven the Deep Things of God A Quality of Mind in Afro Atlantic Traditional Art 18 Aug 30 Sept 1990 Pittsburgh Center for the Arts 12 Living Traditions Southern Black Folk Art 17 Aug 27 Oct 1991 The Museum of York County Rock Hill SC 12 African American Folk Art From the Collection of Dr A Everett James 18 Oct 31 Dec 1991 Van Vechten Gallery at Fisk University Nashville TN 12 Passionate Visions of the American South 1993 1995 Traveling exhibition at various museums 13 Pictured In my Mind Contemporary American Self Taught Art from the Collection of Dr Kurt Gitter and Alice Rae Yelen 1995 Birmingham Museum of Art Birmingham AL 14 Testimony vernacular art of the African American south the Ronald and June Shelp Collection 2001 2004 Traveling exhibition MI SC NY GA FL 2 The Life and Art of Jimmy Lee Sudduth 15 Jan 27 Mar 2005 Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Montgomery AL 15 Our Faith Affirmed Works from the Gordon W Bailey Collection 10 Sep 2014 8 Aug 2015 University of Mississippi Museum Oxford MS A Cut Above Wood Sculpture from the Gordon W Bailey Collection 14 May 30 Oct 2016 High Museum of Art Atlanta GA 16 Revelations Art from the African American South 3 Jun 2017 1 Apr 2018 de Young Gallery at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco 17 The Original Makers Folk Art from the Cargo Collection 16 Jun 30 Dec 2018 Birmingham Museum of Art Birmingham AL 18 Soul of the South Jul 2018 Jun 2019 Capitol Park Museum Baton Rouge LA 13 Permanent collections editGriffin s work can be found in the permanent collections of the High Museum of Art 19 and the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco 20 References edit a b c Museum of American Folk Art encyclopedia of twentieth century American folk art and artists Choice Reviews Online 28 9 28 4882 1991 05 01 doi 10 5860 choice 28 4882 ISSN 0009 4978 a b c d e f g Conwill Kinshasha H 2002 Testimony vernacular art of the African American South the Ronald and June Shelp Collection Stewart Tabori amp Chang ISBN 0810944847 OCLC 48109126 a b c d Coker Gylbert Garvin Arnett William 2001 Souls Grown Deep African American Vernacular Art of the South African American Review 35 4 660 doi 10 2307 2903291 ISSN 1062 4783 JSTOR 2903291 Midnight Souls Grown Deep a b Wertkin Gerard C Verfasser 2004 Encyclopedia of American Folk Art New York Routledge pp 8 533 ISBN 9780203644485 OCLC 999123349 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a last has generic name help McWillie Judith 1990 Even the deep things of God a quality of mind in Afro Atlantic traditional art Center for the Arts OCLC 33025274 http www soulsgrowndeep org artist ralph griffin work wizar dead link Little Wizard Souls Grown Deep John Getting Graduated Souls Grown Deep Woodpecker Souls Grown Deep Kuyk Betty 2003 African Voices in the African American Heritage Bloomington IN Indiana University Press p 130 ISBN 0 253 21576 5 a b c Sellen Betty Carol 2002 Outsider self taught and folk art annotated bibliography publications and films of the 20th century McFarland ISBN 0786410566 OCLC 47297681 a b On exhibit Soul of the South at Capitol Park Museum inRegister 2018 10 03 Retrieved 2019 08 21 Pictured in my mind contemporary American self taught art from the collection of Dr Kurt Gitter and Alice Rae Yelen Choice Reviews Online 34 7 34 3693 1997 03 01 doi 10 5860 choice 34 3693 ISSN 0009 4978 High s Folk Art Curator Organizes Sudduth Exhibition The Folk Art Society of America folkart org Retrieved 2019 08 21 High Museum of Art receives significant gift from the Gordon W Bailey Collection artdaily com Retrieved 2019 08 21 Revelations Art from the African American South de Young 2017 08 04 Retrieved 2019 08 21 The Original Makers Birmingham Museum of Art June 2018 Retrieved 2019 08 21 Big Bird Noah s Ark Ralph Griffin 2019 01 10 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ralph Griffin amp oldid 1162923798, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.