| Scott Alves Barton will be at the Lynden Sculpture Garden on Saturday, May 14, 2022, from 3-5 pm for an artist talk and reception in conjunction with his exhibition, Buried in the Heart: A Repast for Angels and Martyrs. In this exhibition of video, artefacts, and installations, food scholar and chef Scott Alves Barton has created a literal and symbolic repast that individually and archetypically honors the deaths of Ahmaud “Maud” Arbery, Breonna Shaquelle Taylor, and George Perry Floyd Jr., and the maiming of Jacob S. Blake Jr.The Lynden Sculpture Garden is located at 2145 West Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee, WI 53217. Gallery hours are daily 10 am-5 pm; closed Thursdays. Masks are required in the house. The exhibition remains on view through May 29, 2022.More information, a virtual tour, and links to the videos in the exhibition at: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/exhibitions/scott-barton-buried-heart-repast-angels-and-martyrsPress images available by request.A major aspect of honoring the dead and the living is encapsulated in the foods and meals of mourning, ebó(offertory), sacraments, and gustatory rites for both entities. The repast is foundational as a site of memory to generate a protocol that fosters and enshrines collective memory. Our repast rites for the dead are concurrently touchstones for the living: providing a bridge between the realms, and an ongoing dialogue with our heritage traditions. By creating and sharing a meal we also honor the multitude of individuals killed by state sponsored or private violence.This repast, begun during the hard lockdown, focuses on dishes that Ahmaud “Maud” Arbery, Breonna Shaquelle Taylor, George Perry Floyd Jr., and Jacob S. Blake Jr. would have enjoyed eating or cooking. Barton prepared the repast and delivered it to four of his neighbors–Charles Daniel Dawson, Marie Dutton Brown, John Pinderhughes, and John Dowell, all Harlem elders—also in the role of archetypes and elders. Within their lives and their works, these four individuals are dedicated to civil rights, Black culture, the politics of identity and respect for Black life, and restorative justice. Barton documented the preparation and delivery of the meal, as well as the virtual conversations with the four elders that followed. This material is included in two video montages in the exhibition.The videos are placed in the context of significant objects and installations: an artist’s book commemorating the brief life of Emmett Till; a tea table referencing the 2008 meeting between Carolyn Bryant Donham (who had originally accused Till of whistling at her, thus setting in motion the actions that led to his lynching), her daughter-in-law, Marsha Bryant, and historian Timothy Tyson; a Knucklebone Kosmogram illustrating our circumambulatory passage between life and death; a series of tea towels, some vintage and some made in collaboration with fellow Call & Response artist Arianne King Comer and Harlem Needle Arts. In the dining room, Barton has called upon his extensive collection of Black Americana to set the table as he originally set it in his apartment for the memorial repast. |
