Huntsville, Ala – The Huntsville Museum of Art (HMA) is excited to announce the opening of the newest exhibit, Our Living Past: A Portrait of Music Maker, on Sunday, April 23rd. Our Living Past will be on view at the Museum for general admission until July 2, 2017.
Our Living Past, organized by Tim Duffy’s Music Maker Relief Foundation, features images and instruments of Southern musical heroes and the world in which they live – promoting the enduring tradition of Southern roots music and educating viewers about Southern musical greats. Duffy’s iconic photographs celebrate distinctive regional sound and styles with images of blues greats like Taj Mahal, Grammy nominated Sharon Jones and Huntsville’s own Ardie Dean.
“An important objective of the Museum is to present an array of varying types of art to the Tennessee Valley region,” said Christopher Madkour, Executive Director of HMA. “The mixture of photographs and 3D elements makes Our Living Past an interesting and compelling addition to the Museum’s exhibition calendar.”
The images in Our Living Past are made with the distinctive wet-plate collodion process and are printed using the platinum/palladium process. For the display in Huntsville, Duffy’s images will be supplemented by a hand-selected array of related materials directly tied to the artists on view. These include Captain Luke’s painted guitar case, Ironing Board Sam’s gold keyboard and Ardie Dean’s hand decorated suit.
“Whether you are a music lover or you have a fascination with photography, the quality of this exhibition speaks to people from all walks of life. In his photographs, Duffy captured the energy and the passion of each musician in a way that is captivating.”
To kick-off this exhibition, the HMA Guild hosted “Southern Blues: Music of the Soul” on April 20th. Guests at the Southern cocktail event enjoyed a complete sensory experience of New Orleans, Memphis and the Mississippi Delta through art, food, music and drink. Blues prodigy, Christone “KINGFISH” Ingram, provided live music while guests enjoyed a bourbon tasting.
On Thursday, June 8th, the Museum will host “An Evening of the Blues with Microwave Dave & The Nukes” to further celebrate the music that inspired Duffy’s collection. This event will be free to Museum members and will be included with general admission for non-members. Guests are invited to view the exhibit and enjoy an evening of Southern blues music with Huntsville legend Dave Gallaher, aka Microwave Dave, joined by The Nukes with founding bass player Rick Godfrey and drummer James Irvin. Seating will be limited and doors will open at 5:30 p.m.
For more information about the Our Living Past exhibit and to see what else is happening at the Museum, visit hsvmuseum.org.
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About the Music Maker Relief Foundation
The Music Maker Relief Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit, was founded to preserve the musical traditions of the South by directly supporting the musicians who make it, ensuring their voices will not be silenced by poverty and time. Music Maker will give future generation’s access to their heritage through documentation and performance programs that build knowledge and appreciation of America’s musical traditions.